I was glad when I found where my new season ticket was located in relation to the stage.  On the keyboard side, as I had requested, and near the front.  It was my impression that people in this section were older, which might be accounted for by the fact that it takes awhile to be lucky when requesting seating changes.  I vowed to renew each year in order to not lose my choice seat.

I was early, and began watching people.  Others were watching too, but they watched those who were watching them.  A couple sat down in the seats in front of me, and I noticed that they weren't old.  That made me feel better, as I was beginning to feel a little out of place.

A couple concerts later I began to recognize people.  For the ones in front you recall faces.  For those in back you recall voices and specific coughs.  You learn who knows their music by the whispering of composition identifications during the encores.

The man in front became recognizable, but the woman he was with wasn't.  I took note of this, and figured out that it was because the woman was not the same person each time.  They therefore must not be married, and he is dating.  One of the women he "dated" was attractive.  I remembered her, as she came a few times.  The others weren't.

The next season had a few changes.  But most people were in their same places, or had their same identifiable coughs, or annoying habits of unwrapping cough drops, or whispering too loudly.  The man in front continued to change his dates.  It became customary for me to make a note of who would accompany him, and note progress in how his dating was going.  You can tell from the way people behave if they are comfortable with each other.  He and his date were usually comfortable, so I couldn't understand why the women kept changing.

A few times the man in front was alone.  That interested me also.  Once he brought someone who must have been his daughter.  That revealed that he was divorced.  I tried to put myself in his shoes, even though we were of different generations.  My impression is that the seat beside him was empty more often than could be accounted for by his "woman of the moment" being too busy to attend.  The empty seats must have signified that his dating was not going well.

The next season the man in front was alone almost every concert, except for a couple times when one or other of his daughters accompanied him.  I had trouble understanding this.  He was not unhandsome.  His manners were good, and when he had been with a date they seemed to enjoy each other's company.

The next season began, and I was in my seat early.  The same people showed up in the same seats as the year before.  Except this new man who sat in the seat in front of me.  He sat in her seat.  Then the man whose dating had waned came, and sat next to him.  They didn't speak to each other.  It must have been difficult for him to have surrendered one of his coveted season ticket seats; but even harder to not have someone to go to concerts with.  And I felt sad.

He didn't attend many concerts after that.  In fact, he was no where to be found the next season.  I sometimes wonder what happened to him.
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This site opened:  October 30, 1998.   Last Update: October 30, 1998