I Remember

The streets weren’t cobblestone but the shoes I had on were.  Walking was very awkward and quite difficult at times.  We weren’t in Europe but the streets were narrow and the buildings quite old.   Two old men sat at a rickety table playing checkers.  One was chain smoking so they both were losing.  Off in the distance I could hear accordion music.  I knew the tune but couldn’t remember what it was called.  Anyway, it sounded familiar and pleasant so I wandered in the direction of the music.  No matter how long I walked or how far I went, the music seemed to remain off in the distance.  I found that to be odd and a little troublesome but even more odd was the fact that the whole time I was walking I could smell the cigarette smoke from the old checker player.

Just as there is a jet stream, maybe I had discovered an inner-city walking stream.  A low level current of air that flows between buildings on a set path, perhaps determined by not only earth’s rotation but also aided by the minor turbulence created by someone walking in cobblestone shoes.  Now that I think about it, it could be that same street level weather system that was keeping the sound of the music at a distance. 

After I rounded a few more corners I thought of an odd possibility.  Although not likely, it could be that the accordion player was walking as he played and was smoking the same brand of cigarette as he went.  That would explain the situation.  If the accordion player wasn’t wearing cobblestone shoes, he’d be able to walk just a little faster than I would, which would account for me never catching up to the music and always smelling the smoke. 

I felt good about this explanation.  I was proud of myself for figuring it out and stopped at a pub to rest my feet and have a beer.   Halfway through the beer I came to the realization that the occasional skip in the melody  I was hearing was due to the accordion player having to look down at the keyboard while he played and each time he did the cigarette smoke would get in his eye, causing him to stumble the tune a little.

OK, I remember now.  The song is called, Fascinating Rhythm.