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| Sills in 1956 |
Always Nice to Meet a Fan
I recall now and then
the construction worker
I met on the Staten Island Ferry
early one evening.
He appeared to be heading
home from work while I
was on a joy ride to take
in the majestic view
of the New York Harbor,
the Statue of Liberty,
and Ellis Island,
where European immigrants
on my father’s side first
arrived in America,
while my mother and I
entered through San Francisco
many years later
as immigrants from Australia.
He was a rough, husky man,
wearing well-worn, steel-toed
work boots, safety vest,
hard hat and had a green Stanley
lunch box and thermos at his feet.
In my ignorance, I felt I knew
this man and would have
no surprise at what he might say
And that’s when he opened his lunch box
and took out a book on ballet,
with a colorful cover
that pictured dancers
in leotards and tutus
caught for an instant
in acrobatic flight.
As he was reading, I struck up
a conversation and asked him
about his interest in ballet
and was told that he didn’t
know that much about it yet,
but he felt he needed to learn
since his real passion
was opera, and so he’d checked
out a book from the library
to get started and that led
him to talking about
Beverly Sills who had
announced her retirement
and would be giving her
final singing performance
in her Farewell Gala
at New York City Opera,
where he was hoping to get
a ticket when they went
on sale to the public.
That sounds wonderful, I said.
Oh yes, he said, looking
up at the clouds floating by
and listening for something
that I could not hear.
She has a voice that can slice
through the largest orchestra
and chorus. A voice like no other.
She’s a lyric coloratura, he said.
I like to think that he had the best
seat in the house for Beverly Sills’ farewell performance. (First Published in Down in the Dirt)
© Terry Allen
Enjoy more posts by Terry Allen HERE.
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| Terry Allen |
Terry Allen is an Emeritus Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he taught acting, directing, and playwriting. He directed well over a hundred plays during his thirty-eight years of teaching. A few favorites include: Candide, Macbeth, Death of a Salesman, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and The Threepenny Opera. He is the author of five poetry collections: Monsters in the Rain, Art Work, Waiting on the Last Train, Rubber Time, and Preserving the Past for the Present.
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