reaching out

So I have a fondness for well made chocolate chip cookies.

There's a small shop in the train station that sells them and so two to three times a week I stop there to buy some. Behind the counter is this pleasant woman named Sam with whom I have formed a friendly clerk-customer relationship. Incidentally, the train station is a part of the Bell Centre, where the Canadiens play and where other concerts are held.

Last night I stopped in to get my cookies when I mentioned how much I wish I could go to the NIN concert that night. She said to me 'I have tickets I could give you' and right away I refused saying it would be too nice and that I had plans and commitments with the family I couldn't push off. She said 'oh come on, it's a concert that may be a long time before it comes back and I can't go'. I called my wife and after her not being too pleased with the idea left the decision to me as to what I would do. So I went back to Sam and said that I could go and thanked her profusely and asked what I could do in return. She said 'Don't worry about it, I get tickets like these often'. So she gives me the tickets and off I go.

She had two tickets that she gave me but no one back at the office, where I returned to lock my laptop up, was interested in coming with me. No matter, I went and my seat was in row E. Part way through the opening act I moved down to row A which is right at the lip of the level of the arena. Later on during the opening act some people came and told me they were in the seat I was in, so I moved to the left seven seats not knowing if any of those seats would be occupied by a late-comer. So more people arrived in my section, a group to my left, a group to my right, two groups behind me, but for the duration of the concert I was not asked to move.

The concert was really good, the light show was impressive. I didn't know a number of the songs because he is promoting his new album and I haven't listened to it yet. He did play a number of NIN standards that everyone was pleased about.