Don Selkirk picked up his iPad and sat down in his living room
chair. Hed come home from playing tennis and had taken a shower. He was
feeling pretty good. He was 75 and had slowed down a little but could still
make some good shots. His wife Ruth was off somewhere, probably at a club or
committee meeting. The Northern California retirement community where they
lived had plenty of both.
Selkirk tapped a financial app on his iPad and checked the
days stock market activity. His stocks, he was pleased to see, were up.
Theyd come back from their 2008 lows and financially he was doing well.
Whod have thought hed ever had so much money back when he was in
his twenties, out of college and drifting around?
The iPad was a recent acquisition. His son Gary, who was a
software engineer, had insisted he get one. His desktop computer, hed
told Selkirk, was obsolete; devices like the iPad were the way of the future.
Whod have thought hed have three sons, a software engineer, a
lawyer, an advertising copywriter, all doing well. When he was 35 and still a
bachelor his mother had given up on his ever getting married.
Selkirk tapped on a news app. The news was the usual: the
economy still shaky, despite the rising stock market; the clowns in Washington
still fumbling around; random shootings all over. Well, he was 75, he really
didnt care that much any more. He tapped on a music app hed just
installed. Curious to see what hed get he typed Stravinsky in
the search box and all at once heard the opening of Petrushka, the
tinkling sounds that herald the carnival. And just as suddenly, a scene
appeared before his eyes, as if was watching a movie: he was in his college
dorm room listening to Petrushka on a phonograph (did anyone know
what those were any more?), while his roommate Byrd explained the music to him,
his other two roommates also listening, serious Dave with a book and
not-so-serious Lee just lolling around, tossing a tennis ball from hand to
hand.
Selkirk rarely thought about his college days. When he did, he
felt they were pretty much a waste of time. He certainly hadnt made the
most of them. But now he saw the old rickety furniture, the messy papers and
books all over the place, which Dave insisted they clean up weekly. He saw
Byrd, lithe and graceful, smart and sophisticated, the one whod
introduced him to music. It had started with Stravinskys
Firebird, which Byrd considered his own theme song. Then on to
Petrushka, then on to other composers. It didnt stop there.
Byrd was also a jazz fan. Hed taken Selkirk to the jazz clubs theyd
had in Manhattan then. Hed also introduced Selkirk to the theater, taking
him to Broadway shows that college students could still afford at that time.
God, Selkirk couldnt believe how ignorant hed been back then.
Hed been smart enough at his studies, that was how hed gotten a
scholarship, but he knew almost nothing about the outside world. He didnt
even know there was such a thing as Wall Street, not to mention stocks and
bonds.
As Selkirk listened, the scene before him faded, as did his good
feeling. His three roommates were now all gone. Not that hed stayed in
touch with them, but the alumni magazine that followed him no matter that
hed moved around the country and never given his address, always listed
deaths. Dave had gone at an early age, then Lee, then Byrd. When he was
floundering around after college, hed thought about them, imagining their
successes. It wasnt a good time for him to contact them. Later, when he
was finally settled down, it had seemed too late.
And now it was too late to tell them how much theyd meant
to him, especially Byrd. And when he was gone? Thered be no one
whod remember those nights when theyd listen to music, discuss the
issues raised in their philosophy classes, talk about anything and everything,
then around midnight go to the cafeteria that was still open, have coffee and
Danishes, flirt with the waitress, and continue to talk, talk.
He heard the door open and his wife Ruth came in. I heard
the music, she said.
Yes, Stravinskys Petrushka.
Are you all right? You look funny.
Im okay. I might be getting a cold.
Ill make some tea.
Good. Selkirk turned off his iPad and went into the
bathroom. He washed his face with cold water. That was better. He knew it was
no use regretting the past. He knew Ruth was waiting for him to come out so
they could have their tea and she could tell him all about whatever club or
committee meeting shed been to. But the music of Petrushka
was still playing in his head. Maybe he wouldnt listen to it again.