Intimate Connections

S and I witnessed something pretty cool last night.

We went to a local bar in our little village near De-Twah, specifically for a beer and their $2 Tuesday night burgers.

We got there so late, the karaoke lady was already set up and beginning to lure customers into foisting their shower-singing-only voices on the rest of us poor sots. Can you tell that I don't like karaoke?

I really don't!

We're talking and eating (more like inhaling; we were hungry!). Several people had gotten up to sing, including a small-framed, older man wearing a snappy-looking black beret. Karaoke Lady called him Bob James. "Let's welcome Bob James back up here!" she boomed into the mike.

Bob sang bluesy songs, with this deep, growly bass voice. An amazingly big voice for such a small person. And he sang with soul. He altered the lyrics, stretched the tempo, made you hear and feel the words anew. He was amazingly good, especially for a karaoke singer (I can't believe I just wrote that!).

By now, S and I had pretty much figured out that this guy is a regular, and he's doing his Tuesday night karaoke gig, you know? He strolled up there, after the third or fourth time, to sing "Georgia on My Mind." And, in a surprise twist of ritual, Karaoke Lady started singing a duet with him, the man and woman taking turns singing.

We already know that ol' Bob can 'kick it out.' But now, Karaoke Lady starts singin' back to him, this young white girl, and she's stretching the tempo, pulling amazing power out of her voice to glide into pitches, teasing the feeling out of the music. And then it's Bob's turn and he's growlin' out soulful words back to her.

At first, I could feel it in my body. And then S turned to me saying, "Something pretty special's happening up there." And we could feel it together in that darkened, crummy bar: a connection, an intimate connection of two souls, singing to one another, touching each other's inner being, a long, slow, bluesy declaration of ain't-life-a-beautiful-thing? And we were witnessing it. By the end of the song, the wandering attention of the bar customers was focused on those two and the bar erupted with applause.

And I felt like I had experienced something spiritual.