Have you ever wondered what to get someone? Given my age and RQS's age, neither of us needs more stuff. Instead, we need experiences of the types we couldn't have while married to our late spouses. Both of us enjoy travel together, and both of us enjoy going to live performances. So I look out for musicians, comedians, and theatrical performances that I think the two of us will like, and get tickets for her as one of my gifts.
For Christmas, I bought tickets to "The Play That Goes Wrong", and she loved it. For Valentine's Day, I bought tickets to see A.J. Croce singing songs written by his dad about 50 years ago. (I was a great fan of his dad, and his death shocked me when I was much younger than I am now.) Hopefully, this performance will do justice to his dad's work. And for RQS's birthday, I bought tickets for us to see Sarah Millican in concert. Given that we both want to see this comedienne, I expect that we will have a great time.
However, not all tickets are easy to get. Nor do many of the performers I like make it to the United States that often. For example, RQS and I tried to get tickets to see the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, and their "nearby" USA concerts are already sold out. Ouch. And don't get me started on Ralph McTell. I don't remember when he last toured the states, and I would love to hear him perform Streets of London in person.
There are many performers I wish I could have seen while they were touring, or while they were alive. For example, I kick myself for not seeing Ennio Morricone when he was last in New York. Now that he has passed away, I'll have to settle for the music he left behind. Another performer I doubt I will get the chance to see is Astrud Gilberto. Yes, "The Girl from Ipanema" is one of my favorite songs. Since she is in her 80's, I doubt she'll be in the NYC area again.
In life, it is the experiences that count. And they can't take away the memories of those experiences we had - especially if they are cherished by the people we share them with.
