Walking through the park this evening, I came around the end of the lake and noticed two guys near a staircase that I planned to take. Both wore jeans and blue chambray shirts, and they were struggling to put a guitar back into its case. As I got closer I heard snatches of English, and also realized that both of them were dead drunk. They looked harmless and good-natured, and there were plenty of people around, so I figured I'd just walk quickly past, say a polite "hi" if necessary, and there wouldn't be any problem. One of the guys, with long blond hair, was sitting on a concrete wall, with the guitar and case precariously balanced on his lap, and he leaned forward as he turned the guitar in his hands, and something - a nickel maybe - fell into the mud in front of his feet. The other guy, who had curly blond hair, pointed at the ground with an exaggerated gesture, and swayed on his feet as the first man tried and failed to lean over and pick it up. By then I was almost in front of them. They both looked at me, and I said, "Hey,"and kept walking.
The long-haired guy looked up, smiled, and said in a sweet but loud voice, "Hi, honey, how're ya doin'?
His companion looked at me, swayed, rolled his eyes, and swept one arm out in my direction in a generous bow, then reached over and swatted his seated friend, as if to say, "You idiot! This is how you greet a woman!" Then he looked at me again and said, "BonJOUR, madame! BonJOUR!"
That's so cute and made me laugh out loud. Thank you.
Posted by: marja-leena | October 01, 2006 at 10:07 PM
A lovely moment shared!
Posted by: Susan | October 02, 2006 at 09:28 AM
I enjoyed that a great deal.
Posted by: language hat | October 02, 2006 at 10:40 AM
Made me laugh.
Posted by: MB | October 02, 2006 at 11:38 AM
Wonderfully told. Perfect. And yes, very Montreal.
Posted by: dale | October 02, 2006 at 02:50 PM
Another hundred such moments, Beth, and you've got a book. The Book of Moments.....
Posted by: Tom Montag | October 06, 2006 at 06:12 AM