We ported yesterday in Livorno, Italy. Yes, ported is a word.
It was the last time I’ll be stepping foot in Italy for what might be a great while, so with my last few Italian hours, I went on a mission for some Italian dress shoes. I always mess up shoe shopping, and naturally I got the cheapest, best looking, most uncomfortable shoes in the place. I can just never tell if they are comfortable or not by walking 10 feet back and forth in the shoe shop with the sales clerk looking on impatiently. I swear I’ll take anything.
Today we visited Monte Carlo for the last time. It was raining, 52 degrees and the seas were rough. Even now, as we sail for the island of Coorsica, the boat is rocking enough for us all to be popping sea-sickness pills and chomping at green apples (people say they help seasickness).
A strange thing happened today. I was standing in line at McDonalds, minding my own business and trying to get a cheeseburger when a pretty french girl comes up and tells me that her friends challenged her to lay a big, fat smooch right on my lips. So I finish paying for my burger and she lands one right on me. Needless to say, this goes against all principles of courtship that I have ever learned or experienced. I guess it was lucky that she was good-looking – I think that it would have landed on me no matter what the circumstances. This wasn’t something that was on my official “Things To Do Before I Die” list, but had I any idea that these things were possible, I might well have placed it there before today. The smell of burgers and mayonnaise must have some sort of animalistic effect on the French?
David J. Hahn
David J. Hahn is a Broadway conductor and keyboard player. He co-founded MusicianWages.com with Cameron Mizell in 2008. Visit his new project, Songwriter.fm and sign up for his songwriting newsletter.
