Hallelujah

We hit Market Days last night in downtown Concord.

This is a delicious summer indulgence where the main street of town is shut down and vendors set up shop to hawk their wares.

There is music, food, a variety of entertainment, people and their dogs, sunshine, moonshine and summer ease.

It is cool.

Just a few minutes into our stroll we came across a man and his guitar.

Singing "Hallelujah."

This is the epitome of what this is all about. This gets to the very core of special summer events.

Here was a guy bravely performing an achingly beautiful song alone on a summer night as hundreds of people leisurely strolled by digging on whatever caught their attention.

We wandered slowly, stopping to poke and to peak, in and out of stores, in and out of tents and booths, talking to each other, considering and comparing treasures.

Carol bought a divine dress, I bought a used CD of Cajun music, we spent some and saved a lot.

We explored a couple of stores that we will go back and rediscover when things are quieter and the bank balance is louder.

Made a lot of mental notes.

Checked out three bands in three different locations.

One was good. We caught the last song of their set and it brought the funk.

One was so bad. They were playing "Old Time Rock 'N Roll" and it took me a minute or so to figure out what the hell they were playing. In addition there was a shirtless guy dancing wildly in front of the band with a cigarette up his nose.

I don't know if he was with the band or just some local working to attract woman with his charm.

The third band was more professional. Sponsored by The River - 92.5 - a great independent station in MA.

Heard two songs. One we liked. One we didn't.

We ended the night by strolling back the length of the street to a burrito place highly recommended by our son. Dos Amigos Burritos. Go there and rejoice.

We had to WAIT. It was close to 9:00 but the place was hopping.

We finally got the food and dragged it back to a table. These burritos were so big, so stuffed, so heavy, they looked like tree trunks.

Goddamn delicious.

And they served booze. Thankfully. I didn't expect that. I really wanted a beer to wash down the grub but all the beer had been consumed. So I had a weak margarita.

As any sophisticate knows, on a summer night even a weak margarita is better than no margarita at all.

We began the casual stroll back to The Peace Mobile and heard dialogue and laughter.

Red River Theatres was showing "Duck Soup" on an outdoor screen.

Carol had mentioned this to me earlier in the day but I shot the idea down because I didn't want to be out too late seeing as how I am working in Hell today and all.

What a wimp.

We stopped. We laughed. At The Marx Brothers. With the audience. Together.

Red River had set up bleachers, a lot of people had their own chairs.

Another quintessential summer experience.

We hung for fifteen minutes or so, then hit the road.

Last night was a summer night. A real summer night.

A night Carol and I shared together. Walking, talking, shopping, laughing, eating, listening to music, digging on a movie.

We even made it home early enough to catch The Sox beating the royals.

Summer, man.

Summer is life at the right pace.