Folktale. ” The Emperor and the nightingale”.  the bird with the  singing that melts the heart of men.  i looked for a likeness of the bird .  greatest disappointment,  no bird of paradise plumage to match the divine singing.  instead the drabbest grey bird.

Years later,  i was at a  Jet-setters party in Paris.  the Beautiful People  of Tout Paris was there.  every one  elegant  and handsome except for one young lady,   homely and  shy.  To entertain themselves,  the ” beautiful people”   picked on her :  ”  what is the hunchback of Notre Dame doing here? her parents must have deep pockets …”  out of pity,  i went to keep her company.  then we walked to the piano, there  she stomped the keyboard and belted out  blues melodies like the best of  pros.  rocked the house . the queen of the party for the rest of the evening.  Some time later i saw the movie ” Au revoir les enfants” by Francois Truffaut.  a shy young boy becomes the hero of the day when he hits the keyboard to the sounds of jazz.  was Truffaut there , witnessing the event?

Nightingales of the world, stand up and sing your song.