The Unthinkable

It has finally happened. What we NEVER EVER thought could possibly happen. The Karaoke Queen has met the self proclaimed Karaoke Champion.

It happened late after work. It was 3 am, and my new friend and I decided that late night consumption of New York style pizza was a necessity. We walked a block down Steinway to the "other" Broadway. Taxis and private cars shuttled the intoxicated home, as we approached the joint on this Saturday night now turned Sunday morning.

We grabbed our super-sized slices of cheese pizza and sat around the corner from the register for some privacy to discuss what girls need to talk about at 3 am after a long night and week of barely surviving the city. About halfway through the slice, two guys walked between our table and the tables surrounding us in the rear of the joint. One was carrying a guitar case and bid us a good evening. He told us he was going to serenade us.

Great. A serenade at 3ish in the morning from a greasy, long-haired man when all we ever wanted was a greasy piece of pizza and a gossip sesh of two commiserating girls trying to sty afloat in NYC. Well, being a performer, I had to give the guy some credit. He must really love his music to play beyond his shift for two girls scarfing down pizza in a dirty Astoria pizza joint.

I turned to him and listened intently, and decided a beer was a perfect partner to me in this most unexpected of situations. I watched him play his guitar with such conviction. He began to perspire, and with his eyes closed he sang with such passion, I could only admire his devotion to this free performance. He was far from my favorite voice, but there was something about the way that he delivered the song that made me want to hear more.

We clapped for his song, and after some idle chatter, I came to find out he was a "Karaoke Champion". I now knew why I felt a kindred connection to this strange guitar man. Fate had brought the Karaoke Champion to the Karaoke Queen in the late night and early morning of a pizza joint in Queens...

This was yet another moment in my life where I had to take a mental picture. We decided to stay for a few more songs. The owner of the joint, also a musician, shared some music as he borrowed the guitar and the strange guitar man used the table as a drum set.

As we finished our pizza, and they finished their song, we gathered our things and walked out of the joint and said goodbye. Dawn began to fill the sky and I walked home to 31st ave. I was disappointed that my night's sleep was shortened, but at the same time, I was so thankful for the encounter. There really is never a dull moment.-M