Column by Mike Barbara, Jazz Editor for Riveting Riffs Magazine
When
I was growing up in Queens, NY during the 1960’s, we lived next door to this
wonderful older couple from Ireland, who made us feel so welcome, after we
had moved out to “the country,” from our home in Brooklyn. She was a
hairdresser who worked in
New York City, and she often spoke about one of
her famous clients, Art Garfunkel. To put this into perspective, at this
particular point in the ‘60’s (Paul) Simon and Garfunkel were on the top of
the charts and were considered to be two of the hippest guys on the planet,
and because they both from Queens they were also considered to be god-like!
While I was always polite, to our neighbor, I do remember thinking that
there was no way a cool dude like Art was going to a hairdresser….but,
nearly every time the subject came up, she insisted that he was her client.
Time moved on and I graduated from high school and college, eventually I got married and I moved away. My parents however, continued to live in the same house. Fifteen years passed by, and I had not seen our old neighbors since I had moved away, but while I was attending my mother’s wake, in the old neighborhood, sure enough the hairdresser neighbor came in and sat down beside me. Now in her eighties she began to talk about Art Garfunkel.
I said to her, “You know, I’ve always been a fan of his (Garfunkel) and I sure would like to get his autograph.” She smiled, paid her respects and then left.
About a month later, I received a phone call from my father who told me that there was some mail for me at the house. I had not lived there in more than fifteen years so I asked him what it was and he said, ‘It’s a manila envelope, with a return address that just says Garfunkel.’ I asked him to open it and sure enough, it was an autographed color photo of Art in Central Park, inscribed, “For you, Michael,” with the date. I was flabbergasted…she really did know him!! That autograph is now one of my most prized possessions and I still have that envelope.
The sad part of the story is that our neighbor passed on very shortly afterwards and before I had the opportunity to see her again and apologized for all of those years of doubting her. Also, I kick myself frequently, as I think of all those potential opportunities for backstage passes…oh, ye of little faith.
Contributing writer Michael Barbara is an electric / upright bass player from New Jersey, who is active in the Jazz music scene and he is the owner of mab music
January 2010
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