Jessye Norman Amphitheater

So I dropped my luggage in room 666, map in hand, inappropriately dressed for the cold, but looking impractically chic. Just loved how the traffic light posts spoke to me: «wait! Wait!» Wait!” as I kept pressing the button just to hear it. Did it so often in each traffic light I encountered that I skipped psychotherapy that week. I decided to put everything on hold… and waited.
Augusta’s River Walk overlooks the Savannah River and on the other side incredibly gorgeous homes of South Carolina. The weather man had predicted cloudy skies and he was wrong. The sky could not have looked more blue (will not use the correct «bluer,» because it’s shortness sounds so limiting and this sky was boundless) or more spacious.
As I sat on the steps of the Jessye Norman Amphitheater, I thought about Louis Armstrong and his rendition of «What a wonderful World»… and now that technology is prevalent, I pulled out my cell phone and YouTubed it. The place was deserted… an old lady feeding some birds and a grandchild giddily watching. Some rowers practicing for the Regatta which was to take place the next day. Red buoys bobbing and floating marking the course. Bare limbs on trees calling forth Christmas.
I felt a pang of envy wishing I could listen to Norah Jones or Diana Krall playing her piano right there. From what I heard when I inquired to some of the bartenders I met later on… the amphitheater is barely used now. Forgotten. It is sometimes rented for around $ 300 as a wedding ceremony venue, but concerts have become a rarity. I can’t think of another place where I might watch a concert so perfectly nested. So I sat there enjoying the concert in my head.