Andrew J. Lederer

the summer was about to begin -- the first free concert of the year would be held that night in prospect park.

well, i usually manage to miss the first one and it's always someone good -- this year it was the neville brothers -- so i felt uncommonly lucky. i got there right on time and, though the place was packed, found a spot at the side of the stage from which i could see and hear everything. (like i said, lucky.)

then the show started and the guy to my left asked me to lift my arm from the fence in front of me.

?!

for whatever reason, i did it.

the guy thanked me, explaining that he liked to dance/move freely during the concert and didn't want my arm blocking his mobility. i looked at him like he was a weirdo and thought, "how was my arm resting on a fence going to get in the way of his dancing?!"

meanwhile, he just kept thanking me, again and again.

so i said, "fuck you."

he looked surprised and i said something along the lines of, "i like to put my arm on the fence. why is your dancing more important than my arm?"

i put my arm back on the fence as he said something like, "just don't put it in front of me."

he started moving to the music, making gentle contact with me as if i was in his way.

i pretended not to notice.

eventually, he was gone; replaced by a nice black couple.

boy, that aaron neville sings like an angel.