Piano Tuner

So my wee man has been taking piano lessons for a bit and our piano is way out of tune and I mean out of tune. I finally got around to calling and having someone come and tune it for us.
He was suppose to come this morning, but about 20 minutes before he calls and says he had an unexpected appointment and depending on the outcome could he come after or if need be reschedule. He said it was health related and I said, "Of course, you have to take care of your health." He thanked me and said "I will either come by after my appointment or give you a call back."

A couple hours go by and he phones to tell me he will be by in a few minutes. He pulls up and out comes this older, full white beard, shorter type gentleman carrying a small tackle-like box. He comes in, looks at the piano, asks how we got it and checks it out. He tells me this is going to be a shock to the system, meaning that this piano is way out of tune and I'm like, "yea buddy, I know."

He then asked who played and I said my son, he is a beginner player. We small talked about music and I tell him how I am envious of anyone who has any sort of musical talent. I tell him about my grandparents and how my granddad and his brothers were all self-taught, but highly talented musicians and my nanny played the violin. I said somehow all that talent skipped me, he laughed. He said it is nice that I'm giving my kids the opportunity to play and I joked saying they had no choice.

I left him to get started on tuning the piano and then a few minutes later as I walked by, he stops and starts talking to me. At first thought, I didn't pay much attention, but then I could sense something was bothering him, he goes on about his health and how healthy he has been and it was at his wife's urging that he go to the doctor. He said I'm not sure what is going to come after all this, but I don't want to get caught in the system, you know, I'm an older man and I've seen so many get caught, I still have control over myself, so I imagine there is going to be a some sort of conflict after all is said and done.
I felt a bit uncomfortable, as I wasn't quite sure what to say, but then I thought, maybe he needs to just talk, so I didn't ask any questions, I just let him talk and I listened. He told me how he has led a full life of 73 years and if he goes, he wants to be in control, but then he would pause and say, it's my wife. I don't believe in miracles and she is not a patient women, I love her and I know she loves me, but I wouldn't want to do that to her, I don't want her to play nurse. And then I said, "maybe that is why we are so afraid, because death is out of our hands, we typically don't get to say when our time is up," and then I gave him a smile and said, "there is no guarantee that I will be here tomorrow, we just have to make the best with what we have."

He goes on about how he use to talk to people that he no longer talks to, regrets of the things he didn't do and how he accepted it. He spoke of his mother, his uncle who led a life as a bootlegger and then he said, I'm sorry, not sure why I just told you all this and I smiled, I wanted to talk to him, give him some words of wisdom, but I just said, "you're good."

A moment ago this was a stranger, but after listening to him, I felt connected to him. He finished tuning the piano and then played three songs, all of which sounded vaguely familiar and I thanked him for playing those, I said, those were beautiful." He smiled and started to gather his things.
I wasn't sure what to say, here was a man who shared his thoughts and fears, I wanted to hug him, but I didn't. I said, "I'll see you in a couple months for another tuning," he said, "yes do." And then I said, "it was lovely meeting you, enjoy the rest of the day." He smiled grabbed my hand and said, "No, thank you - you are lovely, your partner is a lucky man, cherish each other." I smiled and said, thank you and until next time......

I don't why the man shared the thoughts he did with me, I'm not even sure he meant to, I certainly don't have the answers to life, but I know that sometimes we are so easily caught up in the happenings of our own things, that we become entangled in our own world that often times we forget to look out.
That we've forgotten to listen when someone says, "how are you," most of the time we don't even wait for a response or we just say "good." We are no longer connected, which is ironic. We live in a digital age...where we are literally connected to the world, but are those real connections? When this man walked in, I felt a sense of sadness and I hope on some level after he left, he felt a sense of relief, that what he was able to share was off his chest and he could enjoy the rest of the day.

I know that I will enjoy the rest of my day because of this man, because of his honesty.

"The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to just listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention....A loving silence often has far more power to heal and connect the most well-intentioned words." - Rachel Naomi Remen