The Man on the Keys

The fog had set in on the dark road that winds Topsfield into Beverly

lights were spinning 360 at the small airport and they were distracting my driving

so I quickly began gulping the hot coffee in my right hand, clutching the wheel with my left

(Captain Joe taught us that in a pinch you should always hit the gas, not the brake, but that's a story for another day...)

I had been thinking about "Man on the Keys"

a song on the night's setlist

I'd always imagined the song to be about a pianist

but it turns out that the WIFE of the man on the keys was a nurse

the first nurse who told Gary he likely had MS

she could tell, because she herself had MS

her husband didn't believe her so he left her (and their children)

and moved to the Florida Keys

likely the most heart wrenching tale I've ever played in G major