I Forgot the Bridge and the Room Forgave Me

senior moment on stage. mind went blank mid-bridge. forty years and the muscle memory failed for four seconds that felt like four years. bassist caught the form without looking. singer ad-libbed. we landed. afterward a woman said she loved the "reinterpretation." i didn't reinterpret. i survived. there's a difference musicians my age understand and audiences sometimes bless you by not knowing. sound check is where you learn who is listening and who is posing. tonight everyone listened. that is rarer than applause. i wrote a reminder on my case to check the bridge cable before saturday. aging hands need maintenance the way horns do. the craft is not youth. it is attention repeated until the room believes you. after the gig a kid asked how long i have been playing. long enough to know the wrong note is only fatal if you panic. i told him to record himself and count how often he rushes when he is nervous. he looked disappointed i did not offer magic. the magic is showing up when the magic fails.