WHEN WORLDS....COLLIDE
uh, no that's not precise....howabout coalesce?

After dropping off the colloquium's resident countertenor, Norman, at the train station,Wendy and checked into the Westin and we dilly-dallied for an hour or so, then did the obligatory trek to Navy Pier and took our requisite Ferris Wheel ride. Gorgeous is Chicago on such perfect days!
When we came back to the hotel we thought we'd have a small, mid-afternoon repaste and Wendy had thought she'd heard there was a Tapas on the second floor. Got there and, lo and behold, there was the registration of the American Cantors Association! Yarmulkas and smiling faces and lively greetings in abundance were everywhere.
Being the never trepedatious crasher, I sauntered into their exhibits, beautiful shawls and headwear that reminded me of Fr. Hayne's final homily, glistening jewelry and gemstone articles, artwork, books of music that seemed to indicated a heavy leaning towards the Reformed and Conservative branches of Judaism, ie. guitar straps and accoutrements were the dead giveaway.
My grin must've given me away as the goy Cheshire Cat fer shure.
Anyways, I thought it an interesting confluence. I'd love to stick around. We were returning to the room and a young man with kids was chatting up a short, compact and attractive middle aged woman, remarking how he was a "life-long fan" of hers. It was sweet, but kind of NPMish in a way.
Anyway, I mused about what it would be like to have an impromptu session where our two traditions could weave their melodies and our shared scriptural treasures together. Muse. "Neither Greek nor Jew..."
We're going to check out, drive the rental around Chicago for three hours, then onto O'Hare and San Francisco.
Kathy, if you read this, email me at scurradei (at) sbcglobal (dot) net, thanks.
Shalom.