Yesterday morning, I pulled back the comforter on our bed and found three small faded blue smiley faces on the white sheet.
I was naturally caught off guard but tried to remain calm.
I looked around.
Perhaps we were victims of a tiny guerrilla graffiti artist who sneaks into peoples homes and tattoos their sheets. Maybe James was playing a joke on me.
Then I realized what had happened.
It all started a couple of years ago when someone submitted a copy of Nick Jaina‘s album “Wool” to the show James works on. Somehow it landed on James’s desk and then in his iTunes, unheard. Months later, while traveling and writing in Korea, James stumbled on the album and gave it a listen. And another listen… and another…
Last week, a group of our friends went to hear Nick play at the Echo Curio in Echo Park. After I gave my “suggested donation” of $5, my hand was marked with a little blue smiley face.
Hours passed. We discovered another artist that I’m currently obsessing over: Eliza Rickman. The night wore on and we even had a surprise visit to the impound to pick up a towed car.
At *some* point I wound up face down and dead tired in my bed, the smiley face on my hand completely forgotten. In my sleep, I must have left my hand in those three places long enough for the ink to sink into the sheet and away from my skin.
I like things like that: whether it’s an album that mysteriously appears on your iTunes, finding a new artist when you go to hear another play, or smiley faces showing up on your sheets.
I like finding a series of small happy things where I least expect them.
