Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong "ella and louis"

For the life of me i cannot remember how i discovered this album. I have vivid memories of it throughout my life and if those memories are to be trusted this disc has been with me for a long, long time. I can remember blaring this CD on the in house sound system of the italian restaurant i worked at during my first couple years of college. I would go early in the morning to clean the dining room for extra money, and more importantly the lavish breakfasts that the old lady who prepped food in the morning would make me. I am pretty sure i would have starved to death were it not for her kindness and the heaping plates of meat, eggs and potatoes she would set out for me. I had never asked for them and every morning i was scheduled to come in she would have the glorious food set out and would stubbornly insist i was too skinny (something i have not heard in many years). While i scarfed the food at a stainless steel prep table she would go back to hand rolling meatballs and sprinkling seasoning in her giant cauldron of sauce. One of those mornings she asked about this album that i had been playing daily. She remarked: "not many people your age listen to good music anymore." And she asked if i would put the music in a tape for her. Anyone who collects music lives for these moments; the opportunity to share the music you've discovered and collected. It was a small way to show my appreciation but I was so glad to do it. I remember drawing a heart shaped egg on the cover of the cassette and writing "for Mary, breakfast for two" in my best script. I had driven through that college town not too long ago and that italian restaurant was gone. Not just a change of ownership but was demolished. It surprised me how sad it struck me. Listening to this album now I'm thinking of her, I'm sure she passed this mortal coil long ago but I'm feeling grateful listening to this disc this morning and remembering her. I'm going to make my youngest some eggs for breakfast and try to channel the kindness she showed me in her memory.