COMMUNICATIONS

The texts I write here reach you each time in English. The translator is always John Breen, an erstwhile colleague of mine.

He is almost the same age as me; a fine old age. And yet, he is to this day a member of an MMA gym.

I rather like watching MMA, and I have on occasion had conversations with Mr. Breen on that subject. In fact, in 2004 I visited a gym in Rio de Janeiro, a famous Brazilian jiujitsu gym. I once boasted of that fact to Mr. Breen. Well, there was no one else who would understand why it was significant!

“Why don’t you come training with me?” Mr. Breen would ask, but I had to decline. If I were to injure my fingers or arms in training, I would be in trouble. Injuries would interfere with my piano playing. I want to take this opportunity to explain why I declined his invitation. Forgive me: I wrote this disagreeable short piece in order to proclaim my love of the piano.