This is who put the joie back into my vie

I've been having a stubborn case of adult-sighs lately. Bring in the bill-laden mail. Sigh. Fill up the gas tank. Sigh, sigh. Watch the weather channel: 107 heat index. Too hot to sigh.

Switched over to the municipal access channel to find out the latest info on construction-related interruptions of water service. Sigh, dammit, sigh.

Caught the last few minutes of a rebroadcast of the Emma Havens School musical concert from last June. Ten-year-old kids tootling their hearts out on flutes and clarinets and saxophones and trombones -- and they are dreadful. So dreadful that tears are streaming down my face from laughing. Wrong notes. Off key. No timing. Music teacher waving his baton as if he actually had control over this group. The song, whatever it was, comes to a stuttering end. Polite applause from the conscripted audience of classmates.

And then, and then… a special performance by a boy in baggy long shorts, huge fluorescent sneakers, and thick glasses. He dons his faux-Fender guitar, plugs it into a tiny amp, and starts playing an absolutely awesome version of "Stairway to Heaven."

I move to the floor to sit directly in front of the TV because I really don't believe it. It's incredible. He finishes the song, looks up bashfully at the audience, and then does a double fist pump. He brings down the house.

And that's who put the joie back into my vie.