And His Kingdom Will Have no End

I learned in Mass today that the Easter season is a 50 day period of celebration, which stands in striking contrast to my past celebrations of it. Before I experienced it as the day of the Risen Lord; now, I realize that this is only the beginning--a quite surprising and awesome beginning--and that the days that follow are worthy of contemplation as well [days leading up to Pentecost]. These are the days where Christ began the great work of building his kingdom and church on the earth through the apostles, a period leading up to the great outpouring of God's power as he gives the Holy Spirit to the disciples and those who recieve the message of the Gospel.

Today at work I heard a funny story about Sergei Rachmaninoff, the famous Russian composer, from my boss. He said he had heard it from an old women when he had been younger. I will do my best to relate the second second hand story of the old women's story:

Apparently when she was a young girl/women, she went to Russia to hear Rachmaninoff perform. During the performance of one his more well known pieces, in the middle of playing it, he lost his way. Instead of stopping, he continued to play, improvising for a number of minutes until he found his way back into the piece, and, from there, played it to completion. Upon finishing, he slammed his hands down on the keyboard, threw back his head, and let out a laugh. Being a man known for his struggles with melancohia and depression, such an action was quite striking. A number of music students who knew his music well were sitting in the front row. Immediatly after he finished, fully aware of what had just happened, they all stood up and applauded furiously.
the end

I'm not sure why I found this story so interesting; regardless, I decided to write it down rather then forget it. I hope the magic contained within the verbal telling is contained in my transcription of it.