The Piano Man

“From a town known

As Oyster Bay, Long Island

Rode a boy with a six-pack in his hand”

He grew up watching Billy Joel sing at Madison Square Garden with his two best friends. They took the Long Island Railroad to Manhattan and slept on the sidewalk in hopes of scoring tickets they could afford. It was a ritual they performed more times than he could count to hear someone famous sing about the streets where they were raised.

“But I'm taking a Greyhound

On the Hudson River Line

I'm in a New York state of mind”

30 years later, he is on his way to New York City to meet his oldest daughter at an Italian restaurant. She recently graduated and spent one of her first paychecks on Billy Joel tickets.

My dad and I make our way to Madison Square Garden for the 100th concert in The Entertainer’s residency. We sing along to “Only the Good Die Young” and “Uptown Girl," songs I learned from the passenger seat on the way to childhood soccer games and swim meets. My dad smiles at my side while Billy Joel sings a song about his own daughter.

Our seats are in the back row of the arena, behind the stage. All we can see is Billy’s bald head, but my dad doesn’t mind; he reminisces on concerts of years past while The Piano Man plays him a memory.