Long ago when my wife and I were still courting I took her to Chicago's famed Quiet Knight to see Dory Previn (her choice). Ms. Previn was very popular at the time so they turned the house over between sets but, since I was a friend of the manager and staff, they invited us to sit through for the second show. We were amazed to find that the second set was to be identical---word for word---to the first. Each story, joke, apology, and gesture was identical to the first show.

Too polite to leave during a performance, we stayed. Half way through the second show, tragedy struck. She had launched into a rather long rap (5-7 minutes) leading into a song I no longer remember when, several minutes into the rap, she became confused and lost her place. There was a moment of obvious confusion and and finally, she started over from the top! It was evidently the only way she could find her way into the next number.

I concluded that any communication taking place was merely in the imagination of the audience and her whole trip was merely self-indulgence.

      - Mark