Dunkin's Version of the Coffee Shoppe

My wife and I are in the middle of buying a new house. It is a complicated business transaction with multiple stress factors coming from many angles. I won't go into the details at this time. However, I am sure that there will be future song a days that will be inspired by that. I already know two that I expect to be using in the coming week or so.

But my song for today became apparent as I got my morning coffee at DD. The radio was pumping out "Dont'cha" by thePussycat Dolls. This is not the song of the day.

At the corner table was, shall I say, a neighborhood character. He looked a little like Gene Hackman after the worst bender in the world, was wearing a plaid shirt and a black baseball hat with PDQ on it. In his hands was a paperback book (I couldn't see the title) that had many pieces of paper stuffed into it at random points.

As I was waiting in line, he began speaking at a moderate level. I couldn't tell if it was talking to himself speak, or talking so that he could be heard by others speak. I do know that myself and the others were doing our best to ignore him.

When I placed my order he was still speaking, and I suddenly heard a phrase I recognized. In a sing-songy cadence that was more talking than singing but had enough of a singing tone to it that it seemed as if he was "reciting" I heard him say, "When a man named Al Capone / tried to make that town his own."

Yes, local character was reciting Paper Lace. I smiled to myself and knew I had my song for the day.