#GettingBetterAllTheTimeMacca #GetWellSoonPaul . - THAT WAS ME STANDING IN FRONT OF MACCAS HOUSE w/ WINGS SHIRT ON HIS BiRTHDAY - w/ his signed ukelele from Paul.. .#WalzerCarluccio note: This pic was printed in the Daily Mail.... here is the mystery mans story I woke up in the morning of 18th June, had a shower, shaved my face, wore my Wings tee which I had bought in Verona, took my CV and my ukulele signed in Milan and I went out. After my job appointment, I went walking to Saint Johns Wood. I passed by Abbey Road: There was the usual load of people crossing the zebra, taking photos, leaving messages on the studios walls. While passing through them I imagined how many of those people knew that that day was actually Pauls birthday and that he lived a mere five minutes walking from there. I crossed the zebra -Of course- and went through to Cavendish Avenue. With some surprise, approaching the house, I saw nobody was there, as I was absolutely expecting. It was around noon and the street was somewhat desert. Passing people from time to time. Silence all around -As possible in central London-. Some neighbor popping up to pick up his mail. I started to play the ukulele while walking through Abbey Road, even before passing the studios, and while I was walking I was studying the chords for Let Em In, so as I arrived at number 7 I had it nailed down. I took off my jacket, left it on the ground, leant myself on the wall on the left side of the front gate and started strumming and singing some songs. I played and sang Ram On, Silly Love Songs, Let Em In and Honey Pie. As I was singing or during breaks between songs I kept checking the black tinted windows on the upper flat of the house, the only ones that are actually visible from the street, hoping for someone behind recognizing me. In my symbolic gesture, It would have been great just to imagine that Paul could have been inside listening to me. I really didnt expect that would actually be reality in just minutes. After a rough half hour of playing, during which slightly embarrassed yet curious pedestrians passed me through from time to time, I decided I had enough, as the atmosphere was too much calm and I was starting to think that maybe Paul was in Peasmarsh for his party. But I still wanted to leave a sign of my passage. Noticing a writing on the wall on the other side of the gate, I decided to leave my message as well, a-la Abbey Road. I didnt have a marker pen with me, only a regular pen, which is not so great if youre willing to write on London stock bricks, so I had to press it a lot to get some visible sign on the wall. Doing so I sometime had to stop as I noticed people coming, it is a private wall after all so I wanted to avoid any complication within the neighborhood. It took me a lot just to write down Happy Birthday Paul - Walzer, something like ten minutes, and I didnt even finish doing so as THE INCREDIBLE happened. As I was writing, suddenly I heard a flash. I turned -As I always did in the last minutes as I heard someone approaching while writing on the wall- and I saw this well dressed photographer shooting as someone on his left -My right-. I leaned moreover on my right and then I saw him standing there! Sir James Paul McCartney! Macca! Paul Ramon! Percy Thrills Thrillington! The Fireman! Paulie! The Man was walking, holding hands with Lady Nancy. He was coming back home. The couple was wearing sport outfits and shades, I think they were coming back from a gym as Paul was holding a towel beneath his right arm. He smiled at the paparazzo and kept coming his way. Which was MY way. I instantly took the ukulele, and I had to quickly think of something to play for him. I decided to play Ram On, which as I wrote before was I think the very first ukulele-conceived song Ive ever heard. I started to play the very first chords, as the couple were very little meters from me. Paul smiled at me. I think he recognized the song, even if I didnt reach the sung part, as I had stopped playing while the two were passing in front of me. Paul was just a meter from me. I couldnt believe it but it was happening. Then, with an incredible self-control, I kindly said Happy birthday, Paul. He replied me Thank you, man!. Which was exactly the answer I was expecting! I noticed during the last years that Paul got quite an habit to end his sentences with man while addressing someone. Then, Out of nowhere, Nancy sneaked into the conversation adding a Nice shirt!, with a very strong New York accent, referencing my Wings tee. Hehe, nice move. Also, I think that was the very first time I heard Nancys voice. Just as I was thanking her, the couple was about to get into their property: The automated gate opened silently and very quickly just as these few words were spoken, and it was starting to close again as quickly as it opened. I roughly tried to catch Pauls attention once more, pointing at his signature on my uke and telling him Paul, do you recognize this ukulele? You signed it!. At first it seemed to me that he stopped for a millisecond to look at it, but he didnt reply to that. Anyway the gate was now almost completely close, so I thought there wasnt time for him to see it more. Finally, as the gate closed, I heard Paul telling me from inside Hey, sorry if I do, but can I kindly ask you to leave this space now? This is a private space. Thanks. man I dont really think a sidewalk is actually a private space, anyway I totally understood what he meant and I for nothing wanted to cause him any harm, so I obviously obliged. Before doing so I finally finished writing my name on the wall for my dedication. Then I took my jacket and my ukulele and walked away. Or maybe I flied! I checked the clock and it was a quarter to 1 p.m. Now I ACTUALLY met Paul McCartney, I ACTUALLY spoke to him and I ACTUALLY played for him. My life is now complete! I can die with a smile on my face right now, I said to myself. As I was turning the corner of Circus Road I was still buzzing, trying to reach my friends phone to tell him the stunning news. I wasnt able to do so, but as I was trying I started to realize that it was actually a hardly believable story: No one was there to witness what had just happened and I had no photographic evidence of the event -Because for me it was certainly a life-affirming event-. I thought only three persons witnessed the brief meeting: Me, Paul and Nancy. So it was a sort of a intimate memory, which I though in the end was a nice thing. Returning back to Abbey Road I for another time passed through all the people photographing and signing, people who couldnt know that Paul was actually a few yards away, and that that long haired guy passing by their side was able to meet him. I felt very proud of my secret consciousness, have to admit. As I came back home, I wrote on FaceBook about the incredible story. To my surprise and amusement, a lot of friends believed me even without been able to see a proof of it all. I told them that it was in the end good that no visual evidence of what happened was available. After a few hours, by the way, I decided to detect the Daily Mail website to see if maybe there was an article about the birthday morning fitness session of the McCartneys, as it was the same page I saw photos of the two the day before. To my astonishment, there was! It was already on, and the second photo on the article showed me, Walzer, pointing at my ukulele as the couple was entering the gate! Also, there was another pic of Paul smiling at me -Even if Im not in the photo. You can only see Macca smiling looking at something (Or someone) on his left-! Evidently the paparazzo didnt went away, as I believed, and he was able to capture the moment. I was on the moon! Not only I was on the Daily Mail -Which is quite something by the way-, but finally I had at least one photo proving that, yes, I MET PAUL McCARTNEY. Thinking about it retroactively, as just five days after all this it was my birthday, I do believe that in the end it wasnt me doing a present for him, but the other way round. I met him! I did it! Thank my lucky stars!
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:18:24 +0000
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