I long for face-to-face encounters

Until we meet face to face, words are all we have. There’s someone I seldom see these days. Perhaps once in a while on a WhatsApp when we engage the video by mistake. A random Instagram post with her face on it, that I might linger on a bit longer than others…

But those images are not our faces, I’m coming to realise. A face is not just an arrangement of features, a shape that can be easily rendered as pixels and fired through the broadband network for presentation to others.

Our faces and our physical bodies, are so dynamic, real and responsive. They are an authentic expression of our living selves.

This person I used to see, I really miss her face these days. Perhaps more than her spirit. The spirit you can access through verbal and written communication, which transcends the physical. But ah, our bodies, our faces. She has a way about her. She surprises you with what she knows.

Once, we were discussing ’70s pop groups, way before her time, and she asserted, “The Bee Gees are way better than ABBA!”

Shocked to hear so broad a statement from a millennial, I looked within myself and realised that I wasn’t sure where I really stood on the issue. Cue several weeks of studious listening to both bands before I came to the understanding that, indeed, yes, the Bee Gees are vastly better than ABBA!

The Bee Gees’ career spanned about five decades, while ABBA barely managed a decade. The brothers Gibb segued across styles and musical philosophies, from folk to rock to disco. And the songwriting had a power and poignancy that never dimmed.

Also, I think my friend’s family used to play the one Bee Gees album in the car when she was growing up. That’s why she liked the Bee Gees!

The album in question was One Night Only, a live recording made during a series of concerts the Bee Gees gave in Las Vegas towards the end of their career. It’s a definitive career showcase, better than a greatest hits, because it’s live and in person, with all of the passion and energy that implies.

Meeting your friends in person is like a live performance. Texting and having Zoom chats is a bit like the album version.