This is an old story and a long one but I think it's a good one. It happened when the Moody Blues went on tour with the release of Sur la mer. I went to the concert at the Baltimore Civic Center with some friends. Our seats weren't bad but they weren't great. I was the only one of us who was an avid fan of the Moody Blues so I was the only one who really wanted better seats. As soon as the Band started playing I said, "Do you want to try to slip into closer seats?" No one was interested. So I said I'd be back before the end of the show.

I found some empty seats in the 5th row! I couldn't believe I got past security: they were being nice that night. I figured Nothing ventured -- nothing gained. I could always leave if the real ticket holders came. No one came to take the seats and it was just too good to leave before the show was over. In twenty years of going to Moody Blues concerts I've never been able to get seats that close. I was completely thrilled through the entire show. It was a great show and I got to see it up close for once! I was riding on Cloud 9. I felt wonderful!

As the crowd was streaming out I encountered my friends coming from our seats. That was strange enough, considering the moving mass of departing rock concert fans. My date thoughtfully had retrieved my coat; but no one had my purse -- I had left it under the seat. I told my girlfriend, Oko, where I'd meet up with them and began to swim upstream. When I got to our seats there was no purse. Oh, well, the concert was too great to get bugged by anything as trivial as a purse, so I shrugged it off.

I met up with my friends and we ducked into the ladies room on our way out of the arena. Oko kept saying that it was such a shame to loose my purse and I kept saying that the concert was too good to care about it. We two girls met up with the guys in the midst of the crowd and we all shuffled out together, laughing and lowing like cattle in a herd. Just as Oko was lamenting the lost purse once more, I focused on a sweater carried under the arm of a young woman walking in front of me. Peaking out from the fluffy white folds was a small navy blue leather corner, showing a bit of the zipper and strap, of my purse. I recognized that blue corner and that zipper and that strap! I tapped the woman on the shoulder and asked if she'd found a purse. She stopped and turned to me and stammered that she was looking for the office to turn it in.

Meanwhile the flow of crowd diverged around us and interested faces turned to watch our exchange as they passed on either side. I said, "That's OK. You don't have to; it's mine."

Her companion challenged me, "You could have just seen us pick it up."

As she unfolded the sweater to reveal the small purse, I listed the few things in the bag including the cherry flavored Chapstick, the blue comb, a twenty folded in quarters and, lastly, my driver's license. I recited my name and birthday. Of course, that clenched it.

I could see his disappointment as he handed the purse back to me with a sigh. The young girl, shaking her head, asked, "Did you follow us from the seats? Did you see us pick it up? Out of all these people... there must be thousands…!"

I shrugged, " I was just following along with the crowd when I saw my purse being carried right in front of me." I thanked her for returning it. She turned in bewilderment to walk out with her companion.

My friends, of course, had watched the entire exchange. Their eyes were bugging out. I turned to them grinning like a champ, "It's the Moody Blues -- there's some magic here tonight."

I keep that purse, even though it's worn and I've broken the strap. I'll always remember the magic.