Earlier today, a new poster appeared on the municipal bulletin board in the Motovun loggia, and it looked uncommonly decent in design. Puzzled, I went to check it out at once. And I was in for a great surprise. At eight o’clock in the evening two days from today, there will be a concert of the Maryland Community Band from the United States on the upper square. A certain John Wakefield is the director, no less. The picture of the band is impressive enough. An entire busload, not including the instruments. “Parking!” it immediately flashed through my mind. Forget about the audience, but the band itself will have quite some trouble squeezing into the hilltown. Or fitting into the upper square, including another busload of instruments. But then I looked at the repertoire: Spanish march; English, Irish, Polish, and Scottish folk songs; American march; Czech something or other; and much more besides. “Parking!” it flashed through my mind for the second time, this time with a dash of panic. I cannot possibly miss the upcoming event. It will be a parking miracle, no doubt whatsoever. And right on top of the Motovun hill.

Addendum (June 22, 2012)

Everything worked out pretty well in the end. There were only twenty-three players, less than a half of those shown on the poster. Their instruments were brought to the upper square by the municipal truck. In addition to the players, there were about twenty guest travelers. Most of them seemed to be family. Following the band through Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy, they were the bulk of the audience, as well. There were at most ten people from Motovun at the event, as well as that many tourists. And that was that. In short, no parking miracle at all. If any miracle was involved, it was about the funding of the traveling band. It appeared to be coming straight from Mars.