Always stop for the street musician

For one of my daily readings, I have been using the essays of Robert Fulghum...always good stuff. One of the things Fulghum suggests is developing your own set of principles and guidelines to live by. (Mine will be forthcoming in a later blog). One of the items in his list is "Always stop for the street musicians."

Wanting to be not just a reader of Fulghum, yet, also a do-er, I've been putting this into practice. Earlier today, I needed to run an errand that took me downtown. As I walked about Smithfield Street an older gentleman had set-up a speaker and microphone for his stage on the street. With a face and a voice very much Jimmy Durante like, he approached me singing, "Do you see the gypsy in me?"....Alas, I did not.

However, he made me smile and brought a laugh which in turn two women passing me on the street also smiled and chuckled. I may not have noted the gypsy in him, yet, he was successful in his efforts: he made folks smile.

I admire street musicians for their courage and willingness to share talent out-in-the-open with folks who often may not be receptive or, worse yet, ignore them. In the bigger cities of DC and New York, I've found street musicians to have taken the art to a higher level. These folks are talented and sound great, in fact, many times persons stop just to listen.

Here in Pittsburgh, I have begun to notice the regulars. The woman who plays the violin outside of the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill is a personal favorite. She's talented, I love violin music, and she always acknowledges each donation with a smile or a nod or a wink...or sometimes all three. There are the keyboardists, and the guitar players, the drummers banging on plastic buckets, and the folks just singing for whom or why --- it's their reason and their call.

So, the next time you pass a street musician, heed the advice of this blog, and make a point to stop, acknowledge, and, if so lead, make a donation.

I'm dusting off my kazoo to join in.....

sj;