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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Kids Will Touch Your Heart
Kids Will Touch Your Heart
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jbone
1763 posts
Sep 20, 2014
6:18 AM
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Jolene and I were doing a couple of sets yesterday early evening in front of a friend's vintage store. It's got a big alcove out front which is nice to play in. On the other side was a lemonade and cookie stand run by 2 kids, one about 4 years old.
The little boy came over several times and was asking which "whistle" I sing with and why I had so many "whistles"? Which I told him what they were of course and let him see a couple.
Later he came over while we were playing and tapped my shoulder and handed me two ziplock bags of peanut butter cookies! "In case you get hungry!" That right there is a good kid. Next time out I'm bringing a harp to give him.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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TBird
73 posts
Sep 20, 2014
1:20 PM
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:)
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STME58
1089 posts
Sep 20, 2014
10:03 PM
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Kids are always interesting while playing in public. They never pretend to ignore you and they have no qualms about stopping and staring. I try to interact with them in a positive way when I get the chance. It is amazing how many of them react to a simple nod or wave. It seems like were many adults see a street musician as nearly a bum or panhandler, kids see a celebrity, someone who stands out.
Today I was sitting at an table outside a fast food place playing. No one else was at an outdoor table. A car pulled up with a family in it and when the young boy got out he looked at me, smiled, then ran over and slapped 12 cents on the table next to me. I finished the lick and said thanks as he ran back to his parents. His dad apologized. I told him there was no need for an apology, I was glad the music was enjoyed!
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BronzeWailer
1459 posts
Sep 20, 2014
11:37 PM
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Nice story, Jawbone.
We often have 3-4 yr olds bopping to our music. Their parents literally have to drag them away.
I think this is the right thread to reproduce a recent column from the Sydney Morning Herald, where the "Modern Guru" solves our modern problems.
In this he "solves" the problem of when buskers aren't happy with small amounts of money.
WARNING: Humour Alert!
My children insisted on watching a busker. I had only 50 cents, but when the children approached with that they told a silver coin was not enough. Was the performer right?
H.R., Surrey Hills, Vic
Buskers used to be such humble, harmless folk. They'd just huddle in a shopfront somewhere, strumming an out-of-tune Yamaha classical, singing about Vincent van Gogh and starry nights, dreaming that one day they might collect enough small coins to buy the missing sixth string for their guitar. And maybe a new wire coathanger to clamp their harmonica around their neck.
But now buskers are corporate, showbizzy professionals with hefty expenses. They have 16 stacked Marshall amps, they use wireless mike technology, they day-hire the hydraulic revolving stage from Les Mis. Fire-twirling chainsaw jugglers need to dry-clean their kero-soaked, bloodstained unitards. Wacky comedian-magicians need elocution lessons to maintain their fake cockney backpacker accents. Body-painted human statues need health insurance to cover treatment for dermal toxicity, deep-vein thrombosis, and getting jabbed in the sphincter by a three-year old with a jumbo Toblerone.
So 50 cents is probably not going to help them much but, then again, buskers can't be choosers - that's the nature of the job. So if they're getting rude, narky or a bit aggressive, chasing you down the street on their spring-loaded stilt shoes and demanding money, tell them you're going straight to an ATM, taking out 50 bucks, and giving it to the first nice busker you can find. The most humble, harmless one, huddled in a shopfront, suffering from poverty, hunger and coathanger neck strangulation.
BronzeWailer's YouTube
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jbone
1766 posts
Sep 21, 2014
4:21 AM
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Well, 20 dollar tips are nice. ! dollar tips are nice. Change, as a gesture, is nice. Home made cookies must be one of the very best esp. when proffered by a child.
We got one monetary tip that evening, a dollar bill. It was from a young gal who certainly did not "have to", but she was kind enough to express support. She didn't look well-to-do. It was a somewhat busy evening, nice weather, some big shindig going on at the arena a few blocks away, but also tourists and locals out walking around the area enjoying the sights. Some of them made eye contact, a couple took pics, someone put up a short video even.
If you love what you do, it gets communicated. Sometimes money appears, sometimes not. Most times people show appreciation one way or another. This is not a career. It's a really fine avocation. If you have a gift which needs sharing, you just do the right thing.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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