CONCERT at METRO station in Washington, DC

True story, says 
Snopes 
<http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/bell.asp>http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/bell.asp

A Violinist in the Metro .....
cid:[email protected]


A man sat at a metro station in Washington, DC, and started to play 
the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces 
for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it 
was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, 
most of them on their way to work.    Three minutes went by and a 
middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his 
pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his 
schedule.   A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar 
tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping 
continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to 
him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. 
Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother 
tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the 
violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to 
walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by 
several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced 
them to move on.   In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 
people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but 
continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he 
finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one 
applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best 
musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces 
ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a 
theater in Boston and the seats average $100 each.  This is a real 
story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was 
organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about 
perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a 
commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive 
beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an 
unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:    If 
we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best 
musicians in the world playing some of the best music ever written, 
how many other things are we missing?


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Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue 
with Your help,
so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.


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