Nice to hear from ya John. Much appreciated!
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "JohnY" <john_youells@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" <curtisdeltablues@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Crowds of people are like schools of fish. They swim by an outside
> > performer with the mentality of a single entity. The trick for a busker is
> > to break them out of the trance so they will pay attention to me. "Pay" is
> > the key word here. I need them to stop their internal dialog long enough to
> > extract something green and crisp from their wallets and purses.
> >
> > Bring on the children! They are perfect for this agenda. Easily
> > distracted by novel things in the environment (me and my instruments), and
> > lacking the intense internal dialog of having mortgage payments and making
> > it to their car before the meter maid, they are ideal co-conspirators. I
> > invite them up with maracas so they can join the show. Parents get it
> > right away, artistic enrichment for the center of their universe. Now that
> > the stage is set, I have something hidden to show you.
> >
> > She was one of those little girls with something extra, the sparkle of
> > magnetic charisma. I see plenty of them coming out of the good homes in
> > Northern Virginia. The right schools, plenty of vitamin D enriched milk,
> > and tons of confidence to project a beamer of a smile full of orthodontist
> > approved, well-flossed teeth. She was around eleven. Her brown hair was
> > pulled into a loose pony tail by some fluorescent pink scrunchy fabric.
> > The only thing out of the ordinary was that she crowded me a bit after she
> > got her maraca. Younger kids will do this, and as the Mayor of Munchkin
> > Land, it is up to me to get them to back off and give me some performance
> > space. Decking one of the kids with my heavy steel resonator guitar in one
> > of my tip inspiring flourishes, leaving them cold cocked on the boardwalk,
> > would definitely cut into profits. But a girl this age usually keeps her
> > distance, so it got my attention that she was standing very close to me
> > with one side of her body.
> >
> > I swiveled my head and my eyes caught something that instantly put me on
> > red alert. The arm she was crowding me with was cut off right below the
> > elbow and she was using me to shield it from the audience. Her arm was not
> > this way from birth. Something sinister and terrible had done this, and it
> > left a fiery red zipper of violated flesh. Our eyes met and I gave her a
> > nod. We were thick as thieves in an instant and she relaxed into a nervous
> > giggle. Like a Sicilian made-man, I was bonded to her through omerta. It
> > was a matter of trust, and I felt it in my chest.
> >
> > We began to play close like Sonny and a miniature Cher. People probably
> > thought she was my niece or something, who else would play together with
> > this familiarity? Her father was all smiles. She was a brave kid, this is
> > not easy performing in front of strangers. A crowd formed supporting the
> > cute little girl and the bluesman. They had no clue to the fierceness of
> > her jagged asymmetry. She kept herself sideways, showing the world who she
> > wanted to be, and they bought it. At the song's end she shot me a
> > conspiratorial look. I sensed something gritty in those eyes. A
> > steeliness forged by the fires of pediatric ward hell. I wondered about
> > her mom and dad, who had spent the hours in the hospital making the painful
> > decisions that lead to this. Oh bullshit, I have no idea. She ran off
> > back to her dad. His look combined sincere thanks with "you have no idea".
> > Or maybe I just read all that in myself, it is so hard to tell sometimes.
> > When our eyes met I forgot to breath for a moment. I saw people moving in
> > with tips in slow motion.
> >
> > Someday I hope she finds a real stand up guy. A guy who will always take
> > her left side, and wrapping his arm around her far shoulder, will press her
> > close, feeling her arm halfway across his own back, and she will feel safe
> > and brave, facing the world.
> >
>
> Beautifully written ..... and she will ;)
>
>
>
> JohnY
>
