Kids--You Gotta Love 'Em

Now that the weather is fabulous and I'm playing more outdoors in the park at Rittenhouse Square, it's natural that more children are walking by and listening.  The park is a great place to hang out on a gorgeous day...an oasis of Nature...in a landscape of steel and glass.
I have been touched, as always, by the intent interest children show when they walk by or ride by in their strollers.  Their eyes are often riveted on me.  Sometimes the mothers or nannies don't seem aware of the performance, but the children's head turn and stare, long after they pass me.  It's amazing how flexible their necks are....  Often the children stare with a serious look, and other times they grin or wave or point. 
Sometimes the mothers stop the stroller, or squat down next to their child, and listen for a while.  I'll usually change to a children's song and try to get them involved, encouraging them to finish the line and sing along.  Itsy, Bitsy, Spider and Old McDonald, and The People on the Bus are usually big hits.
I am very touched most of all when the mothers and fathers and nannies sing along with the child and encourage the child to take part.  For many it might be the first time the child has ever experienced live music.  I'm also touched when a parent tosses a donation into my guitar case, or gives the child a coin or dollar to put in the case.  Often they even guide the child over to the case and show them, this is what you can do to show your appreciation.  A teaching moment.
Yesterday I was really moved when a child, no more than eight, reached into his Disneyworld backpack.   His mother said, "Do you have something you can give the man?"  The child pulled out a crumpled dollar, no doubt his snack money, and he proudly placed it in the guitar case.
Talk about sacrifice....
I love to see children learning to appreciate music.  Discovering the magic that music can bring.  How it can connect us all.
And in the meantime, I'll have to learn a whole lot more children's songs....