A middle-aged man is standing off to the side, listening. After a song or two he introduces himself as Leroy, and tells me he paints. He tells me he missed his train, and would like to sketch me, as he had a whole hour before the next train left. Lucky for me.
He sets up his drawing pad on a trash can. He is watching me and proceeds to set up his markers and paper.
He begins to sketch. I know the routine, as my wife, Patricia, used to sketch me a lot. He starts out slowly, and builds up a head of steam.
I play several songs. Ain't No Sunshine, Summertime, some originals, hoping something will inspire him.
I'm also hoping he'll give me the sketch when he's done.
His train is announced.
He packs up and makes his way toward my guitar case, then gently deposits the sketch on top of the dollars and coins. He smiles and thanks me. I thank him. It's a regular love fest.
Yes, my lucky day.
hey david,
ReplyDeletei took a couple cues from you. one is i've played the concourse the last two days. and wow! you are right about the acoustics. space 2. i also like the corridor between the subway and suburban station. between the stairs and ritas. so different from the park.
are you playing at "back on my feet?"
jim
No, I'm not playing unfortunately. I'm in Florida, as I write. I'm visiting with my mom, who's a mover and shaker in the folk and bluegrass scene here in Florida, and I'll be playing out with a bunch of people here.... Are you playing? Might be kind of cool to be part of the scene....
ReplyDeleteDavid