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He immediately begged me to check it
out. He reassured me repeatedly nothing would happen to it, so I reluctantly
let him. To my surprise he played – beautifully! I have never heard anybody
play the bass the way he did. In the time it took for the train to arrive, he
played chords and melodies I wish I could play. One afternoon, I was playing my heart
out, but no one would give me the time of day. With no love in sight, I
eventually stopped and stood motionless, feeling depressed. Around the corner
and through all the backs that were facing me, a homeless man came towards me
dragging his feet. This disheveled, dirty man dropped an intact, unscratched
$5 lottery ticket into my case. Of course, it was a dud. But what
if? What if I actually won something?
What if it was worth one million dollars? Not impossible. The fact that this
man, in the context of all these employed, well dressed, upstanding folk,
could forfeit such a thing, spoke volumes. If there is one lesson I’ve learned
through the years and through all the people I’ve come in contact with
underground, it would have to be not to judge. Lord knows how many times I
have stood playing trying to guess who would or wouldn’t give me money, only
to be constantly surprised. Lord knows how many times people have gotten on
the train, thinking this or that about me, only to be completely way off. Appearances are not what they seem.
These were just a few crazy examples. The homeless are judged the harshest. |
