Every day after my hour and a half rush hour commute from my DC office to my stop in MD I exit the metro station only to usually be bombarded by street music. These people, rain, snow, wind, or blistering hot are there to serenade the jaded and mostly angry commuters day in and day out. What shocks me the most is that at my particular metro station there are the 3 regular performers. Never overlapping a performance, I often wonder if they work out some kind of schedule or if it’s a first come first serve kind of deal. Either way, I’m perplexed about how, why, and what they are really doing with their lives.
1. The one man pan flute band – Although I’ve heard his music ballads range from Mozart to Pink Floyd there is nothing more undimensional than a mediocre pan flute rendition. Usually he is a lone wolf, but sometimes he brings a boombox with background music to keep him company. Out of all the performers at my station, he is the one that baffles me the most. He is a middle aged Hispanic man spending hours at a time to entertain these people and usually gets little recognition and his tip jar is usually very empty. And for the love of God.. WHY PANFLUTE?
2. Folk singing youths – I’d say there’s a 95% chance they are from the Midwest. Occasionally this male and female duo grace listeners with their guitar and folk singing, usually Old Crow Medicine Show. Although they actually have some talent, there’s something a little off about them. They look a little too old to still be students, a little too put together to be homeless and a little too messed up to have real lives.
3. Hootie (Yes I know that’s not his real name) – Beautiful African American man playing his guitar with the voice of an angel. Can be found playing my favorite rock ballads such as Layla and ANYTHING Peter Frampton. I sometimes look try to look deep into his eyes and pretend like a cheesy movie, he is playing for me. I don’t care why he’s there or that he’s wasting his talents and beauty for probably nothing, I just want him to keep on playin’.
Needless to say, I never can seem to find any spare change…
mydcommute 