Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Interesting

My sister-in-law sent me this(Washington Post article about a commuter/great music experiment). She thought it was profound. I, too, was mesmerized by the possibilities of this experiment. I was so curious that I watched every video and read every word of the article. I hoped beyond hope that the commuters would appreciate genius. I was disappointed when they didn't. I'm not sure what this failure says about us.

Are we too busy for people, too busy for art, too tuned in to our personal music selection or cell phone? Are we unable to give children a chance to learn because we are rushing to teach them? We could say that every person who swished by had a tremendous work ethic and didn't want to be even one minute late for work, but what about those people who didn't listen while standing in line to get rich quick with no work?

Would you have stopped? How do you know?

5 comments:

Jennifer said...

I love street performers, whether I'm in Sydney and there happens to be a guy juggling on a unicycle near the aquarium, or I'm in Memphis and there's a down-on-his-luck sort playing guitar, or I'm in Motherwell, Scotland, and there are a couple of guys who don't play so well or have the most refined voices hoping to raise enough for a quick trip to the pub. Street performers are one of my favorite excuses to take a pause, and I wouldn't dream of taking a pause without tossing a pourboire into the hat. I would have stopped.

I don't know if I would stop if I were an overly-busy, overly stressed commuter.

If I had happened on someone even half as gifted as Joshua Bell, and I didn't happen to have folding money in my pocket, I would have scouted around for an ATM.

That was a very interesting article, and a sad look at our typically frenzied lives.

Wisteria said...

I had a sneaking suspicion that you would be a street performer supporter. The street musicians in New Orleans used to be fantastic - worth the trip all by themselves. Some stayed. Some abandoned.

Anonymous said...

It depends. I am definitely rushing and on my cell phone but... I do get distracted by interesting things which leads to more frenzy because I am not efficient...

Garden State Kate said...

We are a family of "street performer"
lovers,lol.I would feel guilty if I just passed by without stopping and tossing something in the hat or case
and my daughter would have stopped and maybe danced too.
The above explains why I am known for being "tardy" often. ;-)

Wisteria said...

Kate, Street performers, do tell all!!!