A funny thing happened to me this morning. Every Saturday, my town has a farmer’s market, and hundreds of local farmers and bakeries and such come hawk their goods. There’s just about anything you could want – honey, bison jerky, bacon, greens, flowers, coffee, and infamously delicious hot and spicy cheese bread. Everything is really reasonably priced, to be sure, and there is always a TON of stuff.
Thousands of people come to the market on Saturdays. I woke up late, and decided to go anyway, but halfway up one side of the block, I got tired of slowly shuffling past dozens of people stopping to goggle at different booths. So, my companion and I decided to walk down a nearby street that is full of cool local shops, and to look around and see if we could find inexpensive sustenance elsewhere.
The other great thing about the farmer’s market here is that there are literally dozens of buskers who come out. Every Saturday, the square is filled with people and music, and while some musicians are clearly doing it just for the hell of it, there are always some budding virtuosos or some genuinely awesome folk singers. Today, though, something different happened.
As we were exiting a coffee shop, drinks in hand, I noticed that a very small boy was playing a violin across the street from us. I would guess his age to be around ten or eleven, his mother was nearby, and he had his instrument case open at his feet, clearly accepting any cash passersby would drop into it. I was floored by this kid. Not only was he playing some incredibly complex pieces, he was playing them from memory and for complete strangers, at 11 on a Saturday morning, for money.
Fun fact for the day: I play violin. Or rather, I used to play very seriously, I still own my own instrument, and have not touched it in several years. I play some other instruments as well, and for some reason I still consider myself a “musician”. I very rarely play music anymore.
Something inside me turned on, seeing this little boy out playing for the masses. I don’t know what it was, but it was a very inspiring sight. I don’t know if his parents put him up to it, and I never will know, but I don’t care – this guy is less than half my age, doing something he probably loves, and getting a little cash for it, too! It was also a brief lesson in giving children a lot of credit. That kid, regardless of it being his own idea or his parents’, is taking an active approach with a potential career path many people will say is useless or unrealistic or whatever. (If you’re reading this, kid: Screw what they say, little man, you are better than that, and you are an AWESOME violinist!)
I don’t know if you are going to find me on a street corner any day soon playing guitar or violin for some moolah, but it definitely got me thinking about what the heck I’m doing with myself. I go to work, punch a clock, do my thing, punch out, and come home. Aside from that, until the next school semester begins, I don’t have any pressing commitments. Why, then, am I doing nothing with all of my time? Why do I always tell myself I will get around to it, without actually ever getting around to it?
Yesterday there were two tragedies that occurred in Oslo, Norway. If by now you have not heard of them, the combined death toll of a bomb going off in a building in downtown Oslo and a man firing multiple guns at a youth camp on an island just off the mainland of the city is over 90. Dozens more are reported to be severely injured from these events, and several are still missing. My heart really goes out to all of the families of the people who were taken in such brutal ways. Nobody deserves that.
Today Amy Winehouse’s body was found in her house. She’s another member of the 27 club – musicians that died FAR too young, in unfortunate circumstances. Addiction or not, drug overdose or accident, it doesn’t matter. She will be sorely missed.
My point in mentioning these things is this: the majority of the people who died probably had some really great goals for their lives. Someday, maybe, they would get around to these things. Now, nobody will ever know, and it really serves as a reminder that life is a short, precious thing. Use the time you have however you want, but if you really want to go do something, don’t let anything stop you, slow you down, or hold you back.
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