El TREN LECHERO: one of the songs I play, imitating a train :)

Hi!

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I have been a "street woman" for the past 20 years. To be a busker, a street musician, is not always easy. But....

Until I discovered the streets, I was a "professional" .... and had an ulcer *S*... Here I hope to share with you the anecdotes that make the streets such a wonderful place to work.. the children *S*.. the old people.. the in-between.. Please, DO come back from time to time and learn, if not about me, them about THEM, about YOU perhaps.. This page is for you, for all of you, my marvelous public of the streets, who have always given me unconditional love. Thank you all :)

Busker.....

It had never entered my mind to "lower" myself and play in the streets. I was a very regularly employed musician, worked luxury restaurants and the biggest hotels. I regularly did the Queen Elizabeth and the Windsor, as well as the Sheraton and the then brand-new Bonaventure and Chateau Champlain hotels. They were Montreal's best hotels at the time. Of course, that was nearly 30 years ago.

How it all started...

One Sunday night two friends of mine had come for supper at the Sancho Panza, the restaurant where I had been working 6 nights a week for over a year. I didn't work on Mondays so I took the harp with me. And the three of us decided to go for a stroll in Old Montreal. It was the beginning of summer. The weather was beautiful. So off we went. Grabbed a cab, crowded in with the harp, no easy feat and headed down to one of THE tourist attractions in Montreal. There were a few musicians at that time mainly in O.M. It was about the only place where they could play. Mostly young kids hoping to be discovered *S*

Nearly as soon as we arrived there, a young man asked me what the instrument was and to please play something for him. I wouldn't. There was NO way that I, a rather successful "professional" musician would start playing in the street!!! apart from that, I'm a very shy person and the street was crowded with hundreds of people. So he kept following us and begging me to "Please, just one, I've never heard it...... " and I kept smiling and saying no...He followed us for over an hour. Very insistent but in a nice polite way. Finally we decided to head home. Went up the hill, stopped a cab, and with the young man still begging but the cab being handy I said "okay.... but just a very short song.."

Stuck the harp on a fire hydrant *G* and started to play "Never on Sunday".... Oh yes... I still remember... How could I forget? That young man changed my life forever. He MUST have been a guardian angel in disguise. My first street "show" lasted at the most 4 minutes. But in that time, more than 200 persons had gathered around me. They were applauding, screaming for more, the most wonderful crowd of people any artist could ever dream of. But I was so shy... so stunned!... I just thanked everyone and got in the cab to go home.

But the very next day, I gave my notice at the restaurant *G*

NEVER judge by appearance: a lesson well learned

When I had just started playing the streets,I got a contract to work in the parcs....

A different park every week.... 2 hours each time.

One day I was scheduled to play in a very poor part of town a little parc... a few trees.... grass not very nice, a couple of benches...

Not a soul around when I arrived, but I since was there anyway, I played for the birds.

Suddenly, a group of big tough leather jacket guys appeard and came towards me
I was scared out of my wits...
they looked SOOOOOOOOOOOOO mean.....
and they came over....
and one of them says: what you doin here??????? so I tell him
so he says okay, turns around and says something to one of the other guys. He was obviously the leader.
And I'm shaking in my shoes.......But they leave and I start relaxing.
But a few minutes later.. he came back with all the neighborhood :))))) and I cry as I tell you this.... I had judged them, badly MISjudged them. On the basis of appearances. And that is something that I am deeply ashamed of to this day...But I learned a lesson then: now I don't judge. EVER :)))))))

it was the most marvelous, the kindest public; the most interested one... you see they had never had the opportunity to see a harp.... And, my friends,that's one of the many anecdotes that shows why I like the street :)))))

Angel lady? or angel girl *S*

At around the same time, perhaps even before the previous anecdote, I was playing in old Montreal. There was always quite a crowd listening because an "old" woman playing a harp had not yet become an every day occurence. Near me, a few feet away, was a young mother with a 2-3 year old girl. The prettiest little thing.. and she was very interested and her mother was explaining that the harp is the instrument of the angels..
After I finished my song the little girl came near me and touched me asking:" are you really an angel?" I was taken aback a bit *S* but the look on her face was one of such wonderment, that I could not take it away.... My response was : Well, yes *S* but you see my wings got a little bit dirty and so I had to leave them at the cleaners..."
Of course, it was a lie. And I dont condone lying. But her look of wonder... her smile.. and her mother's smile...
Two years ago, I was playing in Montreal for the first time in over 10 years. A young woman approached me. She asked me if I regonized her. Well I never recognize ANYONE. And I am usually truthful about it. I have seen so many people... So I said no, I'm sorry.... She smiled at me and said:" Well I remember YOU... You are the angel lady. I was just a little girl when I first saw you and I have always remembered you. So we kissed and hugged and SHE is another reason why I love the streets...

Another similar thing happened and is now happening more and more as time passes.

Last summer, a nice tall young man was listening to me intently for quite a while. After a while he came up to me and said: "You surely dont remember me but I remember YOU !!! When I was very little, you used to play me a special song each time you saw me. I've never forgotten you. Could you play it for me again?" Of course it was my pleasure to do so." For quite a few years I had a very special "customer". The first time I remember her was because she listened for a while and was literally staring at my hands. Suddenly, she bent down and put her hands on the harp. I realized she was deaf and was listening with her hands....It became a habit for her to "listen" to me for a while each time she came by.

Another time, a man and a young lady passed me in a car. I could see them parking a bit further on. The girl got out of the car first, then helped her father who was using a cane and had a lot of trouble walking. When they got near me, I realized that the young girl was blind. To see people with such difficulties making a point of stopping to listen to a street musician makes it all worthwhile. It is so very humbling to feel so loved. I must say that not only did I play all their favorite songs, but I also sat the girl down in my chair and let her "play" and feel the harp. I make it a point to always offer my harp to blind people, guide their hands over the shape, let them touch the strings...

At one point, there was a lady who passed every saturday morning while I was playing the metro. One day she was nearly in tears and I asked her what was wrong. It so happened that her husband had been taken to the hospital with a heart attack and she was extremely worried and upset. So I played for her and we chatted then she left. A few months later, I had not seen her for a while. I happened to be interviewed on television and mentioned that I sure hoped the gentleman was fine. Well........ a few weeks later a gentleman approached me and said: "I am the man about whom you were worried. My wife and I were flabbergasted to see you really care about your public!!! As you can see I am now healthy and deeply grateful to you for caring"....

AAAHHHHH !!!!!!! Those beautiful babies!!!

I love the children! I love it when parents stop with their babies and children, and I always play kids songs for them. Then I offer for them to touch and play the strings. Sometimes they love it. Sometimes they are too shy. They are so CUTE!!! Some laugh. Some hide behind their parents and look at me shyly. Some sing and others clap... I love them all, bless their little hearts :)

But sometimes I am really sad. Sometimes, parents will pass me by, not even SEEING me.... and the baby in his carriage or being pulled by his parent's hand is still craning his neck a block away to try and see the magic. And then I wonder "WHY?".... why not take a minute to indulge a child, to let him listen, to open his world.... And to those babies and children, my heart goes out most of all.

To be continued.....