Harmonica convergence

Harmonious harmonicas with Jim Klassen 

at Mugshots Coffee House on February 24, 2013

Busking Blog - "I bought you a taco"

I was busking recently and a young woman came up as I was finishing a song.

She: "Are you hungry?"
Me:  "No, not really."
She: "I bought you a taco."

She holds out a bag from Taco Bell. I think I know where she was coming from. I think sometimes people don't want to give money to people on the street like me because they want to know how their money is being spent.

I said: "Thank you very much, that is really sweet of you, but I'm really not hungry. I'm not a homeless person. I'm a musician. I play here because I enjoy it."
She said: "I didn't know" and walked away.

I felt bad about this. She seemed like a very kind young woman trying to be generous and do the right thing. I've been asked before if I would like food and I always turn it down. First of all you never really know what you're getting. And something in a Taco Bell bag is doubly suspicious. Maybe the best thing to do would be to accept the food and then throw it away later.

A sort of reverse of this situation happened the other day.  A guy stopped and asked if I had a card. He said  he might be able to get me a gig. I gave him my card with email and web addresses.

So obviously not everyone thinks I look like a hungry, homeless person. This guy was enjoying my music and wanted to recommend me to a friend who does booking for an arts center.