This Fish Needs A Bicycle

street music

Days like today can take you by surprise.

You can wake up late (foggy headed and crabby), miss yoga, and opt for a far-too-long shower, extended kitten play-time and become perhaps even more crabby as you realize, you're late for work. Again. So you dash out the door, prepared to be frazzled and rushed... and that's when it hits you.

For no reason other than it just is, everything is right with the world. The sun, the leaves, the fact that there is no one to leer at you from the doorway of the 7-11 as you pass. You smile as you walk to work. People look at you like you're crazy, but you smile anyway. Because of the stripey mittens you're wearing. Because of the phone call to your dad last night, where he was surprisingly so up-beat that you're not worrying about him today. Because of the thought of pay-day.

And because of street music.

It's too early for street musicians. But the hard-soled boots that you're wearing make the percussion, your long-legged stride making a hard snap on the pavement, one for every two of your shorter walking companion's. Snap clackclack Snap! And the little boy in the red sweater with the wooden buttons, his reed-like laughter as his parents swing him down the brick sidewalk. And the horns of passing traffic and the deep bass of garbage trucks as they grind about their work. And mechanical song of the walk signal at every intersection.

And because you heard all this due only to the fortunate timing of dead batteries in your Discman.

Posted by This Fish at October 16, 2003 10:03 AM