"Choo Choo! Roll On, Gravy Train!"

There are a lot of things I could talk about today: Rachel being in Germany, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ophelia (you came and you brought me a Turkey, by God!), Hurricane Rita, my obnoxious cat, "Global Warming," the price of gas, what I'm having for dinner tonight, what I had for dinner last night, and the absurd list goes on. What I will talk about is something completely different. Street Musicians.

How do I happen upon these upstanding members of society? Why by riding the Metro, of course! Like a good environmentalist, I've declined to drive my gas-guzzling SUV to work since I started my job in Bethesda last December. So, when I arrive at the Bethesda Metro station, I'm greeted by music from one instrument or another just about every morning.

A lot of Street Musicians are poor. I suppose that's fine. One fellow that is frequently at the top of the Bethesda station escalator plays a trumpet. By the looks of him, he's not that well off. I doubt he's homeless, but he probably doesn't have much. He does have a trumpet, though, and he plays hymns on it every day except when it approaches Christmas time, in which he plays carols of all types. I've almost come to take this fellow for granted, he's always there, and the fact that he's playing hymns that I recognize brings a smile to my face.

This is not the sort of fellow I have issue with. Indeed, when I was living back home in Kalamazoo, I even considered taking my saxophone downtown and trying my hand as a street musician. Not seriously, no, but the thought was there.

The kind of Street Musicians I take issue with are the ones that are very obviously poor, and most likely homeless, that have the newest and shiniest electric guitar. Of course, since it's electric, they all have amps and microphones so they can sing. The first time I saw one of the musicians like that I was like...HUH!? The man had what was convincingly all of his worldly posessions stacked up near a column next to which he was positioned with his gear. My mental thought was "sell your gear, you need the cash." Looking back, I think that's a bad idea...but only if he was getting plenty of donations to the cause.

Recently there's been different guy in the evenings as I head back to the station on my way home. He also has the guitar, amp, and microphone. He did not have all his worldly posessions...which I suppose was good. Maybe he was just trying to make some extra cash. I suppose I can respect that. But I prefer the guy with the trumpet just the same. Maybe because he isn't singing.

At any rate, it's better than pleading for money like the guys that are by the Smithsonian station. At least they're providing some backdrop other than the sound of buses, cars, and people walking. While I don't necessarily enjoy all of the sounds they produce (my man with the trumpet is an amature at best), I do prefer them to the Asian guy handing out -rather, forcing upon me- the "Epoch Times"...whatever the heck that is.

This post really was a bunch of rambling wasn't it? Gah...

-Kal