Sunday, April 1, 2012

It's Getting Hot

Things To Do
  • Laundry
  • Find Rt. 10 West
That's about it...
Yesterday, I decided that I was going to watch at least one of the final four college basketball games.
I'm not really a big basketball fan, but I like to see maybe a dozen games a year. Since Howard has been throwing me the sports page at about 7 every morning, I had read about and become interested in at least who wins the tournament. 
After all, I now know all the back stories and behind-the-scenes drama and the implications which go beyond the court. I have read every ones opinions and arguments, including two tarot card readers from Jackson Square in New Orleans who actually disagreed. In the words of Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits: "One of them must be wrong..."
Leroy
So, I did just that.
I watched the second game, between Kansas and Ohio State, while Leroy sat and played for a swarm of students who were waiting to go inside the Chimes Theater.

At half-time of the game, I walked past him. It seemed like he was trying to sing too loud; his voice raspy and not altogether pleasant sounding. He had what looked like no more than 10 or 11 bucks in his case.
My plan was to get the students when they were on their way out of the theater, either at Leroys spot, should he have left by then after destroying his vocal chords, or, up the street in the direction that most of the students came from.
The game ended, and I took the spot up the street, even though Leroy HAD left by then.
I made a couple bucks and a cop asked me to move across the street. "They don't want you sitting on this sidewalk," he said.
I was pretty sure that either Leroy, or one of his sympathizers had something to do with that.
The lion's share of the traffic would return the way they came and walk along that particular sidewalk. "You'll be fine over on that side," added the cop. 
I wasn't bothered because my whole idea is to sound good enough so that people will go out of their way to walk over and throw me something. A 25 foot walk is not too taxing on a college-aged kid.
I played for just another hour and made back all the money that I had spent that day, probably about 15 bucks. There was a 5 dollar bill amongst the singles. I hadn't seen any in Leroy's case.
I think kids tip him because their alumni fathers and mothers tipped the guy when they were students back in the 70's (Leroy said that he is 67 years old) for the same reason that you have to kiss the blarney stone or see Big Ben...
Laundry
I am leaving here shortly to walk to the nearest laundromat, according to Google, either with Howard in tow, or carrying a set of his clothing in a (tightly sealed) bag. I'll let him wear some of my clean ones, while I wash his.
We are planning upon trying to hitch-hike tomorrow, and it would be a good idea for him to change out of what he is wearing now...

3 comments:

  1. I got up early and went up to Mountain View and busked by the farmer's market. Disaster. I made $5. And I was tired, and it was just Not Fun.

    Frankly I can sing far better than I can play the trumpet or anything, the trouble being, the same trouble Leroy has: How to do it without sounding all raspy?

    Maybe you can help me with this?

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  2. There is a note on the scale, maybe around "middle C" or a little lower, which will be your loudest note; find it by standing at a piano and then pretending you see your buddy WAY down the street and yell his name as loud as you can..if you hold the sustain pedal down, the right one, you will actually set the strings in motion (called sympathetic vibration) and you'll hear your voice ringing from the piano, finding that key is the key; then look through a bunch of sheet music for songs with that note...mine is the C# right below the "does" in Every Good Boy Does Fine (on the treble clef staff)

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  3. Come on man how is yelling a note loud gonna keep me from getting a raspy voice?

    I went and read some on it though and yes, each person does have a natural range.

    Oh, you know F-A-C-E for the spaces in the staff right? So, your loudest note is the C# in that.

    ReplyDelete

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