|
Can you say, "Street Performance"!? If you wondered who that was with red hair, wearng a huge straw hat, jeans and yellow stilettos, singing her heart out in the heart of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue yesterday….it was, yours truly.
I don't know about the passers-by, the by-standers or the several photographers, but I had a blatant blast!
You see it all in the Big Apple and I'm certain I was not all that unusual. But I was surprised when an interesting, blue haired, baggy pants, rappy looking guy came up to me and requested, "Sweet Georgia Brown". He said it had always been one of his favorite songs. He took umbrage at my surprise that he'd even heard of, "Sweet Georgia Brown" telling me not to judge him or his musical tastes by his hair and the way he dressed. Now, that was encouraging to hear from someone so young and it gave me hope that the new generation may have some wisdom after all 
In my elemental joy, I lost track of time and probably performed nearly two hours. I tried out songs I'd never performed before like, Waylon Jennings', "Anita, You're Dreaming" and Jessie Coulter's "I'm Not Lisa". I love songs like these. And I always feel I do better on numbers I really like. The song list included everything from John Prine's "Muhlenberg County" to Cat Stevens', "Morning Has Broken" to "Consider the Lilies". I repeated two songs I have always loved, but just recently learned, "On the Wings of a Snow White Dove" and, "Last Thing on My Mind".
Before I sang, someone repeated what you have always heard, "Music really is the universal language. It can evoke memories and emotions of specific times and places in a way which no other method is equal in ability.
When I told an acquaintance about my day, she said she was inspired and determined to get out of her comfort zone and, "do something challenging and different". And when she said something like singing would scare her to pieces, I reminded her of the much repeated Eleanor Roosevelt advice, "Do something everyday that scares you". The ripple effect in all of life never ceases to amaze me. And I will be doing this again, God willing.
|
