Saw Me Gently

As I was climbing the stairs up to the subway platform I heard the train arriving. I doubled my climbing pace in an attempt not to miss the train. I heard the announcement “Stand clear of the closing doors”, and I thought “Oh, no – I’m not going to make it”. Then I heard the conductor, who had his head sticking out of the window, say: “Saw Lady!” He held the doors open for me an extra half a minute, just to let me make the train!
I collapsed in the seat on the train, huffing and puffing from the physical effort of lugging my busking gear in a hurry up the stairs, thinking good thoughts of the conductor – he made my day!

While riding the train, two Nortenos playing accordion and guitar got on. They took a break from performing between 23rd street and 14th street. They asked me if I wasn’t working today (they expected me to get off at 14th street) and I explained that I’m going further down today. They waved goodbye to me as they went to the next car to continue their busking.

At the ‘Whitehall’ subway station I was pleased to use their newly installed escalator. What a difference it makes!

At the Whitehall ferry terminal Luellen Abdoo was playing the violin.

I boarded the Sen. John J. Marchi ferry boat to Staten Island. There was an unusually large number of people on the ferry. A tour guide was leading a group of tourists onto the ferry. I guess he is “cashing in” on the recession, catching tourists with his lower tour prices (cheaper than the tour-boat to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island). The guide was giving a lecture about the history of the ferry to Staten Island.
A guy sitting next to me said “I know who you are. I’ve seen you next to the N & W trains at 14th street”. He didn’t know that there are buskers at the St. George ferry terminal. He only sees buskers at the Whitehall terminal (the Manhattan side of the ferry). I explained that this is because when he goes through the St. George terminal it’s in the morning, before the musicians arrive, and when he gets back, he doesn’t go through the waiting area of the terminal.
“Have a good show!” he greeted me when the ferry was docking.

When I arrived at my busking spot, the huge aquariums in the middle of the terminal wee being cleaned.

A gentleman from Canada told me that in Canada they call the musical saw “eguine”.
A guy told me that he remembers the musical saw from 15 years ago in an all percussion ensemble called “M’Boom”.

A guy said: “Saw Me Gently – you should do a song named ‘Saw Me Gently’. There’s a ring to it 🙂
Saw Lady: “It does sound like it should be the title of a famous song”.

A guy named Scorpio brought a friend to hear me. He’s heard me before on the other side of the ferry line. The tow guys then boarded the ferry to Manhattan. A couple of hours later Scorpio returned – he said that he wanted to hear me some more.

On the train back home the train conductors changed shifts. The exiting one sat down near me. “Are you done for the day?”, I asked.
Conductor: “No, I wish. I have three more hours”. He has to wait for the next train and conduct that one. “Have a good one”, he said to me as he left the train.