Building with Many Numbers

As I got to the turnstile at the subway station near me, I could hear the train pulling into the station. I still had to go through the turnstile and climb up two flights of stairs, with my heavy busking gear. As I rushed up the stairs I could hear the announcement “Stand clear of…

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My Bow Got Caught on My Pants

On the subway platform at 59th street a guy was playing accordion. On the subway platform at 14th street the Chinese dulcimer player who never says ‘hi’ was playing. On the mezzanine at the Music Under New York busking spot Sixto and Louis were playing Andean music. I haven’t seen Sixto in the subway for…

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Journey To and From

I came across a beautiful Haiku poem titles ‘Cold Front’ by Nora Wood. I identify with it: cold front– in the busker’s guitar case five copper coins © Nora Wood As I was changing trains at 14th street, on my way to the WhiteHall ferry terminal, three Nortenos were waiting for the ‘R’ train. One…

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A Puppy, a Turtle & a Snake

There were no trains going to Manhattan when I arrived at the subway station. I had to take a train in the opposite direction and transfer to a Manhattan bound train at a different station. When I got to the Music Under New York busking spot at Union Square, Cathy Grier was playing electric guitar…

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Thats My Song

Two Chinese people were playing the erhu and what looks like a Chinese version of a banjo on the platform when I arrived at the Union Square subway station. At the Music Under New York busking spot a thin guy was playing electric guitar with an effects pedal. He was playing an endless melody while…

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Saw Lady for President

When I arrived at the Music Under New York (MUNY) spot at the Times Square subway station Moses was freelancing there. His wife suffers from some form of dementia and he is taking care of her. He told me that he finally got a care-taker to come, so he can be free to leave the…

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The Legal Size of Carving Knives

When I got to the Music Under New York spot by the Mosaics at the Times Square subway station there was nobody there. The whole space was kind of empty – no people, which is a bit unusual. The only person around was a homeless guy. “What is it?” he asked Saw Lady: “It’s a…

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A Different Bag Every Day

On my way up the subway station’s stairs two guys offered to help me bring my busking gear up. It turned out that they were the two guys I saw at the 14th street subway station last Friday – Guillermo and Martin, who were the ones sitting on a bench and fixing a string on…

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Thanksgiving Day at the Times Square Subway Station

When I got to the Music Under New York spot at the Times Square subway station at 11:30 this morning, there were two police officers standing right at the spot, one of them with a police dog. There was yellow police tape and police barriers blocking the way to the escalators. As I showed the…

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Sending ‘Love Letters’ on My Pants

When I got to the Music Under New York busking spot at the Times Square subway station there was a cup and spilt coffee on the floor… As I was setting up to play a sanitation lady came to clean the cup away, but the spilt coffee was left on the floor next to me.…

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