Minus Twelve, Pape Station

It was Sunday morning and I was keen to go out and sing.

But when we made our way down to the kitchen, Dave looked at the thermometer outside and said "You might re-think your subway playing today. It's minus twelve."

"But that's all part of the experience, isn't it?" I thought, as I put on five layers of clothing and packed the special gloves I created for myself yesterday. (Ninety-nine cents at the Dollar Store, with the fingers cut out of them.)

The car barely started, and I narrowly missed an accident as I drove frostily up to Pape Station and a chilly pedestrian recklessly darted across the street in front of me.

I expected John, the experienced full-time busker, to be at Pape this morning because he had told me he likes to catch the Sunday going-to-church crowd. But he wasn't there, which should have been my first clue that it really was too cold to busk today. My second clue was that I couldn't seem to get my guitar in tune. The periodic gusts of sub-zero air seemed to be doing a number on my strings.

But I set up anyway. By now my set-up feels very ritualistic, no matter what the time of day or the particular station. Unpack amp, open guitar, put strap on guitar, reach into pocket to find seed money, throw money into case, balance CDs in opened guitar lid, display official TTC Subway Busker's License... Then, plug guitar cable into guitar and tuner, tune guitar (it took forever this morning), unplug cable from tuner, plug into amp, turn on amp. Turn around. Face people. Play. Sing.

Because of that well-ingrained ritual, I forgot to put on my new gloves. And I didn't realize that I'd forgotten until I packed up to leave.

Today, I received a higher-than-average number of quizzical looks: "You really must be crazy". Also, fewer people seemed able to donate, because they themselves were bundled up and freezing, and it's harder to reach into your pocket for change when you're wearing mittens.

Many families were travelling on the subway, as they always are on the weekends, and many parents were awkwardly toting strollers up and down the subway stairs. This is a difficult thing to accomplish at any time of year, but it's particularly gruelling in the dead of winter. When I saw families, I started to sing a perky Christmas song like "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" but I didn't really expect them to stop for me. When you're transporting two toddlers in minus twelve weather on the Sunday before Christmas, you can't afford to lose any momentum.

At one point, two men and a woman in their twenties stopped in front of me to say a warm goodbye, embracing as if they weren't going to see each other again for some time. I felt they must be siblings. I was playing "I Would Recognize You" at the time ("I would recognize you anywhere because your heart is mine") which seemed appropriate. It was inspired by the book "No Great Mischief" by Alastair McLeod, which is the story of two brothers from Cape Breton and their ancestry. The brother and sister may not have even noticed me, they were so focused on each other, and I hoped that somehow I was providing an appropriate soundtrack for them, just for those few minutes. Maybe it's just background music...but I hope it adds something. I believe it does.

I could see my breath as I played. My strings kept wandering out of tune, in direct response to the sudden drop in temperature which occurred every time a strong gust of wind whistled through the station. I wondered for the first time whether I was putting my guitar (a Taylor, good quality) at risk by playing in the subways.

Choosing songs to play was tricky. I had positive response from Christmas material, but frankly the perky children's songs (Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman) seemed unrealistically cheerful. A more appropriate choice might be "In The Bleak Midwinter" ("frosty wind made moan") but it's very much a Christian song and out of respect for all the people of other faiths I see each day, I hesitate to play it (and other hymns like "Silent Night", "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "What Child is This?"--all of which I love and play very well) until the actual holiday.

I stuck with my seasonal subway favourite, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", which I'm now singing pretty darn well after several dozen plays. The other day I heard James Taylor (one of my idols) singing it over the loudspeakers of the Bulk Barn store...and even hearing that I felt pretty good about my own rendition. When I sang it today, I imagined what James Taylor would sound like if he was singing Christmas carols in the subway station.

+++

I stayed 45 minutes and earned $7.50. As I left, I put on my new fingerless gloves (finally) and my outdoor gloves on top of them. I was tempted to stop at the nearby Tim Horton's for a coffee...but realized I was too bundled up to get to my change.