When I Walk - Pape Station

When I arrived at Pape Station at noon today, I realized I'd left my guitar strap at home. Rather than attempt to play cross-legged on the floor, I opted to go back home and get it. Even though it was a beautiful day and I wasn't in a big rush, I was disappointed by the delay.

I'd been missing the subway.

Going home to get the guitar strap meant a 45 minute trip: riding south on the Pape bus, walking 10 minutes back to the house, getting the strap, walking back to the bus stop and taking the bus back up to the station again.

I found myself feeling anxious as I usually do when I'm running late. However, knowing how many chance meetings and coincidences happen on the subway, I wondered whether my delay would lead to something important.

It did.

I arrived back at Pape, grateful to see that the performance space was still unoccupied, unpacked my gear and started to play. I started out with "Feels Like Spring", which immediately attracted a number of enthusiastic donations. (I ended up playing that song several times today and singing it with much greater conviction than I had in previous weeks, perhaps because it was finally two degrees above zero and sunny.)

Improvising my subway set as I always do, I decided to stick with upbeat songs, and started in on
When I Walk (I Run)""When I walk, I run into people I haven't seen for some time..."

Sure enough, as if on cue, around the corner came a friend I hadn't seen for over a year. She walked up to me with a radiant smile.

She walked up to me!

When I last saw her, and for the several years I'd known her, she'd been in a wheelchair.

She was with a friend, and after introducing us to each other, asked if I'd keep singing the song. I managed to do it, but had to avoid her eyes so that I could sing without choking up. (..."used to spin my wheels...") It was an honour to sing for her, and I felt so lucky that I was there to meet her at just that moment.

From now on, I'm sure I'll always think of her when I sing that song.

+++

Today I noticed many people carrying musical instruments, pushing strollers, and reading books. Maybe because it's warmer, people are feeling freer to do more things in the open air, instead of simply trying to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible.

I almost laughed out loud when I caught the eye of one woman, who was reading as she walked through the subway corridor.

She glanced up from a book called "Live On Less Money", noticed what I was doing with obvious delight, smiled and went back to her reading.