Dundas on Monday Afternoon

I returned to Dundas (following my official schedule) this afternoon, even though the last time I was at Dundas it had been slow for donations.

So, why did I decide to go back there today? It would have been just as easy to return to Pape Station or Bay or Osgoode, where donations tend to be more steady.

As I was playing, I realized something. When hardly anyone is interacting with me, the people who do seem somehow magnified. I appreciate them more. Today I wanted the opportunity to remember each person who donated, individually. In order to remember them, there had to be fewer of them. So Dundas was perfect.

Here are a few the people who made my afternoon:

- The man who donated something before he heard me play, because he was planning to sit down on the bench beside me for awhile,
- The woman who bought a CD. (I realized later that I asked her a dumb question when determining which CD she might like. I asked "Do you have a family" (when I meant "children") Well, of course she has a family. Funny how one can regret something said in conversation even in this quirky social situation!)
- The young man who looked exactly like Kalan Porter from Canadian Idol (maybe he is!) who said my songs were beautiful,
- The young woman with the purple headscarf,
- The child in the pink jacket with her babysitter,
- The TTC Special Constable who winked at me,
- The gentleman named Mike, a musician, who liked my playing, and said "just relax, write your own songs, play them, and you never know!"

Yes, you never know.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Also,

Today someone gave me one of those shiny new Terry Fox loonies. It's a beautiful thing, and I found it inspiring and motivational. I hope that other people, in whatever field they find themselves, discover those special coins in their change and find strength for their own journey.