Chasing Dreamers in the Subway

Thanks Janie Junebug for  sharing a video of Alanis Morset busking on the New York City subway. Because of that share, I went down the YouTube rabbit hole and watched all the incognito busks by celebrity singers.

My friends and I in the train station

Until today, I didn't know ad hoc subway singing was called busking. I always called them subway troubadours. As a fellow struggling artist looking to gain an audience, I always feel a certain kinship with them. They are dreamers, bringing their talent directly to the people, much like indie writers in the book world.
When we cross paths, I try to toss some money in whatever form of hat they're passing. During a visit to the city with some friends, I was totally out of dollars after getting hit hard by panhandlers on the street. So, when we encountered some singers in the subway doing a smashing rendition of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" I had nothing left but the change in my purse and credit cards.
Not wanting to be THAT person who walks by an artist peddling their wares without so much as taking a business card, I dumped the change from my purse into the hat (they had a for-real hat). As they moved on, I realized, I'd just tossed my wedding rings into the kitty. Fully panicked, I had to chase after them, interrupting their song to get my rings back.
My friends- those dear sweet women who always have my back- laughed their asses off. They said it looked like I was begging from the beggars digging through the money they'd collected. Good news is I got my rings back.

Bad news is I've now outed myself to my husband whose biggest worry when I travel cities with my friends is that my interaction with street artists and homeless people will end up with me getting mugged. But he should know, they were very kind people who paused their spontaneous show to help his idiot wife dig through the dollars and cents to get her valuables back.

Too bad U2 in disguise wasn't the band I needed to chase down that day. My friends wouldn't have laughed then. They'd been too jealous.

Being gals from the 80's, U2's Joshua Tree made our cinder block dorm walls something to stare at.

Book Update:
I'd hoped to have Second Chances, renamed About Us, a Second Chance Story ready to share by Christmas. Well, that isn't going to happen. It's not for lack of trying. It's because I don't want to hit publish until I feel like it's a story ready to take up a reader's time. It will be a free eBook and even though no one could say it's a waste of money, time can be just as valuable.