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| ALEKSI CAMPAGNE |
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| DRAWING NORA ROSE (WITH HER MOM, SARAH) |
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| NORA ROSE IN THREE MINUTES |
Hmmm. What shall I write about today? Sometimes I’ve a theme in my head for days and sometimes I decide my topic as I start writing. Today I’m deciding while I write. This blog is about psychology and/or busking, so I won’t write about how much I hate Donald Trump, or how much I hate his cowardly and complicit cohorts in Congress, or how much I hate his sycophantic cache of surrogates.
(I am presenting, somewhat, a falsehood. I am presenting that in summer I’m always out
and about and busking and hiking and busking and hiking and busking and … And I am presenting that in winter I sit and
reflect and introspect and set my sublime musings into this blog. This is all partly true, but not
completely. I do have lazy indoor days
in summer and I also have venturesome outdoor days in winter. But in summer, generally speaking for my
recreation, I love hiking and busking, and in winter, generally speaking for
recreation, I love pond hockey and writing.
Whenever I’m not indulging in these seasonal treats, by my delusional
design, I feel guilty and short-changed.)
Hmmm. Humble
braggingly, I could write about my hypnotherapy practice, which fortunately is
waxing.
Or I could write about
my busking adventures.
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| BUSKING WITH MOHAMED IN MARRAKESH |
Hmmm. Let me think what to write whilst I shift to the next paragraph.
Aha! Got it!
I’ve decided to place of picture of ALEKSI CAMPAGNE atop this
blog entry. I took this picture this
past weekend while watching Aleksi and his band play on an outdoor stage in
downtown Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada on Scarth Street. Aleksi is a 25-year old singer/songwriter
from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He and
his bandmates, also young musicians from Montreal, were performing for a few
days at the annual REGINA FOLK FESTIVAL.
I live in downtown Regina, a three-minute walk from the folk festival
venue.
But I digress. As I
zigzagged through and about the several performances the last day of the
festival, I decided my last stop to be Aleksi Campagne who was scheduled at
STAGE #3. I decided upon this for no
apparent reason, other than that Stage 3 is my favorite outdoor stage, situated
at the very end of Scarth Street, a cobblestone outdoor mall, complete with
patios attached to the very neat eateries lining the margins.
Arriving
ten minutes at Stage 3, the band was doing its sound check. First the drummer, then the bass player, then
the lead guitarist, and then Aleksi on his violin. WAIT A MINUTE! I looked again at my programme guide. ALEKSI!
Seven years ago I
wrote about Aleksi in this very blog (“I WANT TO BE ANOTHER ME: A DE NOVO PROJECT” Sunday,
September 30, 2012.) He was 18 years old
at the time.
Of course I
introduced myself just before his set began, reminding him that we had done
some busking together on this very street many years ago. I did not mention my name, but I did mention that
I remembered he was off to Paris to attend university in the fall, following
the summer we had busked together.
Betwixt the band’s
fourth and fifth song I had my fifteen seconds of fame! Aleksi introduced me to the crowd of over 300
people: “Would the gentleman and fellow
busker, I am so sorry I don’t remember your name, sir, but I do remember a very
wonderful gentleman and busker-mate, and I remember you having a blog on
psychology and busking.”
For those fifteen
seconds of introduction I was, admittedly, in Lotus land. However, wittingly and not to appear too
saccharine-like, I left his set during the last song, without so much as even a
wave good- bye. But I did send him a
thank-you note on his website email the very next morning.
The second and third pictures on
display in this entry are NORA ROSE and her mom, SARAH. Nora Rose’s grandfather, GARY KING, and I
have been friends for over 30 years. FACTOID: When Gary was in grade eleven
at BALFOUR COLLEGIATE, I was his English Literature teacher. (Over the years we have become family, our
families sharing Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Last weekend Gary insisted that I pack along
my pencil and sketchpad to meet, Nora, the brand new member of the King
family.)
Alvin Toffler, American futurist and author, stated that “You’ve got to think about big things while
you’re doing the small things, so that all the small things go in the right
direction.” And so if I ever do
write about Donald Trump, I would not be going in the right direction (no pun
intended) with my blog entry. This blog
is not meant to be a political bully-pulpit.
This is a blog about busking and psychology and I always try to stay on
either topic.
Seven years ago when I was busking with Aleksi I was not
thinking about big things. I was not
thinking how this small thing of busking with Aleksi would eventually go in the
right direction, of meeting up with him again on his climb toward musical
stardom.
Thirty years ago when I was teaching English Literature to
Gary King I was not thinking about big things.
I was not thinking of how this particular English class would eventually
result in a lifelong friendship.
This does not mean that my busking with Aleksi or my teaching
Gary were not by design; they were, indeed, by design, specifically by MY
design. I love to busk and I love to
teach. I chose to busk, and Aleksi
happened along. I chose to teach and
Gary happened along.
It’s a simple, simple formula. Is it the “Do what you love and the money will follow” formula? Nope. It’s
the Do what you love and the love will
follow formula.
YES!
DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND THE LOVE WILL FOLLOW!
DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND THE LOVE WILL FOLLOW!
And speaking of do what
you love, I am the only one marching in my CHAUCERIAN PARADE this week,
busking on a walking path along Lake Superior in downtown Thunder Bay, Ontario.
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| LOVIN' IT |
