Busking at Queen…Pay It Forward!

This afternoon we were busking at the Queen subway station. It was pretty cold…especially in the latter part of the 80 minutes we were there. At that busking spot, a cold wind seems to whip through every now and again. And there doesn’t appear to be any one event that’s an obvious trigger. Like, if the doors to the Eaton Centre and the doors to The Bay are opened at the same time, or when a train arrives on the platform below.

Lots of people were rushing through the tunnel on their way to lunch or on their way back to work. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, many barely noticing we were there. Then, a man who looked a bit down on his luck stopped briefly to listen. He opened up a small brown envelope and took out five dollars. “Get yourselves a nice hot coffee.” he said as he pressed the bill into Dwight’s hand. We told him that was too much but he insisted. We didn’t want to insult his generosity so didn’t protest further but offered him one of our CDs. He said he’d like it but doesn’t have a CD player. He smiled and waved as he walked away, reminding us again to be sure to get a coffee. Although the actual temperature or winds didn’t relent, for a moment it was just a little warmer in that tunnel.

So often it seems to be those, who don’t appear to have financial wealth, who share it so willingly. I suppose that may be why they don’t have lots of money but that kind of generosity of spirit must have a different reward. Anyway, before I get all philosophical here, it was a kind and lovely gesture and we will “pay it forward” by including it in our next donation to Dixon Hall. It’s a charitable organization, with programs targeted to the disadvantaged in downtown Toronto.

If the fellow who gave us the five dollar bill doesn’t have a CD player, it’s unlikely he has a computer so will probably never see this blog and know how much his generosity was appreciated. But he sure made our day!