"Ninety Percent Of Life Is Showing Up"

A "fast" night in the Big Easy

-Woody Allen
Last night was what you might call a slow Tuesday night in the Big Easy.
I played the Decatur Street spot for a couple of hours, curious about what the reactions of the merchants to my left and right would be to the addition of the harmonica.
They have been very supportive in the past (the guy from the store that puts artwork on doors gave me a new gig bag; the guy from the smoke shop bought me strings once; the lady across the street sits in front of her store and smiles and waves when she sees me; the Asian lady from the massage place gives me food etc).
I know these merchants are relieved to see me, and not gutter punks making a racket, and being nuisances with their heroin and their needles when they think nobody is watching!

Dude!
I have hit a miniture "wall" with the harp, having gotten all I can out of it using just my ear and my innate ability, which is of a finite quantity. Improving on it will now require integrating music theory and techniques such as bending notes.
I plan upon grilling all the harp players on the street for "information" (translation: free lessons). I might have to appeal to their vanity: "Wow, dude, I didn't know you could play flats and sharps on a harp!"

Lychee Fruit. "Tell people that they are cows eyeballs,"
said Alex from California.

Dude: "Sure you can, you just...."
The Asian lady approached with a doubled plastic bag of something which had udon noodles (those I recognized) and other things, that may have been eggplant, water chestnut, bamboo sprouts, and something sweet like...pineapple...? Asian pineapple...? Jackfruit...? Lychee fruit...?
Warning: Next sentence contains what some might deem to be "too much information."
It was delicious and I got the see the expression on the face of the the guy waiting to use the restroom stall after me, when I stepped out and wasn't Asian (surprise!), if you "catch my drift," (no pun intended).
At the time of the presentation of the bag of food, I had only made a couple of dollars, but someone had given me half a bag of corn chips; someone else, a cigarette.
The Asian lady never speaks, just hands me excellent food and makes a hand to mouth gesture which I think is in a universal language.
I made a gesture to the spot where Sue, the Colombian lady has been seen sitting by me in the past, and tried to convey that I would share it with her. I pointed to the spot, made the outline of an hourglass with my hands, then, held one hand horizontally very low to the ground to indicate "the short one," then, after dismissing the idea of taking my instant coffee out and pointing to it;  pointed to the food, then my stomach and then to the spot where Sue's stomach would be if she were sitting next to me. I will share this with my little Colombian friend...
I couldn't really decipher the Asian lady's response to that, and so, after putting the bag of food in my backpack and playing a song, and then noticing her standing in front of her business watching me, I reasoned that she was either curious to see if I would like the food, or maybe if I would even eat it at all.
Then I considered my small chance of even running into Sue that night.
I decided that I at least owed the Asian lady the courtesy of trying the food, which I did; nodding my head in the universal language of approval, and trying to wipe the "what the hell is that, lychee fruit?" look off my face. By the time it was finished, I had acquired quite a taste for lychee fruit!
Sixes
I knocked off at 8:30 p.m.
I went to Bourbon Street, which was pretty deserted.
Deciding to save my nice new strings for a better occasion, I headed towards Royal Street.
I was stopped by a girl on a corner, who wanted me to play her something. I started to make excuses about having to tune up, when she said "Do you know Eyes of the World, by the Grateful Dead?" Those were magic words. Those are magic words.
I played a bit of that song, and she gave me 6 dollars, to go with the 3, which were the proceeds from Decatur Street, to go along with the Asian food.
This morning, I offered to buy some guys coffee for him at Starbucks, using the gift card that the Lidgeleys had sent from London. He agreed and, though his coffee only came to 4 dollars, he gave me 6 dollars.
I found 3 dollars on the sidewalk this morning, with nobody nearby. So, I am scraping by, waiting for Mardi Gras, and for things to pick up.