Well for the first time in weeks the sun did not make an appearance today…just cloudy and a bit cool but it did not stop me as my day was crazy busy……..first of all was my yoga class and from there to Marysol’s apartment for my Spanish class…this was a hard class for me and I did not think I did very well my memory is not great and I need so much work on my pronunciation…but going to stick with it.
From class I went straight to poker and three hours of fun with the guys and again I won…..admittedly only 30 pesos but as always a win is a win.
After poker I came home and showered and changed and back into town in Little Bluey as I stopped at the local chines restaurant where I had ordered food for the class party and after I picked it up went to the home of Maggie and Giff…..they are the teachers for the students on Thursday…….we all had a wonderful time with great food and conversation and games…it was so special to see them and again so proud of them all..the next class is not till January 12th…….
It was a bus day but so nice to relax with the students tonight!!!!
Yashi Kochi!!
Story
The Washington Post won a Pulitzer Prize for their story about this experiment.
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. 
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.00 When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth $3,500,000 dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $
100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing.
No comments:
Post a Comment