agitated subway cellist
this morning, on my commute to work, a man toting a cello and a small collapsible stool boarded my subway car. as he walked from one end of the car to the other, all passengers with headphones on (like me) removed them in anticipation of quite the performance event.
the cellist stationed himself and began to play. luckily for him, the train was not very crowded and he could easily find a place to set up. everyone watched. surely no one had seen anything quite like this before.
a man sitting across from me (who appeared to be a fellow commuter) pulled a small camera out of his messenger bag. he squatted in the middle of the car and began to take a picture. immediately, the cellist stopped playing (he had made it through just a few bars), collapsed his stool, and got up. the camera-man confusedly stood and retreated to his seat. the cellist walked up and down the car, presenting his hat for money. when he reached the photographer, some kind of altercation ensued. while i couldn’t hear exactly what was said, hand gestures led me to believe the cellist was reprimanding the camera-man. the photographer reached into his pocket and audibly said “i’m just trying to tip you, man,” and the cellist walked away.
i mean, sure, it would be irritating and weird to have a stranger take a picture of you if you were just riding the subway, minding your own business. but this man boarded the train with intentions of playing a large classical instrument, for money. did he seriously not expect someone to gawk and want to take a picture?
