Panhandler Musicians

There has been a real explosion of panhandler musicians in the skywalk system of Des Moines over the past 7 or 8 months.  I see them all the time on my way to lunch.  They are always on the portion of the skywalk that is over the street.  I guess that portion is considered public area, so they can’t be kicked out by the businesses.

The people you see are often the same but in different places every day.  The regulars are mostly solo acts with an acoustic guitar.  They are always male.  They usually appear to come from the lower socio-economic classes.  They all have an open box seeded with a little starter money to encourage tips. 

The musician I like least I have nicknamed Bob.  Bob only knows one musical phrase.  I think this phrase is from a Bob Dylan song.  It is at the most maybe 10 bars long.  The good news is that the end of the phrase repeats into the beginning of the phrase easily.  The bad news is that I hear THE SAME THING FOUR TIMES FOR EVERY SINGLE TIME I NEED TO WALK BY HIM.  My evidence for saying it’s a Dylan song comes from the Dylan shirt that he wears about every third day.  He tries to sing a few words but it never comes out as anything more than a whisper.  He has the look of an old Vietnam vet with a long, scraggly white beard.

The musician I like the most is quite friendly and always has a wide variety of songs to play.  He seems like a guy who is always happy.  His look is more like a mid-50’s Native American who has no reservations about his heritage and is proud of it, but is firmly integrated into the rest of society.  He looks people in the eye and will give you a smile while he is singing.  He also briefly interrupts the singing to thank everyone who gives him a tip.  The guitar playing doesn’t stop though.  He does the guitar equivalent of marking time during that.  I’m sorry to say I don’t know his name though or have a nickname for him.

I do have a personal policy of not giving money to beggars on the street.  Many times you know they are just going to waste it on some personal vices, whatever they may be.  I have broken that policy several times for my favorite musician though.  I don’t think he is one to waste what he receives.  I think he does it mostly for the enjoyment of his craft.