The idea came to me as I was sitting on the train, accross from my beloved accordion. Since I started playing last year I have brought it with me on all my travels. Yes it is heavy, yes it is a pain in the ass to haul it as carry-on, but it is my baby and it never leaves my side. I decided to put my skills to the test and see if I could earn my bus ticket busking. It was 10 euros, and the next bus was leaving in 1 hour. All my audiences up to that point consisted of at least some familiar, supportive faces. Here, my audience was tired strangers, some hurrying by, others surrounded by their suitcases and waiting impatiently for their buses, or trying to communicate with the ticket salesmen and their very limited English. There were also gypsies and beggars who were trying to earn some spare change for themselves. The strange, sidelong looks I got as I took my accordion out of its case almost stopped me from following through with my plan, but I forced myself to keep moving by thinking that no matter how foolish I looked and felt, I would never see any of these people again. I opened a piece of cloth in front of me (I didn't have a bag) and started playing, tentatively. I didn't even have any coins to put in as a starter, so I felt very silly for the first 15 minutes, until I saw a little girl nudge her father, take something from him, walk over to me and put it in my cloth. I don't think I've ever been as happy and proud earning a few coins as I was at that moment.
I continued more confidently now that I had some cents to my name, and more people started dropping coins. I actually started enjoying myself. After some time, an old man stood in front of me and listened to several of my songs, but didn't put any money in. I was rather annoyed by this I must say, and it did not help that a policeman came by to shoo me away. He asked me if I was playing for money, I smiled innocently and said "of course not." He was not fooled however, but told me very nicely that I could move just outside the door and play there. Apparently it is illegal to busk inside stations. As I was packing up to move, the old man came up to me and said "multo brava" and gave me 5 euros! So I forgave him. Then he asked for my address and I told him America. He looked disappointed but finally left me alone.
I had about 8 euros and 20 minutes left when I started playing again, this time across the street from the station. The new spot was definitely not as good as my first one, only one woman gave me money, during my first song. I kept playing, fruitlessly, until 5 minutes before the bus was to leave, and then decided I would talk to the bus driver and maybe he would have pity on me and give me a discount. However, counting my money I saw that the woman had given me more than enough! I would get to L'Aquila without relying on anyone's pity. On my way to the ticket booth I saw the policeman again and he asked me if everything went ok, as if he couldn't tell from the grin on my face and my bouncy step. I was laughing to myself, and sometimes outloud, all the way to L'Aquila. I love my accordion.
