The Most Valuable Thing
It had been a hard week. I was weary and wanted to be anywhere but miles away from home, late in the day, yet there I was. As we drove through the grocery store parking lot, we noted a van in one space and on the opposite side of the road a young man with an electric violin, amplifier, and FX box (that he could loop music through). He had placed a sign on the grassy verge. I'd seen only enough of the sign to know he was asking for help of some sort. We watched as children tumbled from the van and saw the man wave them back with his bow. As we sat in the pharmacy drive thru, I let the car window down a little. At that moment the violinist began to play. Music wafted around us on the breeze. The music was beautiful and ethereal. I didn't recognize the piece and wondered if it was an original composition. Whoever composed it, the music was lovely and soothing and soared in the cold air, seeming to become part of the ch...