"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know
what you're gonna get." Fo-orrest Gump's Mama
Especially when you go down to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica where everyone and his third cousin routinely show up to perform.
So the DH and I went down this weekend to break up the monotony of living where we live....(In the burbs.) We were contemplating going to the beach. But there was a monster cumulus cloud hanging over the coast. So we went instead to the Promenade. It's a great shopping area with all kinds of fab stores. But we weren't shopping. We went for the music.
There's music aplenty on weekends there. This duo was apparently still living out of a van, but were actually pretty good. We nicknamed them "The Middle-aged Hippies." They'd seen better days, but they were still passionate about their music. It kinda made me teary and made me want to throw up a peace sign and yell, "Don't give up on the dream!" Luckily, I restrained myself.
This beauty had a beautiful voice and was bravely standing there all alone with her guitar case open, belting out her own original songs. They were good. We kept walking.
Past a topiary Stegosaurus spitting water. Cool.
And this guy was a Flamenco/Latin guitarist extraordinaire. His name was Nicolas Tengler. I know this because I bought one of his CD's. I'm listening to it right now. I'm in love with it. He's a little samba-ish, a master at Flamenco. Wow. Is all I can say. Sorry I couldn't get him to look up. He was concentrating. Sheesh!
So was this darling Golden. On this:
Yes, that is a monkey. The one on the right. The one on the left is my DH. Can you see the bemused expression he's making? Like, "I'm holding a monkey's hand! WTH?" I also shook the little guy's hand, which was crazy. His little fingers were seriously human. He took my finger, gave it a shake. For a dollar. Cheap, I say. I mean, how many chances like that are you gonna get in one lifetime?
This guy was playing kitchen utensils. Pot lids and buckets and broiler pans. And he was actually making music. While doing a Unibomber impersonation.
And I will leave you finally with this sweet face:
That's what happened after I left a tip in his Electric Violin Case. To pay for all those Juliard student loans. He was freaking amazing. I wish I had a video with sound.
Thanks, Promenade. You made our weekend! Hope yours was as musical!
