The great thing about the city is that there are tons of odd jobs that anyone can pick up pretty easily, such as messenger, sign poster, or delivery boy for any one of fifty different restaurants that will happily schlep your food right to your front door. The bad part about all of this is that I had less than no desire to do any of it. It’s not that I’m afraid to work, (on the contrary, I am more than happy to pull my own weight) its just that none of these options appealed to me at this point in time.

So with the prospect of being short on funds looming over me like my 7th grade math teacher, I decided that it was time to get creative. And I think that I came up with a pretty brilliant plan if I do say so myself!

Are you ready for this?

I am going to be a street performer! Brilliant, right! After all, I have been playing my guitar for years and can pick out just about any tune that comes to mind. Plus it’s something that I have always wanted to try. And I knew in the back of my mind that if I didn’t give it a shot then I never would. So with that in mind I packed up my guitar and went to stake out my turf so to speak.

It didn’t take long to find the perfect spot. Okay, well I admit that I had to move a few times lest the more permanent residents cause me ample bodily harm due to my accidental infringement on their long claimed corners. But the third time was definitely the charm. I made a show of strapping on my guitar and arranging my open case “just so.” Then I threw in a few bucks to get things started. (You know, like you see them do in the movies.)

I have to admit, things started off pretty slow. People walked by and did their very best to avoid looking anywhere close to my general direction. One guy was ignoring me so hard that he managed to bite it when he tripped over my case. And that my friends was amusing enough that I almost offered to compensate him for the entertainment!

But then over time people started chucking a buck or two my way. And I do mean a buck or two……mostly in pennies, but hey, you have to start somewhere. I had just rounded the three-dollar mark when I noticed a big group of people gathering about two blocks over. They all seemed pretty excited and in the brief moments when the cheering died down I could here a pretty hot base beat hitting at a good tempo. I got so distracted wondering what they were all looking at that I forgot I was supposed to be playing my own guitar. And after the third time that I caught myself staring off into space with my fingers frozen mid cord I decided that I was going to be completely useless until I saw for myself what was going on. So I packed up my guitar, pocketed my three bucks and headed over.

The first thing that I saw after I shoved my way to the front of the pack was a kid flip straight from a standing position to land on his head….and hold it! Like he did it on purpose and if I ever tried something like that I would end up with a cracked skull at the very least. Then when they finished that move they used one of the girls as a human jump rope while the guys flipped and flopped over them. After I managed to pick my jaw up off the ground and look at the rest of the group I quickly figured out that this was a dance crew, and they were awesome! There were 8 of them in all (6 guys, 2 girls) and I could have easily stood there and watched them all day long. In fact it wasn’t long until I found myself tossing my 3 bucks into the growing pile of tips with the rest of the crowd. Who cares if it was every penny that I got that day, they earned it!

After the set was over and the crowd broke up I stayed behind to talk to the dancers. As it turns out they were pretty cool kids. They call themselves the 22 Crew (which I have to say that I think is pretty catchy!) and this was much more than just a way to make money for them, it was a way of life. I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s true. These guys eat, breath, and sleep their art. And after I spent a few minutes talking to them and hearing about all the time and effort they put into their routines I felt kind of embarrassed about my pitiful guitar effort.

In fact, when they asked me what I did I tried my best to hide my guitar case behind my skinny white boy no rhythm legs. But you know what, they were totally supportive. They told me that I didn’t matter how good I was, it just mattered that I had the guts to put it out there for the world to see. See why I like these guys!

Anyways, before we parted way I had to show’em a few smooth moves of my own, and I’m proud to say that the 22 Crew can now do a SWEET running man!

All courtesy of your friend Choozie! And did I mention that every single one of these kids had on a sweet t-shirt? I just can’t say enough about that fine all-purpose fashion accessory!

Dance like no one is watching my friends and I’ll catch you later!

Choozie