Seeking the Freedom of Music on the West Side

A random event/encounter on Buffalo's West Side Saturday gave me encouragement and a sighting of the element of wonder, as well as some unneeded discouragement.

While I did my weekly shopping for several items at Price Rite that cost much less there than Wegmans or elsewhere (bananas, rolls, milk, cereal, applesauce), I had to go the aisle at the far end of the story, which offers bakery items, frozen foods and soda pop. A family of five, mom, dad and three kids, were shopping, with nothing standing out except some well-mannered behavior from the kids.

Suddenly, the oldest son, a Latino boy of about age 8-10, sees one of those displays with rails for corners and thinner wire on the sides to hold items in, most often used in toy and department stores to hold rubber balls. Instead of picking up and throwing any of the balls inside, he starts playing the wires like bass strings, immediately picking out a pretty decent, funky rhythm.

I stopped my rounds to watch and listen to this, both impressed and amused, when the boy discovered the different notes and started picking out a melody of sorts. I was amazed, and looked around, but saw no one but the family and me in the aisle. I was disappointed that no one else was present to witness this.

My listening was interrupted when the father went over to his son and said, "That's enough. How many times have I told you about doing this in stores?" First, you have talked to your son about playing bass this good on a store display before? Second, thanks, Mr. Killjoy; I hope you don't always show this lack of support of your son's and family's talents. Maybe you can't let him play on every display in every store, but a little bit of encouragement would be nice.