#wss366 Smiley (new) (1/4)
It was Saturday Morning, a bit after 9AM. Smiley stood on the sidewalk, corner of Oak and Cole, doing finger warm-ups before starting his day. Smiley knew he might NOT play here all day, but he knew that he needed to be prepared to put in at least four hours. He kneeled down, sitting on his own heels, and opened the black case with the reinforced shiny steel corners, and aluminium enforced edges.
He pulled out his horn, a four valve bass trumpet with a nine inch "bell" in B♭. He put up his little "Donations are Fly" sign, and turned the open case away from him.
He stood up tall, took a deep breath and rolled up and down through a two octave scale, and then waited. As he hoped, a bump-out bay window on the third floor of the building behind him opened up, and a man yelled down groggily, "Please, Not today."
Smiley turned around, the reason for his nickname on full display, "Good morning."
The man said, "Can I convince you to go somewhere else?"
Smiley responded, "I play, I get bread. I walk, I starve."
The man was not happy, "Is this going to be a weekly shake-down?"
Smiley said, "There's no shakin until I play, and I'm down to play."
"Fifty?"
G Allen