[Dixielandjazz] Music on the subway

[Dick Miller]

When I was college student in NYC, commuting to school on the subway (and
train, and ferry, and walking, but that's another story), there was a
couple I saw regularly who played on the trains. She played accordian, he
alto sax, and they were both blind. Each had a small cup attached to the
front of the instrument for those who chose to contribute. Again, not
obtrusive, not offensive, but there. They usually rode when the trains
weren't packed, so they could walk through the aisles with care. They ha
developed their aisle-walking technique to an art: I never saw them bump
into anybody more than just brush against them. The interesting thing was
that they didn't work togeether. They each boarded the end car of a train,
one in front and one in back, then worked their way toward the middle.
When they met in the middle, they got off that train, walked to the
opposite ends of the platform, boarded the next train, and repeated the
process.

My guess is that they made a good living that way. If each collected a
buck from each train, and they were able to work four trains an hour for
six hours a day, five days a week, that would be a total of $240 a week, a
living wage in the '60s in NYC, when Union scale was $40 for a four-hour
gig.

--Dick Miller