She was playing a full size acoustic guitar as she walked.
I was sitting all alone on a bench that the city provides eating ice cream.
A friend I knew had been by earlier.
He was doing guard duty for LakeShirts and we chatted for a bit.
I knew him and his dad and family well from earlier in life.
It was getting towards late evening and starting to get dark a little because of the cloudy skies and rain in the area.
A nice cool overcast evening.
Almost raining.
Not quite raining where we were at out in front and across the road from the Lakeside Tavern.
I spoke out to her as she passed and asked her if she wanted me to sing a song for her.
She took a few steps towards me and smiled and I asked her again.
I said I was a guitarist and singer and I would sing Sam Cooke's Song for her if she would like and she said yes she would and she handed me her guitar.
A fullsize Epiphone Acoustic flat top guitar.
Dark in color.
I washed my fingertips in the grass and wiped my fingers on my tshirt before I took it.
Not wanting to put sticky fingers on her nice guitar.
I had visited Sam, an Indian friend of mine out on the reservation several hours earlier that morning.
We had a good visit.
So I took the guitar and strummed once across it with my thumb.
It played well and was in tune and I told her it was a nice guitar.
I then told her the story of Sam Cooke and the song I was about to sing.
She knew both of him and his song.
He does his with a whole orchestra accompaniment.
Fantastic and beautiful.
He also does some trailoffs that are great.
Mine is one acoustic guitar and pretty basic.
The same song.
So I began to sing.
She lit up immediately.
I missed a chord just moments into it and had to stop and start over again.
She said no no keep going.
I was surprised at how well I was projecting and the guitar was playing beautifully but it was full size with an extended neck and no capo for the third fret so I was having a hard time reaching and getting the exact chord formation to come out right and clean and I was forgetting the verses sequence but I struggled on for a few verses.
She asked if she could film and I said yes and she got out her iPhone and began to film.
Her male fried came out on the balcony across the street at the bar and hollered over to her.
She said yes that I was singing for her.
He was it looked like a little older fellow.
Grey haired.
Dad or boyfriend I did not know.
I asked her early on where she was from and if from Detroit Lakes and she said no she was from Wisconsin and visiting.
We Fest the big Country Music Festival and gathering was going on but she didn't appear at the moment to be a part of it.
She said the guitar was her friends.
I did kind of half beautifully for the few bars that I did.
Maybe thirty seconds in all and then I handed back her guitar and she took it and continued her walk.
She said she was going to look up the chords to the song and thanked me as she left.
I finished my ice cream and drove home.
Stopping by the store on the way.
I was inspired.
She was young and beautiful and she enjoyed my playing and singing.
I have been pretty much a closet singer to this point although I have done a few street musician sessions and one time a campfire concert on the guitar only.
Both had went pretty well.
I have been an inhibited player for the most part.
Choking up in discomfort whenever someone is present and not doing much after choking off a little and missing timing and chords.
You got to hit that stuff in order for it to work.
Choking and gasping and missing chords and you got nothing.
Stage fright.
For some reason I was pretty uninhibited last night.
It really projected beautifully.
It surprised me.
It told me I can sing and play the guitar pretty well for what I do.
Just a few basic chords and basic singing but pretty good and pretty soulful.
Same Cooke style.
Southern Black.
Gospel.
Even though I'm not a believer..
All it is is people suffering..
Blues and Jazz
People calling out..
Crying in pain..
Suffering the atrocious acts of others..
People without hearts and people without souls..