rhythm and blooms

 

One of the best parts of John Wesley playing in a band is that he relishes being seen and heard. Fortunately, he's really good, so we love to see and hear him. And so do the kids. Last week, my brother and Harris and Reggie played some tunes for the Rhythm and Blooms cpncert series at the Botanical Gardens. The weather was just right, the flowers were on their proudest behavior, and the people were great. We took the little boy and girl who live with us, some blankets and a camera, and popped a squat on the grass close to the 'stage.' We enjoyed the company of some awesome folks... family and friends... and relaxed on a perfect spring evening.

It seems that every time my brother plays outdoors and the kids are there, he enlists ella to hock CDs of his music to everyone in attendance. I suppose she's a perfect salesgirl. I mean, who's gonna tell a little girl with big blue eyes and a sweet voice no? (Well, probably the same people who say Santa Claus isn't real.) Seriously, though, it's harder to say no to her than it is to give up the cash to pay for the CD. I promise. On the rare occasion that she is turned down, she'll just stand there and stare at the person with the cd held out. If they're not ready to be broken, she moves on to the next potential customer, but has no qualms about returning to the scrooge who wouldn't fork out the 5 bucks to buy a disc on the first attempt.



Most of the time, she's an exemplary hustler. She's even gotten people to buy 4 or 5 CDs at a time. Or sold to people whom she's gotten to purchase the same disc at another show. And if people say they only have a 10 or a 20 dollar bill, she easily convinces them that it's alright if they pay more... even if she HAS the change. On the whole, she doesn't have to say much. Her face is worth a thousand words in negotiations, and most suckers just cave as soon as she walks in their general direction. They know what's coming before she even opens her mouth. It's all in her eyes... they have in them their own silent siren song, which makes people do as she says. I know this because she's pretty successful at using them on me and Matt, though I'm starting to gain the strength not to fall victim to her convincing mannerisms.

But it doesn't all go to my brother; she looks out for herself, too. My Ella knows that she deserves a cut... At the Botanical Gardens, she negotiated trades with artists who had booths of items for sale and landed herself a pretty glass-blown necklace. Some folks were so impressed with her ability to sell so many CDs that they gave her dollar tips.

Just so we're clear, I don't condone child labor. If she didn't ask to do this, I wouldn't let her. (Wow, did that just sound like a pageant mom line or what?) I think it's a good experience for her to learn how to interact with people... especially people with money... particularly when she's learning how to get them to fork it over. So, to my daughter I say 'goodwork.' And maybe she can teach me a thing or two, as those skills evidently didn't come from her mama. And I don't think they're something that Summit inherited, because as soon as Patrick and Chris Dunbars' blond-haired and beautiful little girl arrived, he was more interested in her than anything else. Now, that's a whole different story.