sTori Time

Last weekend was the Juhannus (midsummer) celebration here in Finland, so I didn't go busking at all over the holiday. Yesterday, I started up again, sitting at my post outside Ravintola Tori. I arrived at around 12:30 pm, hoping to catch some of the lunch customers.

It was a slow start this time. People were more baffled as to what I was doing; I got a lot of stares. My first customer was the woman who bought a poem from me the week before – the one who had cried. She told me my poem was a smash hit and that she would like another, this time about a crayfish-eating tradition among family and friends. She promised to come back next week for yet another poem, about a young man's graduation from high school. She also asked for my email so she could send the photo she took of me busking to my inbox. Here it is:



(One of my coworkers told me that she had framed my poem with my photo in it! She's also apparently a really cool older woman on the Helsinki scene. She arranges club nights for people who are 50+ . . . people who are younger than 50 can't get in! Amazing!)

A couple came by and asked for a story about the meaning of life, so I wrote about a kid who schools his father on the subject – and then asks for ice cream. The kid in the story is named after my cousin's son, Oskari, but it has nothing to do with their family. The couple seemed very excited to read my story, but I didn't get to see their reaction to it.

A table of older men had been peering over at me periodically throughout their lunch. As one of the men got up to go inside, he turned to me and said, "I'm also a writer. But I write books." I told him, "Maybe someday I will!" and then he walked inside.

A few minutes later, he emerged and handed me money and his card, without having ordered a story. I insisted that he takes one of my ready-made stories, which he did. His card says he is an "independent photographer and non-fiction writer." Cool!

My next customer was an older lady who spoke flawless English. I'm pretty sure she was Finnish, though. She wanted a poem for her boyfriend. "Can you imagine, a woman my age having a boyfriend?" she said. She was in the process of a divorce and her boyfriend was the complete opposite of her husband, she told me. The poem was for her "man-friend" but she didn't want me to use the words "girlfriend" or "love" or anything like that. She was very pleased with what I wrote. She had a great conversation with me, tipped me well and even offered to buy me a drink from Tori. She told me her son went to Harvard for journalism and that he'll be in town for a week or two. (He has a girlfriend, she said, so it's not like she's trying to hook us up. She just thinks he and I could have a great conversation.)

Then a man decked out in rasta gear approached me. I had difficulty understanding him, but I finally realized that he played percussion (surprise!) in a group that tours the world. He wanted me to write song lyrics for him – which I had never really done before. He told me to give it my best try, so I wrote a song called "The Writer and The Drummer." Next smash hit, right there. The drummer tipped the writer very well.

My sixth and last customer had to wait extra because I was working on so many other stories. He told me he had just come from therapy, so a story would be very nice, but he didn't give me a prompt. He just wanted me to write a story for him. I wrote one based on the prompt of a friend: "Two ducks are flying and they see a balloon floating by them." All I have to say is that the ducks talk and their names are Frank and George. The man tipped me very well and as he got on his bike to depart, I overheard him say to his friend, "She's a smart girl."

Yesterday was a great day for busking! It was sunny and warm, I got tipped well, and I only worked three hours total! Then I went to meet up with my cousin by a pool. After a day like that, how can you not smile? I have not felt this happy and relaxed in a long, long time.

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Villa Nah – Ways To Be