Juggling for Spare Change

If you're stopped at a red light at an intersection, there's a chance that someone will be entertaining you while you wait for the light to turn green. I've seen clowns here and they kinda scare me, as clowns tend to do. Folks will also get creative though and use their skills as best as they can in hopes that you will give them some money in exchange.

The photos here are not remotely representative of this young man's ability in juggling tennis balls. He was actually quite skilled. Unfortunately, my camera snaps a photo approximately 1/2 a second after I press the shutter. So, action shots are nearly impossible. Because I'm stubborn, I keep trying anyway, taking as many photos as I possibly can in hopes that one -- just one (please!) -- will show what I'm attempting to capture.  In this case, I wasn't too successful unfortunately.

I think that these instances at stop lights, be it with panhandlers or those sharing their skills, always make those of us in the idling cars a little uncomfortable. And there's the immediate response to make sure all valuables are secure and not able to be grabbed though an open window. So from the start we don't trust the person. It's also a confrontation with someone else's reality, which is much less privileged than ours. I feel a little guilt. I also have an instinct to pretend I don't see them.

Back in the US, I didn't want to hand out money. So, I eventually responded to these feelings by carrying around bottled water to give out and at least having conversations with the panhandlers, to try and express some degree of our shared humanity. It might be more for me than for them, to alleviate my feelings of guilt, but also to force me to lessen my fear and distrust and increase my openness to others who are different from me.

Here, I haven't figured out how to respond exactly because there's so much more emphasis on being cautious. I have a lot of respect for this young man, out in the hot sun, trying to do something to make a little money. And he's good at it too. Unfortunately, the chance that Cirque du Soleil will come along, see his skill and train him, is rather slim. Likely the odds are against him. I wonder what his options are. Where he lives. What possibilities he has in life. What possibilities he thinks he has in life. What he cares about. Who he loves. Who loves him.

And then the light turns green and he's left behind as we drive away. Waiting for the light to turn red again so he can continue juggling for the next line of cars.