Smooth
User Story
By Caitlin Bauer
"Smooth" is a short, quirky Whyte Ave tale from a September night two years ago. The birthday girl’s friends are an hour late, but a strange elderly man brightens her evening.
I dressed for the warmth of a Whyte Ave pub, not the sudden September night chill
I arrived early, my friends arrived ‘late’ – and of them I thought quite ill
Determined and stubborn I waited outside, arms cross and against a brick wall
But a moment went on, and past me did stride – an elderly man, quite bald
He had with him paper - an amp in his arms, and an instrument case quite strange
He set up his niche, and gently pulled free - a cello of broomsticks and string
He saw me watching, the weathered old man, his smile turned each wrinkle up wide
I smiled back, he turned back around – and seemed to forget everything
Cat-like plicks plucked at the air, as he adjusted the strings to the frosty outside
And after tinkering and fussing, he pulled the bow cross, and oh those strings came alive
My fingers were cringing in gloves in my pockets – how did this elder man play?
For an hour or so, with no hat or a lid to catch coins of performer’s way
He played for the sake of playing
A group of young men sauntered forward, big men with no coats and thick arms
They crowded in close, he did not stop – and I feared for cause and alarm
“Spin that shit old man” they cheered, then did the man end his song
He adjusted his fingers, and with grins up to his ears, played another one – and I laughed along
On two strings he turned the taunters into tasteful applauders to top
Smooth Criminal, unknown elder man, the Whyte Ave King of Pop.
Where Next?
Caitlin Bauer
Caitlin Bauer is a third-year professional writing student at Grant MacEwan University. She owns a parrot, drinks cherry-flavored sparkling water, and totes her 'everything, anything, and everything' book wherever she goes so she can write thoughts down before she forgets. She's started working on her first novel which she plans to continue next year during her practicum in strategic communications.
