The Music of the Spheres Come Down to Earth

Two or three weeks ago, stories on NPR reported on an experiment undertaken by Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten. Weingarten persuaded the extraordinary young violinist, Joshua Bell (see earlier post re: applause at his recent Charlotte appearance) to play at the entrance of a DC Metro stop for 40 minutes during rush hour. According to NPR, and to Weingarten writing in the Post, more than 1,000 people passed by Bell's location at the busy L'Enfant Plaza station, but only seven stopped even momentarily to listen, and only one recognized him. $39 was tossed into his open violin case, plus and additional $20 by the woman who recognized him (she knew a bargain when she saw one).



What does this say about our society today? Perhaps not much. Speaking with Bob Garfield on the excellent weekly program, On The Media from WNYC and NPR, Weingarten said that these people were likely not ignorant boobs, but simply in a hurry. Having spent my share of time on that very Metro system as well as on the highways and byways of the DC area, I can vouch for the truth of that statement. Everyone, it seems, has a Very Important Job; the future of the Free World depends on them getting where they are going with no delay.



You may draw your own conclusions regarding the Joshua Bell experiment. I'd like to think I would have stopped, and perhaps even leaned against a pillar to listen for the duration. But suppose I'd been running late for a meeting?



Still, imagine what life would be like if we were a little less driven, a little freer to stop and smell the roses when we come across them: in the form of a Bach Chaconne, a bluegrass tune, a mural, a living statue, a sidewalk painting, a lone saxophone player with a cool jazz riff... So a few meetings in Washington (or New York or Charlotte or Chicago) might start late -- or might not happen at all. Would that be so bad for the country?

Image: living statue, Las Ramblas, Barcelona (photo by Vincent Lowe),

How Not to Live Sanely

At the church Judy and I attend in Atlanta, St. John's Lutheran, time is always set aside during the service for prayers by members of the congregation. There is one woman who can be counted on to pray about something every Sunday. Lately she has been praying for the framers of this year's Farm Bill in Congress. The Farm Bill? In an urban setting like Atlanta, who prays for the Farm Bill? I'm sure the folks at ADM pray for it nightly, but among the usual prayers for the infirm and for the bereaved and for the least of those among us, her prayer for the Farm Bill struck me as a little... odd.

No more. Michael Pollan's recent piece in the NY Times Magazine explains why she prays, and why we should all be praying for someone to pay attention to this vast and extraordinarily arcane piece of legislation. And explains why, with respect to farm... make that food... policy, we do not live in a sane world. For more about this, see Pollan's 2006 masterpiece, The Omnivore's Dilemma, now available at a good price from Amazon.

Bon apetit.