Day 5 Redux - Melbourne's Poorest Busker

Day 5 - Melbourne's Poorest Busker
Originally uploaded by photog larry.

OK - i didnt get this into the last post, but i would be doing you a disservice if i did not tell you about who i believe is the worlds, and if not, then definitely melbourne's poorest busker.

As I had talked about previously, a busker is just a street performer. you know, the guys in outfits who perform tricks on the street, tell jokes, dress up like golden statues etc. you don't usually think too much about these guys. you might pass by, even stop and watch for a few minutes, and if they are good, tip them and move on. but all in all, street performers are the same everywhere.

so we are walking along southgate, where there are commonly street performers. we pass by an act that i had never seen before. there is a dude in a ninja costume and a pair of nunchuks at his side. he is kneeling down, facing away from the crowd, presumably in ninja prayer or something like that. i stand there, anticipating that he'll get up in a minute or so and do his little nunchuk act. i wait....and wait....and wait...eventually, i give up, thinking that he is on a break.....then all of a sudden he gets up, and does his nunchuk act for about 30 seconds...spinning the nunchuks around with precision. and just as quickly, he gets back down in kneeling position, nunchuks at his side, back to the crowd....ok....i don't think too much of this, until i read the sign that he has, just off to the side....it reads something like this.

"hello, i moved to australia recently from korea and love your country. i practice the art of the nunchuka. bruce lee used nunchuka. maybe you have heard of him. please help out. every little bit helps."

ok. so i don't mean to belittle the guy, but you looked at the bucket that he had beside the sign, and there was literally no money in the bucket. and i suddenly realized why. most buskers find a way to entertain you, then ask you for money. either they go around to the crowd and stick the bucket in your face, or at least, at the end of the show, do a little speech and guilt you into giving it up.

THIS guy does everything backwards. he has a little cardboard sign written in bad english and a bucket that he puts about 10 feet away from where his performance is. then, when he is done, he silently goes into his "praying" position with his back to the crowd. so even if you are watching, you don't really know if he is resting, or whether his performance is actually over. he never talks, so you can't even ask him that question (presumably because of his silent ninja discipline or something). now i know the guy is just trying to make a living on the skills that he has, but a little common sense might lead him to be a little more aggressive, perhaps place the bucket in front of the perforrmance area, or face the crowd etc...., given that he appears to be hauling in about 5 cents a day working pretty hard with his ninja routine. its impressive too. so i don't doubt that he could make a lot of money busking.

perhaps what he needs is a good accountant....perhaps i could go over there again and propose that i can double or even triple his current income! and then take 1/2 of the profits as my cut....all for getting him to move the tip bucket....

til next time, this is ninja-pimp larry