Fascinating article.  The most arresting observation in it was:

   ...There was no ethnic or demographic pattern to distinguish
   the people who stayed to watch Bell, or the ones who gave money,
   from that vast majority who hurried on past, unheeding.  Whites,
   blacks and Asians, young and old, men and women, were represented
   in all three groups.  But the behavior of one demographic remained
   absolutely consistent.  Every single time a child walked past,
   he or she tried to stop and watch.  And every single time, a
   parent scooted the kid away."

The part about the children speaks volumes about the possible future for
classical music appreciation.  The part about the parents and nearly
everyone else, on the other hand...

I almost always stop for street musicians myself.  Admittedly, morning
rush hour is not the best time for leisured listening.

Jim Tobin

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