Last night I found myself with an extra David Byrne Ticket (a hot NYC ticket last night) I thought of selling both for a profit ( i paid 0) and making off with my $$ and going home. I started to sell the ticket and found that lots of young 20 year olds show up at concerts wanting tickets with NO MONEY to pay for them.
I started to try to sell my ticket and had a buyer for 80 and lost her cuz I wanted to sell the pair. It was early 715 and it was rainy and cold. I was talking to a woman who was losing her job at Virgin who was living hand to mouth and Finally, I said to her, come on....
I went to the show and gave her my extra. In talking to her, I found out that she gets into lots of shows for free. Sometimes sneaks in, sometimes a spare ticket for free. She follows ACDC, Motley Crue, the Dead and Phil Lesh, Bob Weir. She sells posters at their shows, She makes juggling sticks and those posters. She works hand to mouth. Off the books, sells things she finds on the street. Does what she needs to to survive. She sees more music that I do for less money
Then I started to think.... My good deed and it was my good deed seemed over shadowed by her ability to be resourceful. I started to feel scammed by her. She did not choose for me to take her. She was the receipient of my good deed. I felt that it was improper to sell a comp ticket at this show, though clearly she would have done so if she had the chance. I felt that my karma was to help her and she was to receive but she would not have held the moral high ground that I did when it came to being able to sell the tickets for pure profit.
It bothered me that our values were so conflictual..... My moral high ground is her survival......a case of competing needs....
david byrne put on a good show but i could have lived without it? I am glad i saw it complete with dancers and musical interludes. the music of Eno and Byrne is infectious. audience was talking head fans and phish dancing boys....
I hope the dancing dead girl had a good time.
