But, this particular open mic is always a fun night, especially since it attracts a mixed crowd. There are teenagers who want to be "discovered," older folks who can no longer find a venue that will book them, average people passing through the city, and middle-aged non-musicians who are looking to pick up a date.
But, the most unusual part of the night is the people in their seventies and eighties that make pencil drawings of the performers. It's impressive in that the open mic participants only do two or three songs and when they're finished, the portrait is too.
Last night, at the open mic, I witnessed something very disturbing, which is the point of today's blog entry. There's a elderly man, partially paralyzed by a stroke, that's a regular attendee. When everyone was packing up to leave, another senior citizen, who is there every week, yelled and screamed at the man, saying that he spilled coffee on one of his drawings and he had better be more careful.
How could someone treat another person that way? The man is paralyzed so, obviously, he has a problem with motor skills. The situation reminded me of the mother I saw on Block Island last weekend yelling and swearing at her young son because he was having trouble keeping up with her on his bicycle.
There will always be people that treat the elderly and young children with disrespect. Even if there's not much I can do about it now, I'm certain that they'll get their payback time in purgatory.
St. Wolfgang of Ratisbon is a patron saint of stroke victims. He was born in Swabia, Germany in 924. He was bishop of Bavaria from 972 to 994.
St. Wolfgang was a dear friend to St. Aurelia, the hermitess. He spent his days doing charitable deeds for the sick and poor, preaching, promoting education, and restoring monasteries. St. Wolfgang died in 994. His feast day is Oct. 31, All Hallow's Eve.
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