For Love or Money

Love is stimulated by illusions more that anything.
Joni Mitchell
I made this image last night at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at an outdoor shopping mall. The management hired a quartet and they had their own photographer. I was there for the elected folk. The temperature wasn’t too bad considering how cold it had been the past few days. I guess the musicians were cold. They were just sitting there playing. The guy in my photo is wearing gloves. He wasn’t the only one. The quartet was good.
The Joni Mitchell line comes from the song Sharon, and even though she’s used it to describe a relationship, I was thinking a little differently. I would have never pictured myself at a mall tree lighting ceremony taking pictures of elected people thirty years ago. I sure these musicians felt the same way. They were sitting there playing in the dark while people stopped shopping long enough to see the tree light then rush off with the kids to Santa or to another store. I wonder how many even heard them? It’s a shame; the quartet was good.