The Sax Man

Behind the Photograph

Sometimes the music stays with you long after the photograph is made.

The first time I visited Savannah, Georgia, I had one full day to explore.

I wandered through Bonaventure Cemetery, where history seems to whisper beneath moss-covered oaks. I visited the Mercer House, made famous by Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I even stopped at Chippewa Square, where Forrest Gump sat on a park bench telling the world that life is like a box of chocolates.

By lunchtime, I'd worked up a hankering for a shrimp po' boy.

As I made my way toward a little restaurant I'd spotted earlier, I heard music before I saw where it was coming from.

There he was.

An older gentleman sitting in a chair, pouring his heart into a saxophone while people wandered past.

It was one of those blistering Georgia afternoons when the heat settles over everything.

If you look closely at the photograph, you'll notice the white towel wrapped around his neck.

It wasn't there to make a fashion statement.

It was there to keep the sweat from running down his back while he played.

He wasn't asking for sympathy.

He was working.

I've always loved jazz, and my daughter played the saxophone in high school, so maybe I noticed him a little differently than most people would.

I reached into my wallet, intending to drop a dollar into his tip jar.

No one-dollar bills.

The smallest bill I had was a five.

So I dropped it into the jar, smiled, and continued on in search of my shrimp po' boy.

Today, instead of telling you what I learned, I'd rather leave you with a thought.

The next time you pass a street musician, consider dropping something into the hat, the bucket, or the jar.

Most of us go home at the end of the day with a paycheck.

For many street performers, whatever ends up in that jar is their paycheck.

I’m glad I was able to put some money in the jar that day for The Sax Man’s gift of music.

Photographer's Notes

Savannah, Georgia
Afternoon · Sony DSC-F717
Hot summer afternoon in the historic district
Solo

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