(Picture from Samuthraki Island, Greece 2016)
Well, I'm still wandering around like a nomad. Maybe because I am one.
After I finished writing this inspirational article a few days ago in Irakleio - https://steemit.com/life/@montycashmusic/the-only-way-forward-a-pessimist-s-resort-to-optimism-for-the-sake-of-survival - I knew that I was onto something in the world because that morning I was attacked! I'm a little superstition with the mind reality matrix thing and well, I've had too much happen in my reality for it all to be coincidence. Anyways...
So after listening to a gypsy boy play some music I made friends with on the street, I was wandering away to find a place to play in the morning and the next minute a young american guy jumps me from behind and starts pummeling my chest. It all happened so quickly and it was in the middle of a crowded street.
So as it turned out, him and his friends were "sure" I was the guy that stole his phone. But his friends took a good look at me and decided I wasn't the guy.
I'm like... well... what... you just run around attacking random people that you think stole your phone and you thing you can get away with doing that with no consequences? But they were "sure", they consoled to me. lol. This seemed to be something they thought was completely relate-able. The american guy was a fire cracker, telling me, well would you just ask someone if you were the man that stole my phone? I'm like, well, yeah. Because maybe you got the wrong guy. lol
The other one had more muscles and had a similar green back pack, but no guitar. They missed the whole, I've got a guitar on my shoulder thing.
Anyways, I wasn't seriously hurt (his attempts at attack were akin to a little child jumping on your back and screaming, 'mummy, this man stole my icecream') and I just let it go.
I considered it a bit longer and considering my desire to make money for the recording, I put my gypsy mind on and decided I would demand some money in compensation for being attacked in the middle of a busy street. So I caught up to them, started to open my case because I was playing music there, found one of my strings broken (my guitar went down pretty hard) and my knee was bleeding. I got 20 euros out of the buggers.
lol
"Now tha's wha' I call, gooood beezness!"
Well, I prefer to make money from playing good music than from being attacked by random american tourists. I say. I got a pity look from the coppers that pass me on a regular basis (kind of used to me by now) they must have heard the story from one of the many onlookers of the whole situation. I can now add being assaulted by a young american tourist to my list of things that I've done in my life. That's satisfying, something different for the list.
Well... anyway.. I played for a bit that morning and I was asked to turn it down by a shop keeper who was adamant that she liked the music and wanted me to keep going but wanted me to turn it down. The only loud thing was my voice and I was trying to sing softly but that's part of my impact on the street is people being blown away by my amazing voice that's quite loud. And I went from making 3 euros for three songs on an empty street to making nothing. There were a lot of street vendors selling splat ball things that day and well... life is strange in the mornings. I decided my 23 euros for the morning was an acceptable amount to retire and I would head to Rethimno that afternoon on my way back to Chania (the darkness I dare venture).
I found a great place to play in Rethimno and found three good friends who I met through the music who all happened to be sociology students (one of them completing his phd in Irakleio) at the University in Crete. I played three nights in a row there and made good money. Good enough to pay for a bed in a hostel the last two nights. The 3rd night of no-sleep because of a snorer but hey, that's hostels! The first night I slept in a paved church courtyard of the castle wall church which is built into a cliff and overlooks a magnificent bay. I awoke to a black cat having pushed a sizable enough rock from the cliff above which landed not too far from my sleeping place with a big thump. Reality attempt of killing me number two.
In all my years of traveling this is the most violence or attempted violence to my person I have experienced. I feel I've hit a nerve in the matrix. But hey, a little personal fantasy for the sake of adventure. Later a priest arrived to open the doors of the church and lit some frankincense (which is one of my favourite smells) but I thought it savvy to make a dash.
I left Rethimno and now made it to Chania where I visited my favourite 2nd hand clothing store to get a new set of clothes (I've been wearing the same pair for the last 10 days) and now I have flares and a tight black t-shirt. I also decided to do something about the battery situation with my amp which chews AA batteries like a monster from hell. So after consulting a battery expert at a battery shop, the cheapest and most efficient option was to get one of their 12volt sealed lead acid batteries and hook it in to the amp via alligator clips. It's heavy but hey, I'm gonna save a bunch of money with this thing. He offered to charge it for me so that's where it is now.
I found a quiet place to sleep on the beach and tonight I will play music in Chania. Depending on how I do here, I may leave tomorrow or stay another day. I'm also here to retrieve my sleeping bag and tarpolan which I left on someone's roof I was sleeping on. I spied it still there, which is just amazing, after almost a month. Other things that were on that roof have been moved but my sleeping back is still there. So I'll grab that before I head up to the potentially cold Macedonia later this month.
Hopefully, things are different in Chania this month than when I was here before. I'm told it's more relaxed and less touristic in September. A different type of tourists come here in September.
So there's my story up to this point, I hope you enjoyed. Life stays interesting. I'm always on the wander.
In love,
Monty
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