Alexandria, LA
April 23, 2022
Population: 44,787
After an entire day and half off from music, which we spent camping and running 35 miles through the Louisiana countryside and forests (Oh, did I mention I was smack in the middle of training for my first 100-mile ultramarathon then?), we were now in the city of Alexandria, located in the center of Louisiana.
I went to a soup kitchen, but they said they don't actually encourage people gathering there; people pick up the food and go to eat in the park across the street. I set up in the park, but hardly anyone came or took notice. One man biking along delighted in my music, exclaimed “Y’all are having a shindig!” then fervently blessed me - another very Southern experience which was completely new to me. Two men very high on drugs (heroin?) only noticed me because “Hey look - a pretty lady.” They didn't notice the piano. I tried to engage them and then played for them, trying my best to reach them somehow. Although they stood close to me, mentally they were somewhere far, far away. Nothing I played or said was registering. It was sad.
At this point, I decided that one of the reasons I was having a hard time getting people to engage with me and the music was because they couldn’t place me in any category. They might be wondering: Who is this Asian person? What is this classical music? Why is there a piano? Are they making a movie and want us to stay away? I figured having a sign describing what I was doing would help the situation. So we headed to Michael’s and gathered supplies for some arts & crafts time.
I then set up outside a popular cafe downtown. Although it was bustling inside and the weather was nice, hardly anyone came outside to sit or listen. But there was Mike, who sat and listened to most of what I had to offer. He said he lost his wife in recent years, and even though he lives 30 miles away from this cafe I was set up outside, he likes to come just to get out of the house. Then he helped us load the piano and marveled (three times!) at the ramp Joel had built. He said he built his own house.
Mike was great, but I didn’t feel good about the last few days - it once again felt like I’d hardly played for anyone or had much of an impact. Alexandria felt like a strike out, and I no longer even knew what direction to head in (literally).
…But then a lightbulb went off! It had been my vision and dream to be invited into gathering spaces by strangers, places I would’ve never been given the key to if it weren’t for music. Pastor Lee from Day 8 had given me that key when he invited us to his service, and I had immediately disregarded it for some driving logistics. Driving logistics - who cared!? I decided we should turn around and go to that service. Lee had given me his business card, and I immediately called him to tell him that we had lost our way, and that we were coming to Sunday service. He screamed in delight!