Do you know the blues?

Mon morning in Atlanta I decided that before I leave I wanted to stop by an old favorite restaurant for some quality soul food.  I drove to the restaurant only to find that it was closed on Mondays.  Oh well, near Georgia Tech there is another soul food place that wasn't too far and across the street from it is a great Cuban sandwich place.  As I parked I noticed a gentleman playing a guitar across the street and it was rather engaging to listen to him.  However, being on a bit of a time crunch for my flight I had to decide quickly where to go eat.  I could eat a sandwich and listen to the music of this street corner player.  Or I could go get my soul food.  I chose soul food.  The food was great, but that is secondary.  After leaving I was getting in the car when the musician called to me, "you look like you haven't heard any good ole Mississippi Delta blues."  I had half a mind to get into a debate with him, but I thought I would just see where I was being led.  I asked what he said and crossed the street to hear it again.  He offered to give me an impromptu performance in the blues and got right into it.  I don't know whether he was the best musician, but he certainly had a lot of charisma.  This was my classic southern experience that I have been imagining for years...a gruff looking bluesman playing some good ole blues on a street corner near some amazing soul food.  When he was done he detailed to me the basis for his laments and pulled his shirt back to show a growth the size of my fist, "it's cancer," he stated matter of factly.  He said again how he needed 16 dollars and he could stay in a nearby facility.  I decided to give him my change and a dollar, but then I thought of something else.  I told him I'd return in a second from the car.  He began to sing about coincidences in a song that I had heard when I first parked.  That was when I remembered the book I was halfway through, The Celestine Prophecy, which talks exactly about being aware enough in life to see the coincidences are not just that (instead they are more we just don't know it).  I decided that I didn't need my book and I would give it to him with a Smile Card.  I approached him again and offered the book asking whether he liked to read.  He responded that he did and accepted it.  i told him that there was something else in the book for him, but he would have to read it to find it.  After giving him a dollar and some change I proceeded to drive to the airport. 

A few hrs later on the flight as I sat there bored out of my mind (since the DVD I rented didn't play on my laptop) I wished I had the book to read.  Then I decided it was better off with him.