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Old 07-12-2018, 12:08 AM
Davis Webb Davis Webb is offline
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Default Busking Hell

I was busking at a nice farmers market today in the downtown area and was sitting there after playing talking with some people.

A single guy came up to me as I was sitting, with a cigarette. He grabbed my hat and threw it on the ground. I looked at the hat but figured I better keep looking at him. Then he jammed a lit cigarette in my left eye, but I was able to move so it burned a hole under it rather than in it. In the next second he punched my on the side of the head with his other hand. I get hit all the time in martial arts so I was not shocked by this, but the whole thing was so fast.

Then I stood up and he ran away. Apparently 5 minutes later he attacked someone else in the subway and there were cops and paramedics on the scene.

I could have been blinded or killed. I am happy I did not chase him to get even, he might have had a knife.

Completely unprovoked attack.

The dangers of busking, you are out there with a bunch of psychos in any urban center.

I keep wondering what I could have done different, but a real fight seems to happen all at once. The opening move of a cigarette to the eye is quite the distractor.

I have trained karate for over 30 years. And I think I moved to keep my eye in shape or maybe it was reflex or luck. And I took the head shot, because i know what getting hit is like, it happens to me regularly, but not as hard. At the same time he was not a trained fighter, it was a painful slap.

I reported it ..blah blah blah. Now I am following up to make sure they keep secruity IN THE MARKET, not just patrolling.

The life of a musician. Not as glamorous as it seems.

I am GLAD that things were not worse. Maybe it was not karate. Maybe it was somthing else that protected me.

Rather PTSD tonight....sharing this...not sure why. I guess the anonymity of this lets me process it.
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Old 07-12-2018, 01:05 AM
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Sorry Davis.

Thankfully, you knew how to dodge the worst of it. And you knew not to run after him.

I’m thinking your next time out might be shaky. Have you a buddy who can come with?
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Old 07-12-2018, 04:20 AM
Tico Tico is offline
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Wow!
Soooo sorry this happened to you.

Reminds me of that saying, "No good deed goes unpunished."
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Old 07-12-2018, 05:46 AM
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Hope you're ok and thanks for that cautionary tale - I think....
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Old 07-12-2018, 06:03 AM
Davis Webb Davis Webb is offline
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Hi

Next time is fine, I played last night and it was great. Now that market, I will return there but there are some new rules.

1. No one I don't know is getting closer then 3 feet from me.
2. Expect the unexpected (Patrick Swaze, in Roadhouse).
3. Let security know that they must be present at the market at all times as a threat to anyone who wants to get cute.

Had this happened to one of the women there, are teens, there were kids there......
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Old 07-12-2018, 06:22 AM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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A couple of things came to mind as I read your post. First, I thought you were joking. Then I saw you weren't. Next, I saw where you live and found it difficult to believe this kind of thing happens there. I must be naive, but I really didn't think Toronto was like that, at least according to what I've been told.
I guess it just goes to show you how crazy a world this is, no matter where you live. Glad you're ok though. We are playing a downtown street fair tomorrow evening. I'll be paying close attention to my surroundings.
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Old 07-12-2018, 06:53 AM
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Wow! glad your eye was not permanently damaged . Yes indeed crazies can appear any time and any place, and sometimes things happen so fast it is impossible to do much about it.
The worst thing that ever happened to me while playing out was in a small bar section of restaurant, a drunk tripped just walking by and fell into my rolling rack breaking off the 1/4 jack into the preamp,,,,, completely unintentional just drunk . Luckily it was only about an 1/2 hour from quitting time the crowed had thinned out , and I just played and sang totally acoustic the rest of the nite.
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Old 07-12-2018, 07:15 AM
ishtar ishtar is offline
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I am sorry humanity has members that are gonna hurt you, me, us. I tend to go by statistics. Most buskers don't get this kind of treatment. You'd be really unfortunate if this kind of assault kept repeating, but it likely will not. Now that you have had to tolerate the injustice and you are ok, I think you have to get out there and keep playing and singing. Your new rules and awareness will help you avoid possible trouble in the future and chances are you got the assaults out of your system/repertoire/karma. Maybe some mace might be handy at times, if trouble happens again.
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Old 07-12-2018, 07:21 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
A couple of things came to mind as I read your post. First, I thought you were joking. Then I saw you weren't. Next, I saw where you live and found it difficult to believe this kind of thing happens there. I must be naive, but I really didn't think Toronto was like that, at least according to what I've been told.
I guess it just goes to show you how crazy a world this is, no matter where you live. Glad you're ok though.
I thought the exact same thing. Holy crap. I chalk it up to either drugs or mental illness. In any case, there's no excuse.
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Old 07-12-2018, 07:23 AM
architype architype is offline
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Sorry that happened to you. Glad it wasn't worse.

Attacks like that happen so quickly it is almost impossible, even for someone trained in self defense, to react. The bad guy always has the element of surprise. I try to be on alert when I'm walking around in public, but it is difficult to be aware of everything happening all around you. Life isn't like the movies.
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Old 07-12-2018, 07:28 AM
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Wow, sure am happy you're relatively ok. Thanks for sharing....this could happen to any of us, in any form. I always try to be aware of my surroundings and what people are doing around me. This is an example why it's good to do. Take care!
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Old 07-12-2018, 07:30 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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I'm so sorry to hear what happened. What a shock to the system. It sounds like you did everything right to avoid a more tragic outcome. Be safe.
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Old 07-12-2018, 07:31 AM
Kerbie Kerbie is offline
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Wow, that's amazing. Strange world we live in. Glad you're OK, Davis.
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Old 07-12-2018, 08:03 AM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Davis Webb View Post
...Maybe it was somthing else that protected me...
Fer sure - glad all turned out well...
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Old 07-12-2018, 08:18 AM
hairpuller hairpuller is offline
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You weren’t, by chance , playing stairway to heaven?

All joking aside, glad you’re okay, but sad you now are going to have to be on the defensive.
Scott
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