The "Faces of Strangers: #2" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking to Al about slappin' a band together.  I met Al while walking on Alley Way which runs along Lancaster's historic Market Alley in the center of the Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  There he sat on a wooden bench, dressed in his athletic jersey and pants, #7 on the sleeves and the back of the jersey, while playing on a six string guitar and singing a soulful tune.  Stopped and sat down next to him.  He didn't miss a beat as he finished the song.  "You write that yourself?" I asked him as I threw a few bucks in his guitar case.  "Yeah, I write a lot of my own music," he said.  Al was originally from Berks County which is to the north-east of Lancaster.  He has played guitar for over 25 years and has been in blues bands, classic rock bands and heavy metal bands.  Told me that his favorite guitar was a '67 Gibson which he had to sell to pay the rent.  He went on to tell me that his only family was his sister who was in an auto accident years ago and changed her from a nice to a terrible person.  The entire time I sat with Al he kept on playing and singing songs.  Didn't recognize any of them, but I'm not sure he did either.  Seemed that he was doing quite a bit of ad libbing as he played.  His guitar and songs accommodated him when he didn't want to answer my questions, but I still felt sorrow for this guy who was down on his luck.  Could be me sitting on that bench playing the guitar and begging for a few bucks I thought to myself.  Life hasn't been kind to him.  I promised to stop again when I get a chance so we could talk some more about his idea of slappin' a band together to play the night club circuit.  He had a smile on his face when I threw another dollar in his guitar case as I walked away.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.