Blue Suede Style

A Perfect Case of Cane And Able

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

As I walked through the Bourke Street Mall recently, I could hear an Elvis song above all the myriad sounds of the beautiful city I live in. I knew immediately it was a street performer, but I couldn’t actually see the singer.

As I walked up the street, I saw this man on a street corner. At first I could just see his head and shoulders - it helps when you’re well over six feet tall, because you get a clear view most of the time. The closer I got, the more poignant the scene became.

The street performer was seriously vision-impaired, hence the dark glasses, the white cane and the prominent sign. I stood and watched him for a few seconds as people hurried past. So many people, so many things on their minds, and yet this man stood, seemingly oblivious to the pace of the city, delivering the ballads that probably held great significance in his own life.


There was nothing to announce that he was open to donations, but I saw that he had an upturned Akubra hat (a quintessential symbol of Australia) above his amplifier. So I dropped a two-dollar coin into his hat and he actually broke off in mid-delivery to say "Thank you".

I then asked him if he would mind me taking some photographs and he grinned and said, "Go ahead. I’m sorry I’m not the most photogenic subject".

It was much later that I thought of an appropriate reply. I should have just said "Ah, but you’re a profile in courage."


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