April Editorial: The Fairytale of The Hustler
By Katie Barner
Once upon a time, there was a wonderfully talented shoemaker who, at no fault of his own, was struggling to make a living from his talent. All he had left was enough leather to make a single pair of shoes, which he began to do with the same delicate love that he always does with his craft. After a long day, he left the materials out in his shop to complete in the morning. When he awoke and moseyed over to his shop, to his complete surprise, the shoes were completed to absolute perfection. A wealthy customer purchased them right away, and the shoemaker was able to buy enough leather to make two pairs of shoes. Again, he laid the material out for the morning. Again, the shoes were made when he awoke. Two pairs this time.
This pattern continued for quite some time, always doubling the number of shoes and therefore doubling the profit, much to the shoemakers both delight and confusion. One night, the shoemaker finally made the decision, after speaking with his wife, to stay up all night and get to the bottom of this mystery. They did in the room, behind the clothes hanging on the wall, and waited until a few small men came out, elves if you will, who then climbed on the table, and went to work. When the shoes were complete, off they went without a trace.
Now, the shoemaker was not ungrateful. He rewarded them with clothing, which unknowingly set the elves free, and enjoyed the wealth they provided him with for all his life.
In the rare moments of precious sleep, we don’t wake up with everything done for us, and we wouldn’t want to if we could!
Here at Music That Doesn’t Suck Monthly, we are the shoemakers, the wives, and the elves. In most of these cases, not literally so, but we are the ones staying up all night to create, working to master our craft. In the rare moments of precious sleep, we don’t wake up with everything done for us, and we wouldn’t want to if we could! This month, we are celebrating the hustlers of the creative world, who much like the elves of this fairytale, work tirelessly on the passion of their craft. Read about Paco, the 7th grade math teacher/rapper who is just as passionate about helping his students create their music as he is with his own; Jordan King, the artist who never stops and refuses to limit herself to just being a singer/rapper/songwriter; and Alex Coe, the street performer who doesn’t let the negativity of certain subway goers ever stop him. And this is just the beginning.
