A pocket on South Congress

In our imaginary South Congress shop, the bell above the door strikes the same note as the busker outside. He hears it every time somebody comes in. By lunch he has worked it into a song, with a full beat of rest for anyone who hesitates on the threshold.

Inside, the Thrift Stitch Witch has turned a curtain into a green jacket. The busker tries it on between songs. Lovely fit, one problem: his pick slides through the lining and lodges somewhere near his elbow. The tailor listens to him shake the sleeve, unpicks three stitches, and makes him a pocket just the width of two fingers.

Back on the sidewalk, he tries the song again. Bell, rest, chord. This time the pick goes straight back in the pocket. On separate cards these two characters are a tailor and a musician. Put the cards side by side and you get a little stretch of South Congress where one person's work changes the sound of somebody else's afternoon.