I took my daughter and her friend for a stroll up the 16th St. Mall here in Denver last night after watching the Rockies deal out a 9-1 thrashing of the SD Padres.

"What are we looking for, daddy?"

"I don't know. Something interesting. They've got pianos all over the mall. Maybe we'll find someone playing somewhere."

...and so we did. Mr. Gordon Von had gathered a small crowd with a rendition of Billy Joel's "Piano Man."

I've always loved street performers - singers, jugglers, comedians, freak shows...whatever. It's a special treat when they're good, which Gordon was, but what I admire the most is the courage of the performers to lay their talent, and their egos, on the line for sometimes appreciative, sometimes critical audiences. This crowd was more the former, overlooking the horribly out of tune piano and offering a few minutes of attention and a few dollars of support.

"So, what did you think?"

Seeing that her dad was impressed by the event, Colleen choked back her urge to tell me she'd rather have spent the time window shopping, or playing in one of the fountains.

"It was cool."

That's my girl!