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As I walked through Market Square on my way to the recycle center, I passed these guys and did a double take. They didn’t look like any buskers I’d seen there before. The group played a polka and sang about the virtues of beer. This seemed a little edgy to me, given that we are very serious about our open container laws when we want to be and we are keeping an eye on buskers in particular. I asked them why they were here and one of them coyly responded, “Because we were told to be.” As I continued to look throughout the square, I realized all buskers not in a military uniform had been removed (or re-clothed?).
Bill and Jake, pictured above, were no where to be found. Days later I went to court to find that their case had been moved to a later date. Very suspicious. Where are Bill and Jake and what have you done with them?
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As I walked toward the stage on Market Square I realized just how determined the military has become to thwart this little busking problem before it can infest the city with any sort of cultural illusions: The entire stage was full of military men and women (Army, from Nashville) and one extremely pregnant woman in red. They even had a soundboard manned by the military. A female military type sang a song extolling the virtues of keeping God, who I thought was free to go where she wanted, in America.
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To confuse those of us who might suspect these weren’t our usual buskers, they added a guitar player in sunglasses, just so we couldn’t be certain which of our buskers might have donned the camo and gone electric.
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Apparently even the military can’t be trusted to busk within bounds in Knoxville, so the KPD kept a watchful eye on the whole event.
Not to be outdone, but continuing the trend, a few days later I found a smaller military contingent from another branch of the military working the same portion of the square. The musical style seemed similar to the first bunch. I miss our old folk music. Bill, where have you gone? Whereforth art thou, Jake?
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