But I wanted "Shaft" ...

The other day, I took the No. 2 subway up to Columbia University when a man with an electric guitar and a portable amp stepped into my car. Without a moment's hesitation, he called out that he would play songs for people he looked at. 

After playing a tune for the "lady with the polka-dot bag," he called out that he would play one for the "white girl with the pony tail." He began playing his own version of "My Girl," including the lyric "I've got the white girl with the pony tail." You could almost see her blushing.

Standing next to him was a guy in a nice red leather jacket. The musician said he would play a song for the "guy in the red leather jacket," then launched into a spirited version of "Superfly."

Then he said he would play a song for the "white guy in glasses." That would be me. He was kind enough not to mention the gray pinstriped suit I was wearing (I was on my way to a memorial service).

And then, to my chagrin, he began singing "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head."