As a woman in her early 20s walked up the steps into The Chimes on Highland Road, she didn’t look happy. Talking on her cell phone, she seemed to be in the midst of an upsetting argument. While most passers-by wouldn’t have said anything to the young woman, Leroy White couldn’t pass up the chance to cheer her up.”Don’t be so sad, baby,” he said to the woman. “Everything is going to be OK.”The woman rushed past White and up the stairs without breaking stride, prompting him to burst into song.On her way back out to her car a few minutes later, the young woman paused to watch White strum his guitar and sing an upbeat melody he titled “I Love You, Baby” in a soothing voice that has been weathered by age.The woman walked away after the song with a grin on her face and at least for a moment her problems weren’t as heavy.These occasions are why White plays his guitar.”If I can cheer someone up, I’m happy, and it even makes my day better,” White said.White, a 57-year-old Vietnam veteran, walks to The Chimes from his home on West McKinley Street at least three times a week to sit on the steps and play his guitar for anyone who will listen.He has become a familiar sight around the North Gates of LSU after 11 years of playing there, and a few people know him by name. For White, the people he meets makes the half-mile walk from his house worth the time.”Leroy is a genuine good guy. He’s passionate about two things: music and people. I doubt you’d find someone else who loves what they do as much as he does,” said Chad Vignes, mass communication senior. “That’s the first thing I noticed about Leroy. He was passionate about his music, and his joy came from playing it for other people.”Vignes and his three roommates asked White to play at a series of house parties in 2007 and 2008.”Leroy never asked for any type of payment for his performances,” said Stephen Paternostro, Vignes’ roommate. “He just played for tips, and he came out pretty well.”White constantly looks for an outlet for his passion for music and people.”I wanted to find a place for my music, and I like to be around people,” White said. “The people around the LSU campus have wonderful personalities, and I wanted to meet these people and brighten their day.”Music has always been a big part of White’s life. His father, a local blues musician in the ’40s and ’50s, passed his love of music on to his son.Training began early when his father started to teach White the guitar at four years old as a way to occupy his time.”I was the ninth out of 10 kids, but I wasn’t interested in playing with them a lot,” White said. “I wanted to keep playing the guitar.”The guitar has been a huge part of White’s life ever since, always keeping one around, even when he joined the U.S. Navy after turning 18.White served 12 years as an airplane mechanic, has been stationed in Rhode Island, Florida and Hawaii, and has toured most of Europe and the South Pacific.While serving in the Vietnam War on the U.S.S. Intrepid, where enemy fighter-plane attacks were frequent, White had his first-hand experiences with combat and the turmoil of war. His service left him with nightmares and memories that would haunt him throughout the rest of his military service.In 1981, White was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and honorably discharged from the Navy.Roughly 500,000 Vietnam veterans deal with PTSD, an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which physical harm has occurred or was threatened, according to the Veterans Outreach Center.White uses his music to help him cope with PTSD.”After I got out of the Navy, my guitar helped me relax,” White said. “It helped me through some pretty rough stuff.”White returned to Baton Rouge after leaving the Navy and moved into a house down West McKinley Street from where he grew up. He still lives there today with his 89-year-old mother.He has held several jobs since then, including a security guard and salesman, has been married twice and has fathered five children — all life experiences that fuel his songs. Although White doesn’t hold a regular job anymore, he considers his time in front of The Chimes as a full-time position.”I’m out here a lot, but it’s what I love, and I’m happy,” White said.The businesses where White plays seem to appreciate what he is doing, since they have allowed him to come back to the same spots for so long.”People around here have been good to me,” White said. “They come out and talk to me, give me drinks or just listen. I’ve been around the world, and the people here are the best I could ever find.”For White, he hopes he can do this for the rest of his life.”Let what’s inside of you enhance what you play,” White said. “Every string on a guitar is an emotion, and it all lies in the music.”—-Contact Jake Clapp at [email protected]