Posts Tagged ‘The Hukilau Song’
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Worst Day Ever
0August 15, 2015 by admin
Tucked in a shaded corner near the Strawberry Fields sign, a mass of Michaelmas daisies bloomed. Long white petals, varying in number from 6 to 9, radiated from a small yellow center. Someone played “Imagine” at the Imagine Mosaic.
Here is the chestnut report: withered leaves cover the ground; more than half the leaves still on the tree are blighted. The golf ball sized nuts are also browning. I crushed one underfoot to find the nut still unformed, although the meat inside was moist and green, suitable, I’d think, for the most discriminating squirrel.
Grass grew a foot high around the rhododendra, and had started to bolt.
The cowboy crooner was there again. As I walked by he called for volunteers to dance to his next number, the beautiful “Quando, Quando, Quando.” I could have told him it wasn’t so easy to get people to dance.
Maggie the dog stopped to visit. The black scotch terrier sitting at my feet, seemingly absorbed in my music, made a wonderful photo op. After some time, Marcel scooped the dog up and whisked her away, after which I played for the next hour pretty much to myself.
Just when I thought that this would be the day, the day I took in nothing, an old woman fumbled in her change purse. “I’m sorry it’s not more,” she said, putting 8 dimes into my case. “You were so nice to me.” I had no idea what she meant by that; perhaps she’d seen me before and we’d exchanged pleasantries.
A 20-something on a bike braked in front of me. He reached into one pocket, then another. “Sorry, mate, all I have is Irish money.”
“No problem,” I said. “Next time you’re at the pub, have a drink for me.”
A teenaged boy gave me a quarter.
A family stopped to hear me play. “Have you got time for a hula today?” The young daughter danced beautifully to “The Hukilau Song.” “Where are you from?” I asked her between verses.
“Holland.”
“Holland? Wow, I know Holland, what city?”
She looked puzzled. “Holland,” she repeated.
I looked toward the parents. “Holland, Pennsylvania.”
“Pennsylvania, ok,” I said, and launched into the second verse. At the end of the dance, they walked off. The day’s total came to $1.05, my worst day ever.
Category Uncategorized | Tags: Imagine, Quando Quando Quando, The Hukilau Song
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Randy Joins the Rotation
0August 14, 2015 by admin
His dobro on his lap, Randy sat just outside Strawberry Fields. Ordinarily, an artist sets up at this spot, but Randy had taken it when the boys at the Imagine Mosaic gave him a hard time about joining in their rotation. The urban cowboy was back at the fountain, accompanied by a soft electronic bass line. I set up under the maple, soon joined by a caricaturist on the opposite side of the path.
As with so many days in the park this summer, the crowds were thin and the money tight. Two girls, sisters, were getting their portraits done. While one sat, the other checked me out; I gave her a big smile. A few minutes later, she put a dollar in my case. When it was her turn to sit for her portrait, her sister wandered round and she too put a dollar in my case. This artist was a fast worker. Others, who advertise a 10-minute portrait, can take 20-30 minutes. But, as promised, 10 minutes was all he needed. The portraits, framed in black matte, were tucked away among mom’s shopping bags. As her family walked away, the little girl found another dollar to give me. When offered, however, she declined to hula.
A mom with 3 kids stopped to listen. “Have you got time for a hula today?” Only one child stepped forward. Without once breaking into a smile, the girl waved her arms, shifting her weight from foot to foot, and danced through both verses of “The Hukilau Song.” She didn’t seem to be having any fun at all, yet mom thought it worth a fiver.
Two teens, who said they grew up in Hawaii, did a proper hula. They had learned all the moves to “The Hukilau Song” in third grade. They made quite an attraction, causing many people to stop and admire. At this point, two guys, raising money for a basketball league by selling candy, started shaking hands with my audience, dogging them down the path as they tried to get away. Soon everyone was gone, my Hawaiians included, and I none the richer.
A kid walked by and dropped 18 cents, followed by a 40-something woman who donated a dollar with a big smile and warm thank-you. Later, while I played “Tiptoe through the Tulips,” an old man of at least 80 took out his wallet. His companions kept walking while the man carefully extracted a single for me.
On my way out of the park, $10.18 in my pocket, I saw Randy again. He had set up his chair at the Imagine Mosaic, and was playing Beatle songs on a guitar, like everyone else in the rotation.
Category Uncategorized | Tags: The Hukilau Song, Tiptoe through the Tulips
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Of Things Canadian
0August 6, 2015 by admin
Finally, low humidity and my busy schedule cooperated, drawing me back to the park. I was not the only one; Meta was playing her harp on the bench on the path. An amped guitarist with a music stand had set up at the fountain, so I stopped to chat with her on my way to my maple.
“Have you been out in this heat?” she asked. “I haven’t worked in 3 weeks. I just got back from Montreal. It was a lot cooler there.”
As it happened, the first people to stop for me were 2 girls from the Canadian Plains, neither of whom had ever seen the ocean. They talked each other into a hula, then walked away before I could ascertain what province they were from.
A French mom and daughter (or perhaps they too were Canadian) stopped to listen to “Honolulu Eyes.” The mom danced and gave me a dollar; the daughter shrank with embarrassment.
An overweight hipster, laden with cameras, dropped a buck as he raced by. Later, a couple stopped to examine the paraphernalia in my case. It turned out he spoke German. We chatted haltingly auf Deutsch before his wife took him by the elbow and pulled him away.
A large group, in blue tee shirts, stopped to hula. They were from a Bronx day camp. I sang both verses of “The Hukilau Song” so everyone had a chance at a lei. A little girl of 5 or 6 pulled on my sleeve. “Mister,” she said, showing me the quarter she was giving me.
A young couple from Boston danced, and walked away. A wise-guy made a big show of giving me 7 pennies.
Meta, done for the day, pushed her harp on wheels past me, then stopped to chat. “Let me know next time you go to Montreal,” she offered. “My kids showed me all these wonderful local places of interest. Really cool stuff.”
“I went to New Brunswick with a friend over 40 years ago to see the tidal bore on the Bay of Fundy,” I said. “Moncton, I think. The bore was disappointing, but a local guide book sent us to.…”
“Magnetic Hill?” “Yes, Magnetic Hill.” “Magnetic Hill, I can’t believe it.” She raised her hand for a high-five. “My father loved to go there. He’d put the car in neutral, take his foot off the brake, and up the hill we’d go. Over and over.”
With that memory, off she went. I went too, in the other direction, wondering how much today’s $3.32 was in Canadian.
Category Uncategorized | Tags: Honolulu Eyes, The Hukilau Song
