The temperature on Thursday hit 90 again.\u00a0 Along Central Park West, the red begonias, protected by the dense overstory above and the stone wall to the west, continues to bloom in abundance.\u00a0 Purple salvia adds its color to the ageratum and allium.\u00a0 High above the button-seller\u2019s head, dogwood berries fatten.\u00a0 The dog roses reappear, red, pink and pale.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Along the path, a hosta blooms next to the wood anemone and its countless buds.\u00a0 No one has yanked out the jewelweed yet.\u00a0 It withers in the sun, yellow-orange flowers peeking out from limp leaves.\u00a0 The magnolia, covered in buds, is pushing out a flower.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Once again, I went straight to the maple.\u00a0 Soon a Brazilian woman from D.C. stopped to chat.\u00a0 \u201cI want to retire to Maui,\u201d she told me.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI hear that a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She is with a pair of teenaged girls.\u00a0 They want to buy leis.\u00a0 I set the price at $2, and put the leis around their necks.\u00a0 \u201cNow how about a hula?\u00a0 No?\u00a0 Ok, wear them proudly.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHave a good day,\u201d said the Brazilian woman, who gave me $3.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A young woman ran up to me.\u00a0 \u201cHow much for the CD?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cTen bucks.\u201d\u00a0 After 30 minutes, of the $17 in my case, $14 was for merchandise.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A tall young man with a group of Chinese tourists left the group and tossed me 77 cents.\u00a0 Later, a 60-something woman put a dollar in my case and said, \u201cThat\u2019s for putting a smile on my face.\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
My end-of-day tally was $20.77.\u00a0 Despite the heat, I barely broke a sweat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"