It was another warm, overcast day.\u00a0 Acorns have started to pile up against the curbstone.\u00a0 At the chestnut tree in Strawberry Fields, blackening chestnuts are distributed sparsely through the blighted branches.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When I got to Bethesda Fountain, Colin was strumming for a man who jumped around with his camera, photographing him from every angle.\u00a0 \u201cI got ten bucks here,\u201d the man said, \u201cif you guys will play something together.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHappy to,\u201d said I, taking out my uke.\u00a0 Standing next to Colin, I asked, \u201cWhat key?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Sweet Caroline,\u2019 in D.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I put on a capo and strummed along, getting maybe 1 in 5 chords right, and when we finished I fished a fiver out of Colin\u2019s tip box.\u00a0 \u201cIt was bound to happen sooner or later,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m afraid I\u2019m not that good at transposing on the fly.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“We’ll have to work on it,” he said, “but not now.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Colin packed up, while I set up and started playing my own repertoire.\u00a0 A young woman from Sacramento danced the first hula of day, followed by 2 more northern California girls.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A man, wife, toddler and au pair hung out on the bench.\u00a0 From time to time, the toddler would run toward me, then turn and run back.\u00a0 At one point, she got close enough for me to dangle a lei in front of her and ask if she\u2019d like to dance.\u00a0 The au pair encouraged her, but it was not to be.\u00a0 The parents, however, dropped $2 in my case as they left the area.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A 50-something man from the bench sat through a few tunes, then donated $2.\u00a0 A couple from Kazakhstan danced a languid hula, then walked away, followed by a Lebanese couple who gave me a dollar.\u00a0 \u201cHave you got time for a hula today?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The woman did.\u00a0 After the dance, she did not want to give me back the lei.\u00a0 \u201cHow much?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo dollars,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She opened her purse.\u00a0 \u201cI already gave you one,\u201d she said, pulling out a second single.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The final 30 minutes of my set drew one more man from the bench, rounding out my take for the day at $15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"