The begonias and Michaelmas daisies along Central Park West just won\u2019t quit.\u00a0 Behind the benches at the Women\u2019s Gate, a few roses bloom above a bushful of hips.\u00a0 Two yellow foxglove, with thimble-like flowers, have emerged in the middle ground, where the dinner plate hibiscus has melted away in the heat.\u00a0 The reddening dogwood fruit resembles spherical strawberries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the Imagine Mosaic a new guitarist has shown up with an amplifier.\u00a0 The button seller told me that he\u2019s been told several times to lose the amp, to no avail.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The crowds were sparse at Bethesda Fountain.\u00a0 A kid of 12 or 13 dropped a handful of quarters into my case.\u00a0 A few songs later, an elderly man, walking by, covered the change with a single.\u00a0 A baby sitter, with two charges, gave me $2.\u00a0 The kids were too young to dance, but they came back later for a picture.\u00a0 The boy of 3 or 4 put on a lei, but the girl, not yet 2, ran crying back to the sitter.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Real nice,” said Carole, with camera around her neck.\u00a0 \u201cMaking the little girls cry.\u201d\u00a0 It was too hot and humid for her to stand with me in the sun for long.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An Asian teenager spotted me as she walked down the path from the Boathouse.\u00a0 Sporting an ear-to-ear grin, she danced a lovely hula to \u201cThe Hukilau Song.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A young woman, Kate, from the Parks Department, roamed the fountain on her lunch break.\u00a0 We chatted for a while and she danced a lazy hula (\u201cWhy not?\u201d) before moving on.\u00a0 A Chinese photographer captured a dollar\u2019s worth of \u201cHonolulu Eyes\u201d on video.\u00a0 A trio of young women, 1 from Westchester and 2 from East 86th<\/sup> St., lined up for a hula.\u00a0 They snapped photos while they danced, laughing all the way to the hukilau.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After an hour, the crowd thinned further, until several songs went out only to the trees and sky.\u00a0 At such times, I often close my eyes and play for myself alone.\u00a0 When I opened them again, a tall blonde woman and her tall blond daughter had just dropped $2 into my case.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I closed my set, as always, with \u201cMy Little Grass Shack.\u201d\u00a0 A 30-something bicyclist, in spandex and a racing cap, walked with a handful of change from the bench where he\u2019d been listening.\u00a0 When he returned to his bench, I thought for a moment I should play him another tune, but at that moment the sun came out from behind a cloud, and the tropical humidity dissuaded me, so I stuffed $10.55 into my pocket and went home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"