It was another monochromatic day at the entrance to the park, with spring flowers fading and summer yet to blossom.\u00a0 Daniel Webster cradled a bird\u2019s nest in the crook of his right elbow, where his right hand disappears beneath his lapel.\u00a0 Azaleas brightened things up around the fountain, and the first dog rose, still in bud, revealed a bright red petal, yet to emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bethesda Fountain swarmed with people enjoying the sun after\ndays of rain. A group from Sweden sat\nnear me at the rim of the fountain. When\nthey got up to leave, a man approached. \u201cIs\nit all right?\u201d he said, holding a fistful of change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d said I, and 6-8 quarters rained down into my case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lady with a baby stopped to listen. She gave me a dollar to pose for a\nselfie. A pre-teen boy peeled away from his\nparents and tossed me a nickel. More coins\ncame my way, until an Indian dad gave each of his 2 children a paper dollar to put\nin my case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was shaping up to be a low-earning day, when late in my set a quartet of Canadian teens from Nova Scotia stopped to give me money.\u00a0 The first thing I saw was a ten-spot from one of the girls, followed by singles from the others.\u00a0 \u201cHave you got time for a hula today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They danced to both verses of \u201cThe Hukilau Song,\u201d and when they were done, some of their classmates stopped by.\u00a0 \u201cToo bad you guys missed the hula.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not too late,\u201d I said, putting leis around their necks. \u201cDo you guys know how to hula?\u201d They did not, so I recruited one of the first\ngroup of dancers to lead them. This time\nwe danced to \u201cLittle Grass Shack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Giving back the leis, the recruited dancer said, \u201cWe\u2019ve been in New York 3 days, and you are the coolest person we\u2019ve met so far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s true, the coolest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delighted, they walked away. \nDelighted, I counted out $16.65.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"