The crowd at Bethesda Fountain on Thursday was heaviest at the north end, where a young man played jazz violin with an amp hookup, accompanied by recorded percussion.\u00a0 I thought he might be the same guy who’d shown up yesterday; that guy moved his amplification to a few different locations around the fountain, definitely encroaching on me in the process. \u00a0I\u2019d thought then that this might be a one-time event for him, so I\u2019d dug deep for my aloha spirit, and let him be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now here he was again. \nI approached and waited for him to finish his piece. He was an accomplished musician. While he played, I watched the people walk up\nand drop money, including fives and tens, into his already-brimming case. When he finished, I spoke to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHi, I\u2019m Mr. Ukulele.\u00a0 You may have seen me yesterday over there.\u201d\u00a0 I pointed to the east end of the fountain, what I think of as center stage.\u00a0 \u201cThere are very few regulations around here, but one of them is no amplification.\u00a0 We buskers have had trouble here in the past:\u00a0 they\u2019ve cleared us out altogether by declaring this whole area a Quiet Zone; police have arrested people.\u00a0 For the last 2 years, things have been better, because we buskers self-police.\u00a0 We don\u2019t want another crackdown.\u00a0 So please lose the amp, or you\u2019ll ruin it for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know,\u201d he said. \n\u201cI just got to New York 5 days ago. \nAnd I\u2019ve been very sick, it effects my eyes. Thank you for telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOk, I\u2019m going to play somewhere else,\u201d I said. \u201cGood luck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first time this season, I set up under the maple tree along the path to the Boat House.\u00a0 I prefer this location when it\u2019s 100 degrees, not on a day like today, in the high 60’s with a cool breeze off the lake. And it’s a terrible location for tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After singing to the birds in the mulberry tree, to the rowboat tenders on the other side of the fence, to the puffy white clouds floating high above the towers of Central Park West, I saw a familiar face.\u00a0 It was Joan, who years ago sang \u201cDid You Ever See a Dream Walking\u201d with me.\u00a0 She updated me on her musical career, which seems to have taken off about the time we first me, when she was 70.\u00a0 She also told me about her friend, who posted a picture on Facebook of me and a little child.\u00a0 \u201cI told her, \u2018I know him, we sing together in the park.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHere\u2019s my card,\u201d I said. \n\u201cAsk her to send it to me and I\u2019ll post it on my site.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My first donation came after 40 minutes.\u00a0 A young couple, with a toddler not yet 2, were ecstatic about how the boy swayed and bent at the knee to my music.\u00a0 I lured him in with my baby lei; he wouldn\u2019t let me put it over his head, but with mom\u2019s help he did it himself.\u00a0 I gave mom a lei too, and together they danced to \u201cThe Hukilau Song.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carole the photographer came walking by. She was distressed to see me on the\npath. \u201cThis is terrible,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy aren\u2019t you at the fountain?\u201d I complained about the violin player, not only\nabout his amplification, but about how he had got to his spot before me. She made an angry face and said again, \u201cThis is\nterrible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With 20 minutes left in my set, and $2 in my case, I started thinking about whether I\u2019d break even, when a dad gave his young son a buck for me.\u00a0 A woman tossed me a Susan B. a little later, accounting for my $4 day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"