Who knew gomphrena was so heat-resistant? Every other variety of plant was spent and\nwilted; only it and some shaded cleome persisted behind the benches. A vine with small purple flowers wove through\nthe rose bushes and twined south. A\nsingle rose towered over green hips the size of cherry tomatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An unknown platoon guitarist, who introduced himself as\nJames, invited me to come back at 2, when he and I could jam together. \u201cIf you\u2019re for real,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, I\u2019m real enough, thanks,\u201d I said, \u201cbut I do a solo act.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Bethesda Fountain, Carole, the photographer, was huddled in the shade of a wall.\u00a0 She told me the police had come by and cleared out all the amplified performers.\u00a0 Indeed, the only busker I heard was a violinist by the water, who was later joined by another.\u00a0 They sounded amped to me, but you know how violins are.\u00a0 A 3-wheeled police vehicle was parked in a corner.\u00a0 If the cops were around, they\u2019d shut them down, which, 40 minutes later, they did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was hot.\u00a0 People didn\u2019t want to stop to hula.\u00a0 “Has this group got time for a hula?” I asked the leader. They were day camp kids, many of whom were from Haiti.\u00a0 As I handed out the leis, a skinny blonde of about the same age joined the kids and off they all went to the hukilau.\u00a0 The day camp counselor gave me a buck; dad, who was from The Netherlands, gave me 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A little kid from a passing tour gave me a Canadian nickel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A group of 3 young women sat on the bench and listened.\u00a0 An older man, in Nick Carroway whites, joined them.\u00a0 Together they sat through 2 more songs, then gathered their belongings, pooled the contents of their pockets and dispatched one of their members, with a handful of coins, to me, before walking off. Nick tipped his skimmer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Belgian couple with a young daughter came next.\u00a0 After a short dance, dad fumbled with the change in his wife\u2019s palm for a tip, while I told him how much I liked Belgium, especially the Flemish north, whence he hailed.\u00a0 It surprised him that anyone in America knew anything about Belgium.\u00a0 After hearing my description of a meal consisting of stewfleis and hutsepot, he said, \u201cYou have<\/em> been to Belgium.\u201d\u00a0 He gave up his counting, told his wife to give me all her change and added a single from his wallet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While we talked about Belgium, a Chinese girl, who had been\nsitting on the rim of the fountain, walked behind me and laid 4 quarters gently\nin my case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two Mexican girls from Toronto danced the hula and gave me a\ndollar each. A Chinese couple gave me a\ndollar because their little girl did not<\/em> dance the hula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A woman asked how much for a lei. \u201cTwo dollars.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n I handed her a lei for the little girl standing next to\nher. \u201cOne dollar?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTen dollars,\u201d I said, but settled for 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow much?\u201d asked a woman, pointing to a solar powered hula girl. \u201cFive dollars.\u201d\u00a0 There was no haggling.\u00a0 At the end of the day, on top of $7 for merchandise, I made $12.65 for spreading the Aloha spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Around 2, I passed through Strawberry Fields on my way home. James was nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"