It had been more than a month since I\u2019d gone a-busking, the\nevents of life having intervened. If I\ndidn\u2019t go again soon, winter will have sidelined me until the first nice day in\nspring. So yesterday, when the\ntemperature rose above 60 degrees, despite the predictions for a nor\u2019easter, I\nheaded for Bethesda Fountain, for what I thought of as my Farewell Tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It really was a crummy day.\u00a0 A cold, moist wind nearly took my hat off on West End Avenue.\u00a0 Gomphrena, God bless it, stood tall and colorful behind the benches and in front of the rose bushes covered in hips.\u00a0 I spied 2 wild rose flowers blooming in the underbrush, beside the last remaining wild asters.\u00a0 The button man was gone.\u00a0 Along the path to the fountain, spirea bushes flashed foamy white bouquets. The western wood anemone had burned up, but the eastern had escaped the thuggish jewelweed and seemed to have reestablished itself 10 feet off the path at the base of a boulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wind was wet and heavy. \nI wondered if I\u2019d even get to the fountain before it rained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NOW PRESENTING ON CENTER STAGE, MR. UKULELE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was no one around. \nWhat people there were kept looking up, at the clouds rolling in from\nthe northeast. The flagpole pullies\nbanged against the metal poles, as if sending out a warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 40-something woman stood at the benches and fumbled in her\npurse. Instead of her cellphone or a handkerchief,\nshe pulled out her wallet. I was not\ndisappointed, there was a dollar in there for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A man, walking with his wife and friend, rushed up to me for\na picture. \u201cYou must wear this,\u201d I\ninstructed him, \u201cI have to protect my brand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A kid of 10 or so approached respectfully with a dollar and\nlaid it in my case. \u201cThank you,\u201d I said as\nhe hurried away. He stopped and said\nquietly, \u201cYou\u2019re welcome,\u201d as if English were not his native language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A light drizzle started during \u201cTiptoe through the Tulips.\u201d I sang:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knee-deep in flowers we\u2019ll stray.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll keep the showers away.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And they stayed away for another few tunes.\u00a0 A sonorous thunderclap, however, signaled time to go.\u00a0 I had played for 50 minutes and made $3, covering senior subway fare home, avant le deluge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"