A beautiful Thursday in May brought me back to the park. In the deep shade I spotted foxglove, while behind the benches wild roses bloomed beneath the buff-flowered dogwood. At Strawberry Fields, which is posted as a quiet zone, a young man who usually sat on a bench was standing at the top of the Imagine mosaic playing Beatles\u2019 songs on his guitar. As I passed, I heard him say to a retreating crowd, \u201cThanks for taking advantage of a homeless person.\u201d It was a jarring complaint I hadn\u2019t heard before. I think of buskers as putting out their music for free; to expect contributions is wrong-headed and to complain about it is self-defeating.<\/p>\n
Arlen and Meta were at the fountain, so I moved on to the path. Rhododendron and azalea waved pink and white in the cool breeze. It was a slow day. My first dollar came after half an hour from a 30-something young woman. \u201cThanks,\u201d I said. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, thank you<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n After watching a woman gamely hula, to the delight of her friends, two young children who were picnicking with their parents on the rocks behind me shyly wandered up to me. \u201cYou want to hula?\u201d They appeared to be from North Africa or the Middle East. \u201cAsk your parents if it\u2019s ok, and we\u2019ll hula.\u201d They returned each with a dollar in hand. The boy chose a blue lei, the girl pink.<\/p>\n Something new in the park today, a Buddhist monk in saffron robes aggressively begging. At the end of my session I visited with Arlen and Meta, where they were packing up for the day. Meta is always happy to convert Canadian currency for me. She counted out 5 singles, as I admired the Siberian irises, pale purple and white, that fluttered like birds on their narrow stems along the lakeshore. \u201cDid you see that monk?\u201d Arlen asked. \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s legit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLegit? Really?\u201d We had a good laugh. \u201cWe\u2019re all outlaws here,\u201d I reminded him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"