Before I got through \u201cMaking Love Ukulele Style\u201d one time, a distinguished gentleman with abundant white curls pulled a fiver out of his wallet and dropped it on me with a gleaming white smile. A kid kicked in another buck during the second go-round. A few tunes later, a middle-aged woman added to my total, saying, \u201cYour music perfectly fits the day.\u201d <\/p>\n
Though hot, the humidity was comfortably low. Fluffy white clouds punctuated the blue sky, while below the lake shimmered green. A thirty-something couple made their way toward me; a bearded man in a panama hat pushed an empty wheelchair, while his female companion, supported by a cane, walked slowly beside him. After giving me a dollar, the man leaned the cane against the wheelchair, took the woman in his arms and danced a restrained two-step to \u201cFit as a Fiddle.\u201d Finishing their dance, he helped her into her chair and they rolled away toward the fountain.<\/p>\n
Within the course of a few more tunes, two recent high school grads from New Jersey danced a hula, and a Japanese man, bowing politely, placed a dollar in my case with both hands. The begging Buddhist, accompanied by a friend, eyed the transaction as they walked by in the direction of the boathouse. A portly man in Bermuda shorts, clearly enjoying the beautiful day, stood listening for a few minutes, breathing in the aloha spirit before making his contribution.<\/p>\n
As my 90 minute set came to an end, I watched the two begging Buddhists returning from the boathouse. They playfully whispered to each other, then, to my surprise, one of them dropped 26 cents into my case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"