The deep summer season is upon us. On another hot day, I head into the park to bring the aloha spirit to the masses. The sprinklers are watering almost every lawn, including the one behind me on the path to the boathouse. The towering maple creates an umbral dry area about the size of my ukulele case, so I set up there and start to play. When I still get wet, I leave my case where it is and move to the opposite side of the path. People walking by look at me, look at my case, look at me; the situation is confused. Finally I slide my case out of the sprinkler\u2019s orbit and start again.<\/p>\n
A young woman with a complex camera around her neck breaks into a hula as she walks by. I invite her to dance. She demurs, and moves on, but not without first dropping a dollar. <\/p>\n
A mother, pushing an empty stroller, walks by with her son in hand. The boy is captivated. \u201cHow about a hula?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe your mother will show you,\u201d I say, slipping a lei around both their necks. As they dance to \u201cThe Hukilau Song,\u201d the mother reaches for her smartphone to take a photo, but as soon as she stops dancing, the boy does too. This start-stop goes on a few times, before the mother gets her shot, and I get $2.<\/p>\n
A gaggle of 8 high school girls comes by, one of whom carries a Happy Birthday balloon. \u201cIs it your birthday?\u201d I ask. \u201cHow about a birthday hula?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her friends think this is a terrific idea, but it takes some convincing. Fortunately I have lots of leis, so I eventually recruit 6 dancers, leaving 2 to take pictures. Their hula devolves into a free form arm-waving boogaloo, much to the delight of everybody walking by. Six dancers, $6.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you do parties?\u201d a man asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have in the past,\u201d I tell him, although my party gigs amount to 1 birthday party for a 3-year old. We discuss his requirements: 20-25 adults in the fall for his wife\u2019s birthday; 2 hours of music. I give him my card. \u201cLet me know what you want and what you think it\u2019s worth and we\u2019ll take it from there.\u201d I\u2019m reluctant to name a price. I\u2019d asked for $25 for the kid\u2019s birthday party, and got $45, so out of touch am I with the price of party entertainers.<\/p>\n
The sprinkler continues to swivel, wetting down inattentive passers-by. Young people seek relief from the heat by playing in the spray. A supervising adult gives me a buck after collecting her wet children and herding them along the path. I close up shop shortly afterward. Despite the heat and sparse crowds, it is a $14 day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"