These are the best days of the year, with cloudless skies, seasonable temperatures and cool breezes off the water. White Michaelmas daisies bloom in crowds under the trees, while behind the benches, where the cosmos have been torn out for the winter, white morning glories and pink roses on new red wood reach unobstructed for the sun.<\/p>\n
Center stage was occupied by yet another saxophone, so once again I took up my spot on the path. A young couple rewarded me with a quarter, and shortly afterward an Italian man tossed in another quarter. \u201cHave you got time for a hula today?\u201d While she danced, the Italian woman burst out laughing several times, and, each time she did, her Italian man tossed in another quarter.<\/p>\n
A diminutive 30-something man stopped to listen while I sang \u201cI Saw Stars.\u201d At the end of the song, he thanked me with a dollar. <\/p>\n
A police cruiser inched its way along the path. As it passed I greeted the cops inside with \u201cAloha, officers.\u201d They seemed amused.<\/p>\n
I had just concluded “Little Coquette” when twang, string #3, the C string, snapped. My tenor uke has 2 nylon strings and 2 wire wound stings. Nylon is indestructible, but wire wound breaks regularly. If I replace them in winter, they will last me all season, but this winter I didn\u2019t do it; so I dug out a replacement from my case and quickly attached it. The trouble with new strings, of course, is that they go flat until they settle down. As a result, I had to re-tune after every song, sometimes even during a song \u2013 a quick turn of the screw between strums will do it.<\/p>\n
Maggie the Scottish terrier stopped by. As usual, she got way more attention than I did. When she refused to move on, I suggested we put a lei around her neck. She didn\u2019t like it; after her owner took it off he had no trouble leading her away.<\/p>\n
A woman stopped to listen while I sang \u201cGive Me a Ukulele and a Ukulele Baby.\u201d After a moment she made a phone call, then held the phone up so the person on the other end of the line could hear. When I finished, she gave me a dollar before heading up the path.<\/p>\n
A young couple walked by. \u201cHave you got time for a hula today?\u201d<\/p>\n
The young man looked at his girlfriend. \u201cIt\u2019s up to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She wore a gold letter-T around her neck. \u201cLet me guess,\u201d I said, \u201cTheresa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s close,\u201d she said, delighted. \u201cIt does begin with T.\u201d<\/p>\n
She did a fine hula, after which her boyfriend tossed a dollar in my case. As it turned out, her name was Talia, a name that would have taken me all afternoon to guess.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"