The chestnut tree is in full bloom. The center of each floret on the spiky white clusters is hot pink. For the time being, this tree is a favorite for picnickers.<\/p>\n
Meta beat me to the fountain again, so again I took up my position under the maple, facing the ugly green construction curtain that lines the path to the boathouse. There must be some kind of work going on among the rowboats, although I haven\u2019t heard a hammer or saw yet. The website for the Loeb Boathouse says they will reopen the first week in May. Oops.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t have to wait an hour for my first customer. A man paid me a dollar for my picture. Random change from a few young men got me going, then a family from Utah stopped so their little girl could hula. With her elbows against her torso, she flapped her arms like a chicken. As I retrieved the lei I whispered to her, \u201cYou can smile, it\u2019s ok,\u201d but she remained stone-faced.<\/p>\n
\u201cHas this group got time for a hula today?\u201d It was a high school group with a leader who looked like he wanted to stop, but, in the end, he said they\u2019d already spent a lot of time with other musicians. I wandered away from my case to investigate my competition around the bend. An a cappella doo-wop group had set up there. Sandwiched between them and Meta, I would have another slow day.<\/p>\n
A scruffy man, perhaps homeless, stopped and flashed a gap-toothed smile as I played. \u201cHave you got time for a hula today?\u201d He took a lei and danced expressively to \u201cThe Hukilau Song.\u201d A woman walking by was captivated by the scene. After the man left, she came forward to reward me with a dollar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"