Finally, low humidity and my busy schedule cooperated, drawing me back to the park. I was not the only one; Meta was playing her harp on the bench on the path. An amped guitarist with a music stand had set up at the fountain, so I stopped to chat with her on my way to my maple.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you been out in this heat?\u201d she asked. \u201cI haven\u2019t worked in 3 weeks. I just got back from Montreal. It was a lot cooler there.\u201d<\/p>\n
As it happened, the first people to stop for me were 2 girls from the Canadian Plains, neither of whom had ever seen the ocean. They talked each other into a hula, then walked away before I could ascertain what province they were from.<\/p>\n
A French mom and daughter (or perhaps they too were Canadian) stopped to listen to “Honolulu Eyes.” The mom danced and gave me a dollar; the daughter shrank with embarrassment. <\/p>\n
An overweight hipster, laden with cameras, dropped a buck as he raced by. Later, a couple stopped to examine the paraphernalia in my case. It turned out he spoke German. We chatted haltingly auf Deutsch before his wife took him by the elbow and pulled him away.<\/p>\n
A large group, in blue tee shirts, stopped to hula. They were from a Bronx day camp. I sang both verses of \u201cThe Hukilau Song\u201d so everyone had a chance at a lei. A little girl of 5 or 6 pulled on my sleeve. \u201cMister,\u201d she said, showing me the quarter she was giving me.<\/p>\n
A young couple from Boston danced, and walked away. A wise-guy made a big show of giving me 7 pennies.<\/p>\n
Meta, done for the day, pushed her harp on wheels past me, then stopped to chat. \u201cLet me know next time you go to Montreal,” she offered. “My kids showed me all these wonderful local places of interest. Really cool stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to New Brunswick with a friend over 40 years ago to see the tidal bore on the Bay of Fundy,\u201d I said. \u201cMoncton, I think. The bore was disappointing, but a local guide book sent us to.\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMagnetic Hill?\u201d \u201cYes, Magnetic Hill.\u201d \u201cMagnetic Hill, I can\u2019t believe it.\u201d She raised her hand for a high-five. \u201cMy father loved to go there. He’d put the car in neutral, take his foot off the brake, and up the hill we’d go. Over and over.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that memory, off she went. I went too, in the other direction, wondering how much today’s $3.32 was in Canadian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"