In addition to the sights and sounds of autumn, there is the smell of the ginkgo tree. As I entered Strawberry Fields, it hit me in the face like a bag of compost.<\/p>\n
The cowboy was packing up when I got to Bethesda Fountain; center stage was uncontested. The park was filled with people on yet another 70+ degree day. On the bench opposite, 2 elderly men were sketching. After a few songs, as they got ready to leave, one of them, shorter than me and slightly bent, with thick, curly, salt and pepper hair that may have been a toupee, came forward and handed me two $5 bills. Though I won\u2019t say for certain, I think it was Tony Bennett. He said, \u201cVery nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
A young Asian man, sitting on the rim of the fountain, gave me $1 when he left.<\/p>\n
A young boy and older man, perhaps an old father or young grandfather, rested on the benches. When I finished the first verse and started the chorus of \u201cTiptoe through the Tulips,\u201d the man perked up with recognition. At the start of the second verse, where Romeo and Juliet are used as transitive verbs, the man reached for his wallet and sent the boy over to me with a dollar.<\/p>\n
A 2-year-old girl, dressed head to foot in orange velour, toddled over. I twisted the lei to double it, so it didn\u2019t drag on the ground while the girl worked her chubby knees up and down in what we\u2019ll call a hula. Another little girl wanted to go to the hukilau too, and soon the dancing babies drew a nice crowd of people, who ooh-ed and ah-ed as they took photos, a few of whom thought to tip the ukulele man.<\/p>\n
Two young men each gave me a dollar. \u201cGood job,\u201d said one of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you got time for a hula today?\u201d The girl of 6 or 7 was just waiting to be asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she said, wide-eyed. With the lei around her neck, there was no stopping her. She ran and leaped in a wild, ecstatic burst of energy. She even did a few cartwheels. I asked her dad, when he handed over a dollar, if any of the furniture in his house was still in one piece, recalling the wreakage I created as a child jumping on beds and tumbling from sofa to floor in my own gymnastic enthusiasms.<\/p>\n
Over the crest of the path came Marcel, with Maggie the dog. It\u2019s been weeks since I\u2019ve seen them. \u201cWe\u2019ve been coming out later,\u201d Marcel told me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe too,\u201d I said, which is why, of course, I was seeing them now.<\/p>\n
With about 5 minutes left in my set, 2 men got off the bench and put $2 in my case. \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSlovenia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe you are my first Slovenians,\u201d I told them, shaking hands.<\/p>\n
As they walked away, one of them turned to me and said, \u201cYou look like the man from the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since I had no idea what he was talking about, I was forced to respond, \u201cI suppose I do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"