A stand of creamy white coneflowers with gold button centers gave height and color to the palette at Women\u2019s Gate. I spied a few scrawny hydrangea florets under the dogwood. On the north pergola, the wisteria has gone crazy with twisty vines. In my many years of busking I have yet to see it bloom. There are pink hosta, and double orange daylilies, kwanzaa.<\/p>\n
At center stage, I sat on the hot stone surrounding the fountain and unpacked my hula girls, leis and CDs. The ritual focuses me. I use a capo to keep the bills from blowing away, and lay out a sign, \u201cGot Aloha?\u201d which came with a purchase from Aloha Shirt Shop. My dashboard Hawaiian uke player is showing his age; I\u2019ve recently added a cocktail umbrella for him to rest under. I tune, hydrate, remove my watch, note the time, stand and play. Today I opened with \u201cMaking Love Ukulele Style.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two teenagers, both wearing mirrored sunglasses, wanted a picture. They were from Mexico, and knew how to hula. Soon I had them going to the hukilau.<\/p>\n
A family of women stopped to listen, at least 3 generations. A 35-40-year-old woman wore a sticker, \u201cGrandmas for Peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo who\u2019s the grandma?<\/p>\n
\u201cI am,\u201d she said, although to my eye she was more daughter, sister, mommie. \u201cAnd I want to hula. Where are the hoops?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo hoops, leis,\u201d I said. She didn\u2019t seem to mind. Her hula was spirited and varied. She had her family howling with laughter.<\/p>\n
Two girls from Oxford, UK, danced the hula and walked away. Or, alternatively, I drove them away with stories about my stay in Oxford, England, long before they were born. A group of kids from Sweden, Michigan and New Jersey stood at a distance and listened, finally tossing in some change.<\/p>\n
A boy of 8 or 9 ran up with a handful of coins, mostly nickels. \u201cYou want to hula?\u201d I asked, reaching for a lei. He nodded eagerly. \u201cWhat are you going to do with that?\u201d He offered his nickels to me. \u201cPut them in the case.\u201d He did. \u201cNow your hands are free to hula.\u201d With a grin of delight, he danced to the hukilau. \u201cYou want to keep going?\u201d He did. He told me he was from California.<\/p>\n
A young woman from the Bronx, with lip, nose and ear piercings, and severely cut green hair, rocked out to \u201cThe Hukilau Song.\u201d She jumped around through the intro, teased out a hula into the first verse, then quit before throwing her net into the sea. I took the lei back from her and she walked off.<\/p>\n
A tall, elderly man had been walking around the fountain, sitting for a while, listening from a distance. He finally came up and introduced himself. Al was a retired doctor who played jazz piano. \u201cI love it that you play all the old tunes,\u201d he said. We talked for a while, he gave me a dollar, then he walked off to take a phone call.<\/p>\n
A Swiss couple sat around the fountain. They were newly-weds. We chatted about New York, Zurich and Montreux. They sat down as I turned to play, but gave me a dollar when they left.<\/p>\n
At the end of my set, Al came around again. He was supposed to have met someone, but she called and said she\u2019d be late. \u201cHow long do you think I should wait?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been married 42 years and just became a grandfather,\u201d I told him. \u201cI have no advice for you.\u201d Swinging my uke onto my back, I wished him Aloha.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"