The cowboy said he would sing 2 more songs, so I set up at center stage and listened to Marvin Gaye\u2019s \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On\u201d and the Bee Gee\u2019s \u201cYou Don\u2019t Have to Show It.\u201d<\/p>\n
A plump, elderly Chinese woman seemed fascinated by my colorful paraphernalia. \u201cHave you got time for a hula today?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she said with a giggle.<\/p>\n
I put the lei around her neck. \u201cDo you know how to hula?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOk, then, let\u2019s go to the hukilau.\u201d She continued to smile and nod in the affirmative. \u201cSo you know it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must be from Hawaii.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I started to play \u201cThe Hukilau Song,\u201d however, it became clear that all she really knew was how to say \u201cyes.\u201d After a few bars, she gave up and, laughing, gave me back the lei, along with $2.<\/p>\n
A group of Spanish girls danced next. After a ragged beginning, they soon fell into a rhythm and ended the dance in unison.<\/p>\n
A 50-something man from Arizona handed me a tightly folded dollar bill. \u201cI love New York,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Next came the Brazilians. First 2 women who fused the hula with a samba gave me $2, then an extended family, wearing white tee shirts that read \u201cKlaus, 5 years, in New York,\u201d gave me $3. Klaus was a handsome boy celebrating his 5th birthday.<\/p>\n
A young woman from Utah wanted to hula. She called her sister over to join her. Soon after a mom and her 2 young daughters rode up on their bikes. Mom gave one of the girls a buck and sent her my way. \u201cThanks,\u201d I said, picking up a lei and waving it at her. \u201cWould you like to hula?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she said, and she ran back to mom and the bikes.<\/p>\n
An Englishman walked by. When he was right in front of me, I said, \u201cAloha.\u201d<\/p>\n
He immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out a dollar. \u201cI have a fondness for the ukulele,\u201d he told me. \u201cI play it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s hear what you can do,\u201d I said, handing him my uke. He noodled around for a minute, getting the feel of the instrument, then strummed out the opening chords to Michael Jackson\u2019s \u201cThriller.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time I packed up, with 12 singles in my pocket, everyone seemed to have gone home. The benches were empty. The young Chinese woman, who had been making big bubbles by the water, decided to haul her stuff closer to the arcade, where whatever people there were huddled in the shade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis spot no good,\u201d she told me as she walked by.<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cGood luck.\u201d It had been good enough for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"