Things started out this week where they left off last week.\u00a0 The gardeners had taken the weekend off, so the pall of death in the garden had advanced to the pall of decay. \u00a0Here and there, however, the pale purple herb robert (said like a Frenchman) poked its head up, and the solomon\u2019s seal was still going strong.\u00a0 Salmon and white azalea punctuated the lawns and intersections.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The day, as cold as last week, with the same cumulus clouds in a clear blue sky, felt somehow brighter.\u00a0 A strong wind caused people to hold onto their hats.\u00a0 The skinny branches of the paulownia tree, in full bloom, waved its lavender panicles at me.\u00a0 And across the road from the chestnut, lit up like a Christmas tree with its white catkins, was another chestnut.\u00a0 We\u2019ll see if it too has the blight. \u00a0(I recently learned that the blight, while effecting the tree\u2019s appearance, won\u2019t kill it; it was the same place I learned the difference between a panicle and a catkin.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I set up at Bethesda Fountain.\u00a0 Having anchored the leis and sheltered the hula girls, I began my set.\u00a0 Before too long, a young man pulled a dollar from his wallet and tossed it into my case.\u00a0 It immediately blew away, but he grabbed it, like a goalie, then tucked it under the capo I keep to hold things down.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A man wanted to buy a hula girl for his girlfriend.\u00a0 \u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ordinarily I don\u2019t sell the hula girls; I consider them, like leis, part of the act, but the girlfriend seemed to want it, so I said \u201cFive dollars.\u201d\u00a0 They discussed it and agreed.\u00a0 I let her pick out the color; she chose green.\u00a0 The man handed me a twenty and asked for change.\u00a0 I only had twenties and a ten in my wallet.\u00a0 \u201cTen dollars?\u00a0 No, seven?\u201d I said, indicating the 3 singles in my case.\u00a0 He said he\u2019d get change from the hot dog man and come back.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Marcel and Maggie the dog came down the path together.\u00a0 Maggie took a seat and waited for me to play, which, after a brief chat with Marcel, I did.\u00a0 Maggie is the center of attention wherever she goes; it\u2019s tough to hustle for hulas when she\u2019s around.\u00a0 Marcel, I think, senses this; when she didn\u2019t budge with a tug on the leash, he picked her up and carried her away.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A teenager from Argentina was delighted to hula.\u00a0 He mugged for his friends, gave me back the lei and walked away.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An exotic 30-something woman and her boyfriend walked by.\u00a0 \u201cHave you got time for a hula today?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, I do.\u201d\u00a0 She peeled off to dance with me while her boyfriend walked on.\u00a0 After a short lesson, she went to the hukilau.\u00a0 With mixture of classical Indian dance and hula, she swayed through 2 verses and managed to attract a crowd; her boyfriend was there at the end taking pictures.\u00a0 She gave me $3 and a hug.\u00a0 \u201cThat was so much fun,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Yeah, I thought, for me too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"