The tents were still up for the Central Park Conservancy fund raiser, so I made my way to the maple and went to work.\u00a0 Several school groups were in the park today, but none had time to hula.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A family consisting of mom and dad with a small boy and girl walked by.\u00a0 Kids of a certain age are fascinated by my solar-powered hula girls, and, secondarily, this old man playing the uke.\u00a0 Dad must have explained busking to the boy, because he soon came running back to put a quarter in my case.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When a mom holding an infant walked by, the infant caught the rhythm, causing mom to stop until the end of the song.\u00a0 Dad, who had been pushing an empty stroller, reached into his pocket for a dollar. \u00a0Then came another infant in arms, and another dollar.\u00a0 I seemed to be making a big impression among the under-5 set.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A man dropped a quarter and a penny in my case; moments later, a passerby emptied his pockets of change.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A woman on a bicycle stopped and, without dismounting, walked her bike right up to me.\u00a0 She reached into her pocket and pulled out some bills; I saw a fiver and a single.\u00a0 Surprisingly, she dropped the fiver in my case.\u00a0 \u201cThanks a lot,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cLove your music,\u201d she answered.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Yet another school group straggled by.\u00a0 \u201cHas this group got time for a hula today?\u201d\u00a0 The leader said no, they had a bus to meet, but a young teen grabbed a lei and started dancing anyway.\u00a0 The badge on the lanyard around his neck said his name was Wyatt.\u00a0 His classmates stopped to cheer him on; some of them even put money in my case before the leader called out, \u201cHello?\u00a0 Bus?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A 50-something German couple stopped to listened, then asked if they could take a picture.\u00a0 I put a lei around the Frau\u2019s neck while the Herr got the shot.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lurking in the background was a petite woman in her 40\u2019s.\u00a0 When the German\u2019s walked off, waving auf wiedersehen, the woman approached and struck up a conversation.\u00a0 She told me that she used to busk in the Christopher St. subway station, but now lived in New Mexico.\u00a0 She held out her hand to show me 3 quarters.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she said, tossing the coins into my case, \u201cDon\u2019t you hate it when people tell you they don\u2019t have any money?\u00a0 But the truth is I left the apartment without my wallet this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cNo problem,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cThis isn\u2019t about money.\u201d\u00a0 We chatted about New York, 9-11, Airbnb.\u00a0 When she walked off, I checked my watch:\u00a0 90 minutes, time to go.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It may not be about money, but I nevertheless count my take after every outing, as an indicator of public appreciation.\u00a0 Today\u2019s $12.82 measured pretty high on that scale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"