It was a warm and breezy Thursday. \u00a0The roses at the Women\u2019s Gate have started making hips.\u00a0 Behind the benches, gomphrena is king.\u00a0 Farther down the path, past the browning chestnut tree, the wood anemones have started to bloom, each with a single white flower.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The cowboy was finishing up at Bethesda Fountain.\u00a0 He played \u201cYour Song\u201d (Elton John, 1970), while I waited in the shade.\u00a0 A 50-something woman standing near me hummed along as she fished money from her purse.\u00a0 For his final number, \u201cWould You Know My Name\u201d (Eric Clapton, 1992), I moved into the sun near the fountain and began to set up.\u00a0 People there were humming too.\u00a0 I waited a bit before starting my set, in order to let the vibe of dead children dissipate.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was a slow start, but eventually a flock of kids from Mexico ran up to dance the hula.\u00a0 One of them threw 86 cents into my case.\u00a0 At the end of \u201cThe Hukilau Song,\u201d their mom kicked in a fiver.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A dad with an 11-month-old baby in a stroller was talking on the phone when he noticed his baby’s bobbing to the rhythm of \u201cGet Out and Get Under the Moon.\u201d\u00a0 He rewarded me with $2.\u00a0 A woman, who had been sitting near me, threw me some small change as she got up to leave.\u00a0 A man who had been listening from the benches gave me a buck.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A 40-something woman walked by with her 9-year-old daughter.\u00a0 \u201cHave you got time for a hula today?\u201d\u00a0 She kept walking, then turned to me.\u00a0 \u201cChange your mind?\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, no hula, but I will listen.\u00a0 Play me something.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I launched into \u201cLittle Grass Shack.\u201d\u00a0 After the last humahumanukanukaapuaa swam by, she gave me $2.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A 60-something woman stopped to talk.\u00a0 \u201cI have to ask,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cAre you a retired New York City school teacher?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cClose,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cI am retired.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI could tell that from the smile on your face.\u00a0 You\u2019re really good with the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you retired?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got 2 more years.\u00a0 I hope to be as happy as you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When she walked off, a man approached, opened his wallet and took out his Hawaiian driver\u2019s license.\u00a0 He was originally from Puerto Rico, had grown up in NYC, and had been living in Maui for the last 7 years.\u00a0 \u201cLove the hukilau,\u201d he said, then made canoe-paddling motions as he danced off.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Finally, a couple lurking just out of sight around the fountain breezed by and dropped a buck, ending the month with another $12.60 to show for it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"