The park on Monday was free from Friday\u2019s annoyances.\u00a0 The wood anemone derby had a new leader.\u00a0 The path-side plant had only 8 flowers; boneset had overgrown half of it.\u00a0 The smaller plant made a spectacular show of 25 flowers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Colin, the cowboy, told me that Saturday was even worse than Friday for noise.\u00a0 Carole, the photographer, confirmed it.\u00a0 Hers was the first dollar of the day, but she didn\u2019t stick around to chat.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s too hot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
An Australian man ran up to me while I sang \u201cFit as a Fiddle.\u201d\u00a0 He joined me in singing the final 8 bars, then gave me a fiver.\u00a0 Moments later, he returned with his wife and kids for pictures.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A man from the benches gave me a dollar, followed by 2 hula-dancing walkaways.\u00a0 The first was from India, a petite 20-something with coal-black eyes; the second from Indiana, a buxom blonde, who told me that she didn\u2019t really know how to hula, but was a dancer and could fake it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A mom from the east side put leis around her toddler daughter\u2019s neck and her own.\u00a0 When the girl just stood there, the mom let go of her hand and danced on her own.\u00a0 Afterward, she gave me a fiver and asked for my card.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A large group of Australians entered the park.\u00a0 Three of them hulaed while the rest cheered them on.\u00a0 Then they walked away.\u00a0 A little girl was waiting for the Australians to leave, then asked if she could dance.\u00a0 She already had a dollar in her hand for me.\u00a0 While she danced, another little girl came off the benches and threw some change into my case.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The park seemed to be teeming with Australians today.\u00a0 The next group arrived by bike.\u00a0 \u201cHave you got time for a hula today?\u201d\u00a0 They did, but like their compatriots before them, they walked away after the dance.\u00a0 Another Indian girl danced next and dropped a dollar.\u00a0 A couple from Toronto gave me two.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A man and woman in their 30\u2019s contributed $2.\u00a0 \u201cPretty music,\u201d said the man.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The final 30 minutes of my set was sung to an empty plaza.\u00a0 The lunchtime crowd had gone back to work, or off to the next tourist spot.\u00a0 I counted out $22.51 when a young couple approached.\u00a0 \u201cThis is for you from earlier,\u201d said the man, handing me a buck.\u00a0 I tucked it in my pocket and revised my notes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"