Randy, the dobro player, has worked his way into the rotation of platoon guitarists at the Imagine Mosaic.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s very well organized here,\u201d he told me.\u00a0 \u201cNone of the conflicts you\u2019ve got at the fountain.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The wilting, drooping plants along the path await the merciful frost.\u00a0 The wood anemone score:\u00a0 2-0.\u00a0 The flowers have formed seed pods, like green peas, on axial branches, looking like nodes in a network diagram.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
First up to hula was a Brazilian woman.\u00a0 After her dance, she and a friend posed for pictures and gave me a dollar.\u00a0 A couple off the bench walked up to me with a dollar.\u00a0 \u201cThank you,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cNo, no, thank you,\u201d was the answer.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A teenager on a skateboard rolled by and tossed 28 cents into my case.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Despite the warm weather, a cool breeze kept me comfortable.\u00a0 \u201cI really enjoyed your music,\u201d said a man coming off the bench with a buck.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A quartet of Chinese women from Hong Kong danced to \u201cThe Hukilau Song,\u201d then walked away.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The day\u2019s final contribution came from a couple who had been listening nearby.\u00a0 They were from The Netherlands, from a town called Tilburg in the south.\u00a0 They either gave me $2, or someone else kicked in a dollar when I wasn\u2019t looking.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Early in my set, another busker set up on the other side of the fountain.\u00a0 He played classical guitar and sang opera, fully amplified with an orchestral accompaniment.\u00a0 I held my annoyance in check for over an hour; he was plenty loud without the mic, and plenty rude for setting up so close to me.\u00a0 The beautiful day helped me find my inner aloha, so I could finish my set with some equanimity.\u00a0 After packing up, however, on my way out, I let him know, calmly, that amplification was prohibited, then quickly walked away before I lapsed into stronger language.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"