Another beautiful fall day brought large crowds to the park.  At Bethesda Fountain, the Chinese erhu player had beat me to center stage again.  Looking more closely, I saw a second string on his instrument, demonstrating that 2 strings are no better than 1.

As I set up under the Norway Maple, a group of middle-schoolers walked by.  One boy, seeing my solar-powered hula girls still in their cases, asked, “Why aren’t the ladies dancing?”

A young man in his 20’s put a dollar in my case.  A little later, another school group came by; one of the kids at the end of the line dropped a dollar.

It was the birthday of the high school girl from Armonk.  Her 2 friends encouraged her to dance, then each dug out a dollar for me.  “Do you do this for fun?” one of the girls asked.

“Wouldn’t you?”

Yet another school group walked by, this one producing 2 hula dancers and 1 dollar.

A dad pushed a stroller next to his wife, who held a young boy’s hand.  They stopped to listen, then sent the boy to me with a buck.  Moments later, a young man in a hurry slowed enough to toss a crumbled bill into my case.  It bounced out, but I said, “Thanks, I’ve got it,” so he could continue his dash eastward.

I ended my set singing to myself and enjoying this gorgeous day.  Green, yellow and orange leaves from the far side of the lake were reflected in the water, where boaters rippled the surface into prismatic colors.  Above it all, the 2 towers of the San Remo on Central Park West, arguably the most beautiful building on that posh avenue, reached into the crisp blue sky.  Seven dollars was a fine take, yet a day like today was its own reward.