It’s a lovely November Wednesday, with temps at 70 or above.  It seemed a good day for my farewell concert.  At the Women’s Gate, the barricades for the NYC Marathon are in place.  Giant oaks, the last of the great trees to lose their leaves, are rusty brown.  The roses still bloom; next to orange hips, red growing tips push skyward.  On the wood anemone there are 4 perfect flowers.

The cowboy told me he started late due to a movie crew, so I hiked to my maple and sang out over the lake.  The small mulberry tree in front of me was heavy with red berries.  Where have all the birds gone?

After 30 minutes, only 1 man, who carried some kind of platform or low table, made a contribution.  He carefully balanced his load on his shoulder, tossed a crumpled bill behind his back into my case, regained his balance and kept walking.

I went back to the fountain, where the cowboy was finishing up with “Sweet Caroline.”  After an hour, I’d tripled my money, i.e., I’d made a total of $3.  The last contribution came from a man my own age.  “I admire your nerve,” he said.

“After the first 10,000 times, it gets easier,” I told him.

UPDATE:  Simon Woo, of ABC fame (Australian Born Chinese), sent me these pictures.