It was a warm and breezy Thursday.  The roses at the Women’s Gate have started making hips.  Behind the benches, gomphrena is king.  Farther down the path, past the browning chestnut tree, the wood anemones have started to bloom, each with a single white flower.

The cowboy was finishing up at Bethesda Fountain.  He played “Your Song” (Elton John, 1970), while I waited in the shade.  A 50-something woman standing near me hummed along as she fished money from her purse.  For his final number, “Would You Know My Name” (Eric Clapton, 1992), I moved into the sun near the fountain and began to set up.  People there were humming too.  I waited a bit before starting my set, in order to let the vibe of dead children dissipate.

It was a slow start, but eventually a flock of kids from Mexico ran up to dance the hula.  One of them threw 86 cents into my case.  At the end of “The Hukilau Song,” their mom kicked in a fiver.

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 “Get Out and Get Under the Moon.”  He rewarded me with $2.  A woman, who had been sitting near me, threw me some small change as she got up to leave.  A man who had been listening from the benches gave me a buck.

A 40-something woman walked by with her 9-year-old daughter.  “Have you got time for a hula today?”  She kept walking, then turned to me.  “Change your mind?” I said.

“No, no hula, but I will listen.  Play me something.”

I launched into “Little Grass Shack.”  After the last humahumanukanukaapuaa swam by, she gave me $2.

A 60-something woman stopped to talk.  “I have to ask,” she said.  “Are you a retired New York City school teacher?”

“Close,” I said.  “I am retired.”

“I could tell that from the smile on your face.  You’re really good with the kids.”

“Are you retired?”

“I’ve got 2 more years.  I hope to be as happy as you are.”

When she walked off, a man approached, opened his wallet and took out his Hawaiian driver’s license.  He was originally from Puerto Rico, had grown up in NYC, and had been living in Maui for the last 7 years.  “Love the hukilau,” he said, then made canoe-paddling motions as he danced off.

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.