Posts Tagged ‘Pennies from Heaven’

  1. A Rare Friday

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    August 23, 2016 by admin

    I went to the park on Friday, a rare occurrence for me, but the day was too fine to let pass. Except for the soldiering roses, the plantings were lush and deep August green. As I walked through Strawberry Fields, I heard a trumpet in the distance. Walking closer, I picked up the sound of more instruments. It was the jazz trio playing “Pennies from Heaven” across the road from Daniel Webster. The Boyd Family sang sacred music in the arcade; I sang strictly secular on center stage.

    Two little Spanish girls walked up, each with a quarter in her hand. They danced a halting hula, turning from time to time to their parents far away, then back, giggling, to each other.

    An expensively put-together woman in her 50’s found a dollar in her purse for me.

    A short distance to my right, a long-legged model posed for a photographer and his 2 assistants. One of the assistants was swaying to “Honolulu Eyes.” She turned to see me watching, stopped in embarrassment, turned away, then started swaying again. They finished shooting about the same time I finished singing. “Have you got time for a real hula?” I asked the assistant, waving a lei at her.

    “Go ahead,” said the photographer. He even took a few snaps of her going to the hukilau. When she gave me a dollar, he pulled out a dollar too. I lifted an eyebrow to the model, but she demurred.

    With about 30 minutes left in my set, the ballerina came by with her gym bag, white face and bun. She stretched ostentatiously as she waited for me to leave. I ignored her, and did not leave. After another song, she did.

    A family walked by. Dad gave the elder of two a dollar for me. I’ve observed many a child taught to tip the busker this way.

    A family of Canadians came by. They were from Alberta, loved New York, and loved my music $2 USD worth.

    I counted out $7.50 for the day. On my way out of the park, the cold water man gave me a thumbs-up, a reminder that it’s not about the money. “Aloha.”

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