Yesterday being a wash-out which cleared away most of the snow, and today being an unseasonably warm 50 degrees and sunny, I decided to spend a little while playing for money at a spot that looked to me like it had a lot of potential when I walked by it a couple of weeks ago.
This is the entrance plaza to the bow bridge at the south end of the boating pond in Central Park. The bridge is one of the most photographed landmarks in the park. The picture gives you an idea of what the bridge looks like, though today there was no snow there. There were plenty of people though, most of them being European tourists.
At the south end of the bridge there is a little "plaza" where 3 foot-paths converge. One path goes north over the bridge, the second goes east towards Bethesda Fountain, and the third goes west towards the west park drive. There was a guy selling hot dogs there already, standing right next to the place where I wanted to be. So I stood on the other side of the path, which wasn't bad, facing the sun with my back to the pond.
I only spent about 45 minutes because I had to be downtown. I made about $6.50. This was a bit disappointing, compared with my experiences further North in the park. Some of this may be down to bad luck; my experience is that donations come in spurts, highs and lows. I think I may have experienced a low, but then didn't hang around long enough to experience a high. My other theories are:
1) Maybe there is not as much traffic here as first meets the eye. Although the spot is always crowded and bustling, I saw a lot of the same people going back and forth. This seems to be a spot where people hang around, taking in the view, taking photos and eating hot dogs. So there may not be as much total "throughput" as some of my other spots.
2) There seemed to be a lot of European tourists. Maybe they don't appreciate American folk and country music as much as the locals do. And maybe they don't feel the same need to throw money around during the holidays as Americans do (not that I was playing Christmas songs).
3) There was a lot of photographing going on. People love to take pictures of the bridge, especially Europeans, many of whom are extremely enthusiastic photographers. So maybe everyone was thinking about taking in beautiful sights, and no one cared much about the beautiful music.
One guy, Italian, I guess, kept pointing his camera at me, then backing off. And he kept kind of staring at me. So finally I nodded and said, "It's OK," thinking he was being shy about taking my photo. (Yeah, right. Shy people don't walk around with 600 pound cameras and stare at you.) He just nodded back and then didn't take my photo. Now I think he really wanted a certain shot of the bridge and the pond, and he wished I wasn't there. I'm sure he can find a nice postcard with the shot he wants. But when's the next time he'll hear "Hey, Good Looking," performed live on a D-28?
By the way, in the traditional Indian pueblos they always restrict photography. Many don't allow cameras at all, or only with a permit; they tell you to photograph people only with permission, and they never let you shoot their cemeteries or traditional temples called "kivas". (Often they won't even let you get near a kiva). I can't tell you exactly what bugs me about Europeans with big cameras in Central Park. Maybe I'm just part Pueblo Indian.
Songs I remember playing:
Don't Think Twice
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Jambalaya
Your Cheating Heart
Clipper Ship
Hey Good Looking
Blue Ridge Mountain Blues
Buckets of Rain
Heartaches By The Number
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