Pretty good.

 63rd day sober. Yeah, I'm gonna keep counting the days because since coming to the mainland, I've never gone so far as a month without alcohol and even after quitting and feeling that I was very determined about it, I only lasted a matter of months. 

Due to the busking, Tom giving me $50, and my finding $25 I didn't know I had set aside, I have added another $50 bag of small bills to my cash-stash bringing it up to $300, have my $30 pledge for July set aside, and still have about $31 in my wallet. I'll put $20 on my Clipper card out of that. 

My anticipated future, of living in a rented room or perhaps a subsidized small apartment in the Honolulu area and going to Waikiki to busk, is looking very possible. If I can make $30 in a bit over an hour, I think I can be OK. I'd not be playing as loudly in Waikiki, and might make a lot of use of the kind of mute Miles Davis used, since it's a neat, quieter, sound. 

I tried calling FedEx to see if they're open today and how late, but the number doesn't go through. I have no idea why I can't call a place that's about 3 miles away but it's just another little thing that's breaking down. I packed three packages and took them over, and they were open. 

I stopped at the falafel place and it was open so I got a gyro. The owner and a worker were talking about something in Turkish I guess, really loudly. It was none of my business so I figured it was just about the weather or something. When I got my gyro the owner told me they were talking about his father, who was living in Georgia and had just died the night before from covid. I said they're very anti-science and anti-vaccine in places like Georgia so his father may not have gotten vaccinated. The guy said that makes him so mad, that there are lots of doctors "in the community" by which I guess me means Turkish, and they are all pro-vaccine, yet there are people who are so backward and don't want to use science, which makes peoples' lives better. 

He's also retiring to Turkey in a few years (I think) and I told him of my similar plans to go back to Hawaii where it's half as expensive as here. 

The gyro, which I ate at a table out front, was delicious as usual, and now I was all fueled up for the rest of my day/night. 

I picked up a bunch of packing stuff on my way back and unloaded that here, and changed things over in the bike bags to what I need for a busking trip downtown. It was 7:30 or a bit later, maybe closer to 8, when I got going, 

I dropped off some books in two of the free libraries, and headed for the Old Spaghetti Factory first. I figured I'd play a bit there just for old time's sake then move over to Whole Foods. So I rode there and set up, and played a little, but there really wasn't that much of a crowd. I decided to take off and was walking my bike along the sidewalk there when I heard Leroy's sax. 

Leroy was there with another guy who sings and plays guitar. They had a pretty classy setup. I played a little there with them just for fun then took off for Whole Foods. 

When I got to Whole Foods and was all set up and starting to play, I checked the time. It was 8:45. I decided I'll play until 9:45 and that'll be perfect. I didn't feel that enthusiastic but I'd told myself I was going to do this. I played the usual things, Amazing Grace and so on, but what people seemed to like was "Beautiful Dreamer" and "Fly Me To The Moon" ("In Other Words"). 

It felt slow, but when I saw a $20 in the tip box and then a bit later, a 2nd $20, I realized I was doing OK. As I was getting down to the last 15 minutes or so, a short, portly guy walked past then doubled around and looked interested in my tip box. He gave me a story about having his RV stranded, out of gas, behind the SAP Center and we discussed where the nearest gas stations are. I said if he wants my spot he can have it, as I'm tired and have played enough. I packed up while he begged a $10 from a lady, and then I noticed as I prepared to ride off that he wasn't using the spot but had wandered off. I wonder if he was pondering whether he could get away with grabbing my tip box and running off with it. And if his RV was stranded, why didn't he have a gas can in hand?  

I'd put in, I'd say, 50 minutes at Whole Foods and made $56.25. I rode back by way of the Old Spaghetti Factory and Leroy and his friend were still set up so I joined in, just trying to accompany and fatten up the sound a bit. That went pretty well and Leroy was really getting into it. We had a "Danger Dog" cart right across the sidewalk from us, so some people were stopping just for that, but Leroy and Co. didn't seem to be getting much in the way of actual tips. 

Leroy and I got to talk a bit; he's getting a new sax fairly soon ("Selmers have the sound, and Yamahas have the action") and as things normalize he might start playing further away, like Palo Alto. Leroy had to leave for a party or something but kept doing the "just one more song" thing which was pretty fun. 

Finally he did pack up, and insisted, as in, if I didn't take the money he might actually get angry, in giving me my share of the tips - $3. I always got the impression that Leroy was not exactly raking it in, but thought he might actually be doing quite well and just really good at making it look like his busking income is very modest. I hope that's the case. 

So with maybe another 10 or 15 minutes' worth of goof-off playing with Leroy and Co., that brings my earnings up to $59.25. 

The ride home was uneventful because I just stayed on 1st street up to Brokaw and then to here. It's a longer ride but for some reason there's not the wind on 1st that there is on 10th so I can really fly along.