Ukes on the Q32

Drastic times call for drastic measures. How to get to Sunnyside from the Upper East Side when the 7 isn't running between Queensboro Plaza and Manhattan? The old reliable Q32: the only bus when you need to get from Penn Station to LaGuardia in just an hour and a half! At 59th and Lex, two sisters, 7 or 8, and their parents got on. Asian or Asian-American. The girls were carrying what looked like violin cases. When they took the instruments out, they turned out to be ukeleles. Very quietly, they practiced a few notes sitting across from each other and giggling in the back of the bus.

The Prettiots at SXSW (Courtesy The New York Times)

This morning's New York Times, in a story on how hard it is for bands to get to the South by Southwest festival, focuses on the Prettiots, "a largely unknown ukelele-led trio." They only have one uke. The girls on the Q32 had two. Imagine how far they could go.

Bonus: Arlo Guthrie singing "Ukelele Lady" from Hobo's Lullaby. Great shots of Arlo from across his long career: