ALOHA

PARADISE...........or so some folks say, not taking into account the cockroaches, including the flying variety or ........... well, maybe there's nothing else to detract from the Hawaiian Islands. We've traveled there four times and I'm still not altogether sure where it falls in my ratings of places to go. I do remember that one of the times I felt the greatest sense of peace was while riding across the island of Oahu, past the pineapple plantations......the wide horizon showing blue, blue skies and fluffy white clouds, with Hawaiian music playing on the car's radio. The Dole Plantation was where I learned that a little bit of salt on diced pineapple enhances the flavor. Another treasured recall involves the visit to an old, old church in Haleiwa (I think) for Sunday services and as the choir filed in, the sound of flip-flops. So the memories are good. If Trader Joe's would play Hawaiian music as background, I'd be tempted to clear the shelves into my shopping cart. It's a good thing that they don't often use that musical selection.

I've told you before about the time I sent Bob on the island tour and I stayed on the ship and sketched Lahaina from the deck.

Where I'm headed is to tell you that the other evening, the Manor had a luau and I came to the realization that I didn't have anything vaguely Hawaiian or even floral to wear. Almost all of the other residents rose to the occasion and were dressed appropriately. Even Mr. Bob had a closet full of Hawaiian shirts from which to choose. These days he's happiest when he's in the dining room interacting with other people.





After a tropical dinner full of pineapple, pork, coconut shrimp and even coconut ice cream, it was time for the entertainment. I went to our room for something, got caught up with my knitting and never went back but Mr. Bob found a seat in the main lounge and readied his camera to capture the event for the Manor Album.

The contrast between the beautiful, smooth-skinned young ladies and the wrinkled,
wizened, bent-out-of-shape oldsters is remarkable. I wonder if that's part of the reason the idea of knitting was so tempting?

Residents were called up to take part in the hula. Mr. Bob didn't volunteer for that event, but sat there and snapped and snapped some more, while four floors up, I knitted and purled up a tropical storm.

"Hawaii can be heaven and it can be hell." 

                                                                                                       Jeff Goldblum