Mountains in the mist…Maui
Posts tagged ‘Hawaii’
Quan Yin…
The Hyatt on Maui had some beautiful are work. Quan Yin is in the center of the hotel. Poor thing will never open her eyes. I often wonder if she’s sorry she promised to keep them closed until all suffering was gone. Never gonna happen…at least not here, the way we are now. One should be careful of the promises/oaths one makes.
Okay, so…
We were at the Polynesia Cultural Center (I think that’s what it’s called…I don’t pay attention to those things, sorry) and we were sitting in on a talk and demonstration by the Samoan native tribe. The Chief saw us (before the gig started) and walked over to us. Our guide bowed a lot and was flustered to be in front of a Chief. Our guide kept telling us the guy was a Chief, as if that meant something and was important…and it was…to him. The Chief certainly had a powerful aura but I just smirked at him cuz, really, he just another guy with some cool knowledge and a title, right? We are all one, so there is that. Anyway, I was having fun with him and when we left, after the show, I turned toward him and blew him a kiss. He grinned and blew a kiss back to me. So much fun. Melanie (blogger) said I may be married and not know it and I suppose that’s possible. But that’s not the point of this story.
The thing is, their culture is almost too much to believe. The Chief is POWERFUL. The people are kind. The sons are responsible for taking care of the grandparents, parents and their SISTERS, in that order. And this is for real and very serious. They demonstrated their skills, in different areas, which were extremely impressive. The things the Chief did, well, he might be able to do anything. Kind of like Superchief. They ALL know how to do whatever it takes to survive off the land. They also have a wonderful sense of humor and had all of us laughing and snickering. It was informative and fun. The Chief was solid and his word was obviously law. He spent a lot of time with our group before the show started and he was well traveled and pretty cool. He was supremely comfortable with himself, which is exactly what a Chief needs to be. I liked him. I liked the others people in the show as well. We saw all the other tribes but truthfully, none of them had the same kind of feeling/personality. The Samoan people were charming, fun, flirty and confident. I liked that…a lot.
My cousin and I went to Hawaii on a tour. There were 15 of us. Everyone was fantastic and I’m so happy I met them. I was sorry to say goodbye. But I don’t usually like the activities they have on tours. I do like being picked up at the airports, not having to move my luggage around, having all kinds of arrangements made for me by someone else and not having to think about anything while I’m having a good time. So I don’t go with the group on all the scheduled activities. The only place I go without a plan is Paris…heavy sigh. That’s where I wanted to go but my cousin is terrified of terrorists. Like you can’t get killed in Chicago or anywhere else. Some people are just like that. She said a cop was killed in Paris. I just looked at her. “”A” cop? Just one?” I tried to remind her how many people were killed in the city and outlying areas of Chicago EVERYDAY. But I guess she doesn’t think that’s relevant. As I said, my cousin and I are VERY different. So, we ended up in Hawaii. Hawaii is NOT Paris…nothing is Paris but Paris and really, I don’t care if I EVER go anywhere else but there.
If you do go to Waikiki be sure to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center and when you do…definitely check out the Samoan Chief. Seriously…do it.
Penguins…
These are the warm weather penguins who live at the Hyatt, on Maui. They are adorable and well cared for…not free, but I hope they’re happy. They seem happy, but people like to think that captives are happy because it makes THEM feel better to believe that they are. At any rate, they live at the hotel and people talk to them. I think it goes something like this…
“I can’t understand anything he said,” said penguin One.
“It’s his accent. It’s thick. I usually know what those people are saying but I can’t understand him either,” said Two.
“It’s as if he’s swallowing his words, after chewing on them one at a time,” said One, shaking his flipper.
“I agree. Want some krill?”
“Sure.”
“I’m partial to New Yorker’s. Now that’s an accent,” said Two.
“I could listen to them talk all day long,” said One.
“I don’t know why some of them make noises at us,” sighed Two, watching a man pursing his lips.
“They can’t speak our language. They are a very limited species.”
“No kidding. And their kids…it takes them forever to grow up and they are always sticky, or wet.”
“You just don’t like kids,” snickered One.
“True. I mean I like our kids. They’re neat and they can swim right away.”
“I wonder what it’s like to be free?” said One, dreamily.
“What do you mean?” asked Two, standing up very straight. “Aren’t we free?”
“Seriously?”
“What are we?”
“Captives.”
“Who captured us?” asked Two.
“I think we were born captives but there’s a whole ocean out there where we could swim and play in the sun…”
“And be eaten by sharks, or hit by a boat,” grumbled penguin Three.
“EATEN?” shrieked Two,
“Yeah,” said Three. “The people looking at you would eat you if they could. They eat anything, they don’t care what it is, or how it feels. They’re worse than the sharks.”
“TURN YOUR BACK. DON’T LOOK AT THEM,” cried Two.
“It won’t help,” said Three. “Nothing we do helps.”
“I’m not going to listen to them anymore,” said One, looking away from the crowd.
“Me neither,” said Two, turning around.
“We can try and escape,” said Three, eyeing the wall around them. “How high can you jump? It’s not that far to the water.”
“I like the people who care for us and who will feed us?” asked One.
“Now you sound like a prisoner who has Stockholm Syndrome. Free penguins eat, don’t they? They aren’t starving.”
“Okay but, we don’t know how to find food,” said One, sadly.
“The other penguins will teach us,” said Three, nodding.
“I’m afraid to leave,” said Two.
“Then they won,” said Three, waddling away.”
The chicklets took first place in the dance contest on Maui…
Violet and Jake did a fabulous job and won first place in the hula contest. The rest of the chicklets were peeping and chirping loudly, flapping their wings and bobbing up and down. The other contestants were very good but the chicklets brought it home.
Okay, so…bookstore/s
I asked five people in Waikiki if there was a bookstore anywhere in the area. I got blank stares. I explained what a bookstore was and got…well, nothing. No knowledge of a bookstore from anyone. I saw a guy in the open doorway of a microbrewery, working on a computer, so I stepped in and asked him if he knew where I could find a bookstore. “Uh…bookstore? Let me look it up.” That was nice of him, since he was at work.
I said that I was grateful and waited. Finally he found one either on another island, or reallllly far away. He told me that Hawaii has the worst educational system in the country. He said he was from Maine and used to read but I’m guessing he doesn’t read any longer. I told him that people were probably outside all the time, so they didn’t have time to read because they were busy having fun. Then a woman came downstairs and he said she was his boss and that she could help me. So I asked her the same question and she looked at the computer screen for a few minutes, then smiled.
“There’s a Nordstrom’s right around the corner,” she said happily.
I thanked her very much and left.
***
Post Script: Maybe all the people in Waikiki have Kindles.
Kitty, kitty…
This kitten lives on Maui and apparently walks all over the place, in all the restaurants, gettting food from people who love and adore cats. I fed the kitten and so did another person at a table across from us. The staff was nice to the cat and one of the guys said that everyone feeds the pretty baby. I was happy about that. While feral, he does allow pets now and then. My cousin touched his head. She likes animals but she has a lot of rules about things and even if she’s right about what cats should eat, they eat garbage when they’re hungry and part of my lunch wouldn’t hurt the cat…that’s what he eats all the time. Beautiful cat, prettier than anything on the islands, as far as I’m concerned…perfection.
Lots of bird are in the restaurants and when people get up from their tables the birds immediately dive in for food, before the tables are bussed. We were waiting to be seated and a sparrow flew into the doorway of the restaurant and I saw an older guy kick at it. I just glared at him and he was looking right at me. I growled and wanted to rip his throat out. May seem extreme but I like sparrows. I don’t like anyone who tries to hurt others. Sparrows are nicer than that guy. How moronic, to kick at a tiny bird. I should have reported him. Blah. Maybe he will be attacked by a flock of birds and pecked to death, that way, everything will be squared. Works for me.
Rethinking Life 
Written
on May 9, 2017