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HAWAIIANA 9 |
I usually find something to introduce another in the Hawaiiana series, but
I’m all out, so, here’s some more things I think qualify as Hawaiiana.
If you look carefully you can see the Hawaiian
Islands in the middle of the picture just below Ignacio. At
the time of this writing we have had 15 threats like this and Olaf is now at our
door. The Big Island of Hawaii has had some flooding and
other damage, but so far there has not been a direct hit.
Olaf is expected to turn north as well, but the season for these events doesn’t
end for another month.
It is rare to see an image like this with three
active storms in a row passing Hawaii in such a short time frame!
The windows of my bedroom change throughout the year
as the sun hits them differently each morning. These two pics
were taken before and after I had the blinds replaced. The
pattern was more interesting before, but the blinds worked after replacement.
(Or maybe the landscape crew just trimmed the ferns.)
Either way, it is interesting to see the patterns change!
This is the poke counter at Safeway. It is large and varied, but quite typical for a grocery store of any size
in Hawaii. Poke
(pronounced POH-kay) is served in most Hawaiian homes and restaurants as an
appetizer or a side dish, and no gathering in Hawaii would be complete without a
few bowls of it. In Hawaiian, poke means "cut or sliced piece". Poke is
bite-size pieces of raw fish marinated in a variety of seasonings.
My favorite is that in the right-most tray – the
spicy ahi poke – it just doesn’t keep at my house!
Anyone who follows the University of Hawaii men’s
and/or women’s volleyball programs knows these ladies, affectionately known as
the “Aunties”. They attend every home match and support the
teams with signs, cheering and most significantly with rewards!
The Aunties bring handmade leis and flowers to each match and win or
lose, each player receives a lei, a hug, a kiss and good wishes at the end.
The players religiously go to the Aunties after each
match. The men generally have no trouble getting close to the
ladies, but some of the females, especially the smurfs (5’ 3”-ish), have to
climb the rails to get their hugs. All this is unique to
Hawaii, I’m sure!
For a taste of the Aunties in action, see
this brief clip of the conclusion of the UH Wahine victory over second
ranked University of Florida. It doesn’t run very long, but
it takes about 4 minutes to load on my computer – have patience.
The Hawaiian culture includes a healthy respect for
elders. Two people with as little as a decade of difference
in age might find the younger addressing the older as Auntie or Uncle.
When I first encountered this I found it a bit strange, but it really is
an expression of respect.
Not unlike many other condos in Hawaii, my place
does not allow pets. However, I have found a loop-hole in the
regulations. If you have a “service animal”, no certificate,
doctor’s approval, or any other verification is required, and you are allowed to
keep the pet.
This year I tried a different approach.
I set up a watering hole with a catsup bottle cap and have actually seen
one of them drinking. If I get caught harboring a pet, I have
prepared a certificate identifying it as my “service” gecko.
I don’t expect anyone to question what service it performs.
No one ever questioned what the excellent pooper “service dog” that lived next
door for a while did for a living.
I think I currently have 3 green guys – 2 ½”, 3 ¼”
and 4”. The water hole one above is the 2 ½” guy.
I think I just let him find the door. For a while I
had a pretty good sized one that had lost and was regenerating a tail.
I also helped him find the door. I may have seen him
the other day by the plant on my patio. The new tail was well
along.
In paying more attention to my pets, I’ve seen three
interesting incidents. One day I saw the tiny one detect a
line of ants. He just watched for a while, then sampled one,
then watched for a while and went on his way. Google says
they eat ants, but I guess that’s not the food of choice.
Another day I saw the bigger guy encounter a
hatchling new to my notice in the condo. It seemed to be a
different species – very small, mostly brown, kind of striped.
The bigger one grabbed it and struggled for about 10 minutes to control
and subdue it. I stepped away to get my camera and upon
return both were gone.
A couple days ago I was watching TV and happened to
see a bee on the patio “glass-trapped”. You know, it was
flying up and down with its nose on the patio glass railing.
As I watched it fell down to a corner and as it was trying to get oriented an
adult gecko grabbed it. It took a while but the gecko finally
subdued it. I didn’t see the final swallow but I think it
happened.
This is the mid-sized one. On two
different occasions I saw him slathered across the numbers on my microwave
(lower, right). Not sure what the purpose was – heat, color,
checking time?
Hard to know what’s in their heads, but they are
certainly interesting to watch. Entertaining the elderly
Uncles – that’s their “service”! While they do eat bugs, they
also poop a lot!
AFTERWORD
I’ve been in Hawaii for nearly 20 years now, but I
still see new and fascinating things that I think of as Hawaiiana.
Do you suppose I’m the only one who thinks this?
Apologies for the tardiness of this Ponogram.
I was on the mainland (or “off-island” as we say here) for most of last
month.
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