Love in Hawaii...Mahalo to the Locals!

I arrived in Honolulu at 10:30pm Thursday night weary after over a six hour flight. My only solace on the plane was Marley and Me, which I felt strange tearing up during as I sat next to a shifty coach from some WNBA team I've never heard of. Random, yes, but it's just one of those things that occurs as a Nickel-Plated Wayfarer. Island Time is four hours earlier than Phoenix Time (Mountain Time?), so my body thought it was 3am when I finally went to bed. But it also meant waking up four hours later, and I was refreshed and ready for the festivities of Lei Day. Yes, "Lei Day is May Day" on Island Time and I made good use of it stringing up one of my own:

I gave it to Mary, a person I've traveled the country with to many places these past two years, including Jackson, MS, New Orleans, and Grand Rapids, MI. I presented my lei in the Hawaiian way with a hug and a kiss, as I received from my good friend at the hotel:


After a hard day's work I hopped in a cab where I had a good conversation about love with Toni, a Vietnamese cab driver who's lived on the island for over 15 years and has been happily married for over 30. He had much to say about how young and stupid I was, but in a more helpful, pedagogical way. Saying goodbye to Toni, I checked in to my room at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, a collection of five high-rise hotel buildings sitting on the shores of Waikiki. In the village there was a man-made pond with real penguins and a fancy jewelry shop among other retail options that were just as appealing. On the sixth floor of the Ali'i Tower I found my room had a balcony and overlooked the Pacific Ocean and all of the happy couples and families waddling around the sand.

There was a couple riding segways with bike helmets on and I yelled down to them "You don't need helmets for Segways!" I sat on my balcony, watching the ocean and thinking about how much love there is on Island Time when a pair of pigeons showed up to say hello. I suddenly felt lonely and decided to hit the bar, where I ordered a $13 pineapple drink and watched the hostess spray pigeons with water from a hose. I called to her "Leave them alone!" to which she responded "They're discusting, flying rats!" I wondered how much she wanted to spray the sentimental newlyweds as they populated the beaches and contributed to love on Island Time:

Could it be that love is manufactured here in Hawaii? I said "Aloha" to all sorts of people on the beach. Some literal "beach bums" sat under the gazebo by the squash courts later in the evening and said "Aloha" before I could so I approached them and was handed a beer. Bruce sat on his scooter and began strumming a tune that Barry began to sing along to.


Bruce's notes were light and melodic against Barry's voice, which was deep and filled with pain. Of all the sandy beaches, hula girls and surf boards on the island, our jam session on the beach was the best part of my time in Hawaii. The fuzz came and busted up our party at 10pm. Respect came from both my beach friends and the police, and everyone called each other by name. I'm sure this routine has lasted for years. I hugged my friends goodbye and and left in my bare feet. On my walk back to the hotel, I stopped in one last place for a beer and saw a bunch of kids dressed to the 9's, leaving their Senior Prom.


Hawaii is known for it's romantic landscapes and the feelings that go with it. I learned that the beauty on Waikiki is no novelty to the locals either, as their love was the genuine article to our postcard versions that come one week a year if we're lucky. I don't think the weather is the catalyst for love in Hawaii but it certainly does help.