More on Paradise

There aren't enough words in my vocabulary to adequately portray the beauty of Hawaii. Oahu, the island I was on, was everything you see in magazines and more. The sea was a shimmering clear blue. The sandy white beaches were clean, picturesque. Bordered on the shore side by emerald green grass parks with palm trees, waterfalls, brightly colored tropical flowers and bronze statues of Hawaii's historic figures , or the manicured gardens, restaurants and pools of Waikiki's finest hotels, it was pretty as a picture. Hawaii is the real deal; All those fantastic images you see of the place aren't taken on special days or in special places. Visually, Hawaii is as it photographs. I can only imagine the beauty of the outlying areas. This was Waikiki in downtown Honolulu; I never left the strip.

It rained every day. Rain in Hawaii is different . Normally I can see the rain and it makes me feel wet. The week I was in Hawaii the rain was more like a warm mist on a very humid day. Highs were in the mid 80's but lows were in the 70's. A little sticky, but definitely not what one thinks of as a normal "rainy" day, unless you're in Paradise. The sun was shining every day too, even when it rained. Hallelujah for a little cloud cover because when the sun wasn't blocked it was bright, hot, and topical. Bright, hot, and tropical make it easy to understand the dress code; Wear whatever you're comfortable in. Modesty is subordinate to comfortable and practical. Every day fashion is so skimpy that the girls put more on to be sexier. Flesh is everywhere, so commonplace that the end effect is nobody notices except the tourist right off the plane; If every one went naked, nobody would notice.

Saturday, the night before Halloween, the streets ran rampant with farmer's daughters, nurses, beer maids, etc., so many costumes with high heels, skirts a half inch from Vallejo, and low cut tops revealing just a little less than what you would see on the beach (or the street for that matter). Those bare legs tanned in the sun all day, now had White thigh high nylons covering them , and the three inch bare strip of skin exposed between skirt and nylon was as erotic as intended. The same legs, completely bare, would go unnoticed under normal circumstances. In Hawaii, more was less, and covered was sexy, while uncovered was hardly noticed. It was a wonderful place to walk around with all the grey hair on my chest, shoulders, back, and ears showing. I'm sure the visual depiction of Bradman in Hawaii paints a delightful picture, like a werewolf in London.

Since I'm on the subject of fashion, I do want to mention something that was pointed out by my realtor whom had visited Honolulu two weeks prior to my visit. Upon mention of the irony I found in the Halloween costumes, she made the statement, " and how about all the glass high heels"? I also had noticed many young women wearing shorts, mostly levi jeans cut off where their legs began, and glass three inch high heels with platform soles. High, high heels. I just thought that most of the young women were Asian and looking to add height. Glass high heels was the realtor's point though. It seemed to be the style. At least at the mall. That's where the heels and shorts were predominantly seen by me. And since I mention the mall, let me mention that the shopping in Hawaii is paradise!

Prada, Rolex, Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vitton, Dooney & Bourke, Nordstrom, they were all there. Two blocks from the condo was the Muanaloa Mall, all four stories and two city blocks worth of it. Full of tourists, locals, a food court downstairs with a different meal for every visit, and foreigners from all corners of the world, the mall was impressive. I found native Chinese there everyday to strike up conversations with. And I noticed lots of things that people in Hawaii would never buy or wear in many of the shops. Gloves, jackets, cold weather fashions that Hawaiians would never need to wear. Things that were never intended to be sold to the natives. Stores full of things to be bought and taken all over the world by tourists. Honolulu is a fantastic tourist trap, with enough stores, name brands, department stores, jewelers, vendors, etc., that even the most insatiable of shopaholics should be satisfied shopping there. What a great place to spur the economy on with a little consumerism. And what's bought in Hawaii, leaves Hawaii. If America ever wants to send things all over the world, ship to Hawaii and let the world take it home from there. (The dark side)

I drank at the Waikiki Hilton. In two nights of drinking I met an engineer from Pennsylvania working on the air-conditioning units in submarines. A young reservist from Okalahoma on practice maneuvers. A native Chinese cocktail waitress whom spoke Mandarin and was married to a round eye from Rhode Island ( I didn't discuss her husband further). An Australian spy that spoke with such an accent that I couldn't understand him ( he had to be a spy, he didn't have a business card). An aspiring actress doing small parts on the new Hawaii Five-O series, whom became the object of maneuvers, A rather drunk, over-weight, lonely hearted man looking for love with the aspiring actress (who was halfway off her seat trying to edge away from him) whom became disgruntled and verbally abusive when she announced her departure ( whatever bitch! ), a couple from San Diego attending a conference about information passing that the Australian spy was interested in, Whom pointed out the frustration of the lonely heart ( they took the picture for me )and good-hearted-ly laughed about it (we're not mean and we've all been frustrated at times), and a bad hangover trying to drink with them. We had fun. Maybe it was Paradise, or maybe being whomever you want where nobody knows you, but It was my impression that everybody liked themselves in Hawaii and wanted to share some of that joy with others. Go to Hawaii, Meet the world.