Lychee & Sign Waving
I'm on a food thing I guess. The end of August is closing in and just as the trades blow Kona (from the southwest instead of the usual northeast) you can count on the Lychee signs popping up on the side of Farrington highway heading home up the Waianae coast. Imagine and I spotted one today, almost too late to tire screech over to the right lane and turn in without hitting anyone.
It makes me happy to no end to talk story with the sellers who are just as happy to be selling and talking. The guy today had the Lychees chilled already for immediate eating and said this was it, their whole harvest being sold over two days. The late rains made the crop smaller this year, but oh-so-sweet. Imagine was happy to get his ten dollar bag of tiny pink fruits.
If you've never had one, you gotta come to Hawaii the end of summer and get them fresh. They have a tough outer skin, but it is thin and peels off with a firm fingernail. The inside is clearish/whitish fruit like a gel with the coolest, most refreshing flavor. Kind of like a tropical jello with just the right sweetness, a firmer bite, and sooooo satisfying.
We talked about the freaky late rains, the Lychee when it is good and looking forward to next year's harvest. A happy smile and shaka out the window in response and we were off. It put us in the best mood so that when we passed the sign wavers in Nanakuli we were all too happy to wave for whomever they were waving for.
This is another phenomena in Hawaii that if you have not been a part of, it bears some explaining. Whenever there is an election coming up, those for a candidate get out on the side of the road, wave the campaign signs, wave at cars and give everyone big smiles and the shaka. Drivers in turn honk or shaka out the window and yell encouraging words. This could happen anywhere really, except for the shaka. (thumb and little finger out, others folded down and whole hand shook side to side) However, on the islands people get out and wave signs for everything: for Jesus, for or against the war, for the Hawaiian Nation, for garage sales, car washes, for luaus, for hot malasadas.
And there's more! People just get out and wave for the hell of it, even if they don't support the candidate or believe in the issue. People honk and shaka and wave likewise, even if they aren't in agreement. It's kind of just one big ohana thing with everyone just happy and honking and waving and shakaing to enjoy the party, whatever it may be for. And so you can't help but wave and join in. We always wave and smile and shaka because it just cracks us up and makes our day a whole lot more fun. Elections coming up...lots of sign waving to be had in the coming weeks!
It makes me happy to no end to talk story with the sellers who are just as happy to be selling and talking. The guy today had the Lychees chilled already for immediate eating and said this was it, their whole harvest being sold over two days. The late rains made the crop smaller this year, but oh-so-sweet. Imagine was happy to get his ten dollar bag of tiny pink fruits.
If you've never had one, you gotta come to Hawaii the end of summer and get them fresh. They have a tough outer skin, but it is thin and peels off with a firm fingernail. The inside is clearish/whitish fruit like a gel with the coolest, most refreshing flavor. Kind of like a tropical jello with just the right sweetness, a firmer bite, and sooooo satisfying.
We talked about the freaky late rains, the Lychee when it is good and looking forward to next year's harvest. A happy smile and shaka out the window in response and we were off. It put us in the best mood so that when we passed the sign wavers in Nanakuli we were all too happy to wave for whomever they were waving for.
This is another phenomena in Hawaii that if you have not been a part of, it bears some explaining. Whenever there is an election coming up, those for a candidate get out on the side of the road, wave the campaign signs, wave at cars and give everyone big smiles and the shaka. Drivers in turn honk or shaka out the window and yell encouraging words. This could happen anywhere really, except for the shaka. (thumb and little finger out, others folded down and whole hand shook side to side) However, on the islands people get out and wave signs for everything: for Jesus, for or against the war, for the Hawaiian Nation, for garage sales, car washes, for luaus, for hot malasadas.
And there's more! People just get out and wave for the hell of it, even if they don't support the candidate or believe in the issue. People honk and shaka and wave likewise, even if they aren't in agreement. It's kind of just one big ohana thing with everyone just happy and honking and waving and shakaing to enjoy the party, whatever it may be for. And so you can't help but wave and join in. We always wave and smile and shaka because it just cracks us up and makes our day a whole lot more fun. Elections coming up...lots of sign waving to be had in the coming weeks!