No Opening Monologue Does This Place Justice...None

Remember when you'd hear Thomas Magnum's voice reminiscing as the opening monologue to some of the better episodes of Magnum P.I.? There'd be a sunset or sunrise in the picture, or maybe Thomas was out of his surfski alone, or swimming in the tidal pool. One of my favorites was, "Hawaii is one of those places that keeps topping itself - just when you think you'll never see a sunset as beautiful, there comes a sunrise that even Gaughin can't imagine. It kind of makes unemployment easier to take." You can learn a lot from watching Magnum P.I. if you're paying attention, and boy, was I ever paying attention...all eight seasons worth, as they aired and then again and again in re-runs and now once again on DVD. Oh, was I paying attention.

It's a little difficult to explain without sounding all smarmy or telling people what they already might know but it's my blog so deal with it. This place...it's exotic but then there's a Burger King down the street. It's full of tourists but locals are everywhere and the aloha spirit is a pretty big deal, even to them...it's tropical but so unlike what most of us midwesterners understand of the term. It's South Pacific, not Caribbean, and there's a difference in that as vast as the miles between the two places. I've never met kinder people...I've never seen so many beautiful people...women, children, everyone. People are happy here. The beach is a communal gathering place for everyone, haole and islander alike. People aren't trying to take advantage of you, they're trying to show you a proper good time. Age means nothing...just tonight we were talking to a Quicksilver rep. who's kids are starting college but you'd have guessed he was 30 years old, and straight outta some surf movie, all "bradah" and "fo real." There was nothing fake about him...his stoke was effortless and soaked in a fun, youthful energy that us flakes on the mainland too often sell our souls for.

Today the women's divisions for the Quicksilver Longboard Classic were going off down at the beach and there were dozens of dark skinned, well muscled, smiling women and girls hanging about the beach. You couldn't help but smile when you saw the young girls all hanging out and grinning their way through the day, like a Roxy advertisement but fo real. I wished Zoey could have that instead of everything that we're used to back home in the midwest. They were all white teeth and dark skin and happy, healthy energy and it glowed off every one of them. It shot across the street and struck down strangers. It lit up the evening sky. It was a page from a magazine and we got to walk through it, smiling the whole time. There were families everywhere...in the park, on the beach, grilling food, playing, just hanging out. Family is bigger here than anywhere I've ever seen.

This place...wow, I'm learning that there's nothing like the South Pacific. Only four days into an entire month here and I think we've found a new playground for the rest of Zoey's days with us, under our wings. Today June bought her a sweet little bracelet, the same as her Mom...well, similar, and Zo wore it all day without a fuss...never even paid the slightest bit of attention to it. It was a small handmade bracelet, a women's bracelet but looped twice over Zeds wrist and tightened good. June bought it so that she could be reminded of her first trip to O'ahu. She can adjust it and wear it when she's sixteen if it lasts that long. How cool is that? Little Zed, maybe she grows up and knows this place real good, or maybe we find another. All I know is Thomas Sullivan Magnum III never did a damn bit of justice to this place ever, but it was cool as hell to hear him try every episode.

I want some of this in my everyday and I can guarantee you that I won't be coming home the same.