Benjamin in Hawaii

everyday

2009-09-24T15:58:00.001-07:00

nothing like wandering along highways carving their way through mountains and mist, the symbols of suburbia flanking them in obscene contrast. a usps mailbox, a regulation trashcan, the suv and the soccer mom ride. automatic sliding doors. dvd players in headrests so you don't have to think for a second. not even. laugh track. and then it's a slow ride back to the leeward side, mountains stripped of their former foliage, the air drying out, the sun becoming brighter, people becoming darker, and chronics more apparent, strolling the street with a compass confused or standing feverishly. though its hot out. same as everyday. contrast. mango trees with their fruit spilling rotten onto the shoulders of roads with sidewalks. hawaiian music filtering out of the lanai of a nearby apartment, the constant rumble of dryers and according chatter of boredom and chores. waking up before 7, rolling down the hill towards the ocean and realize you're looking at japan. or you think you are. pau.

racism, bigotry, ignorance, poverty (generational, cultural, educational). not just here. everywhere. the postmodern demise of thought and re-thought. rap music. bang bang bang. but the air is salty and the grocery store has a sale on pears and tamarind candy wrapped in a ocher cellophane. find me tires. kike. haole. faggot. mysterious horned creature. wait, you don't know about the horns? they come after adolescence, puberty, losing your teeth. once, then twice, then three times. like a shark. no warnings lately. not even jellyfish. sucking gums even if you still have teeth in the way. pretend they're not there. pau.

the most bizarre relationships strung across plains and oceans, teachers imported by the houseful from middle amerika, thrown into a state of confusion when they know least of who they are, what they want, who you are, what you want, what we i she he it are want. late night trade winds, a sound not clearly raindrops or wind through palm fronds. pidgin. pigeons. peacock as varmint. pau.

bicycle

2009-09-10T21:54:00.001-07:00

my bike arrived from the mainland yesterday and i took it on it's first ride around town today. things i have learned:

1. being on a bike drastically increases one's chances of being screamed at by teenage boys speeding by on the highway, packed 10 to a pick-up truck. i think i made out 'haole' or 'white boy' or something similar in their drive-by verbiage.

2. being chased by dogs on the side of this same highway at high speed is also pretty unfun. to this scene someone in a passing truck shouted "fndpx bvkff kf s rutxp BRUDDAH!", the actual sentiment completely lost. was he making fun? was he empathizing? who knows...

3. biking up a couple mile hill on a near empty road meandering its way up a valley, lined by volcanic cliffs - either desiccated and rusted or peaked by verdancy and wrapped in a passing cloud - the immediate fields filled with scrub and the occasional piece of discarded furniture... is pretty amazing. shadow thrown forward by a setting sun, the salt of sweat and ocean mingling on one's brow, sand still clinging in ears and seeping out of shoes...

on another, less tunneled note... this place, and i think my coast in particular, is absolutely ridiculous. stories to come...

true things

2009-09-05T22:33:00.001-07:00

1. people in hawaii will shop shirtless with their bellies hanging out over the handle-bar of the shopping cart.

2. milk is crazy expensive unless you buy it at target or something similar

3. folks do pepper their english conversation with hawaiian words, particularly if they're talking about happy or family-related things. ie: a public service message on the radio urging you to take proper care of your keiki.

4. making your commute on a highway with the endless expanse of the pacific on one side and sun-baked gorge-cut volcano cliffs on the other is kind of absurd.

5. realizing that the closest 'major' piece of land is the american samoa, some >1500 miles away, and then going to a mega-store to but groceries is also kind of absurd.

add'm: realizing i'm on an island for the next year... an odd feeling indeed.

please note

2009-08-04T10:23:00.001-07:00

the almost absurd diminutiveness: