Homespun Honolulu

I’ve figured out why I grumble so much — because people keep giving me reasons to bitch about stuff!  If you work in a business district, there are a lot of little shops around that carry some of the necessities of the working class.

What happens if something simple happens, like getting a run in your nylons?  You go get another pair — if you can find one!   There are a lot of little places to look.

We shop at these places to find things we need or because we’re hungry and they sell little snacks.  If you have a headache, most of them carry little packets of our well-known drugs — Tylenol, Advil, Excedrin and a host of others.  They carry all kinds of things.  Pacific Sundries doesn’t carry nylons anymore.

Let’s go across the street.  More convenience, more drinks, and more food.  Some places, like Bishop Pantry, even make sushi for you while you wait!   See?  We’re well cared for because we can’t run home to fix stuff.   But, Bishop Pantry doesn’t sell nylons anymore.

So much for convenience!  I would think that, in a business district, this would be an automatic!  Nope.

No.  Come on now.  No way!  They may not have ladies nylons in a business district, aka pantyhose by Leggs or Hanes, but you better believe they’ve got four or five different kinds of condoms!  You have got to be frickin’ kidding me!  My co-workers thought this was pretty hilarious.  “They carry what sells!”

Now I’m irritated with these shops and with myself.  I ended up going to the one place I should have gone to in the first place.  A place that’s tried and true, and always dependable — Longs Drugs.  Yeah, they have prophylactics too but they also have pantyhose, dammit!  In addition, they have everything else you will find in a drug store, in a convenience store, and just about anywhere else you might need to go!

Well, ladies, here is my advice:  stick to what you know works!

I went where I should have gone from the beginning!  “Make Longs a part of you day!”  OMG!

When I told the story about my new cell phone and the horrendous road hazard in Mililani that trashed my tire, I ended the post saying,

What about the car?  What happened to the tire? That will be part four of this long story.  One thing just leads to another!

So, here is Part Four!  I really do need to wrap up this automotive drama some time!  The wonderful photo below shows the lovely hole made in my tire by that curb in the middle of the street.  I told my daughter-in-law that I was going to put her nails on the Internet.

Well, maybe it’s time for me to buy a new set of tires for my car anyway.  I was thinking it would be about $200 or so.  Apparently I was living in the dark ages!  I called around and had more people laugh at me than I care to mention.  I called five different places, at least.  They all said that I need to be thinking of at least twice that amount.  At least!

Finally I asked, “What if I only get two tires?”   Two places gave me the same price but there was still one problem.  Trust.  I was still having people issues at that point and not trusting anyone who says they will help me with my car.  Best advice?  Go with who and what you know!

Lex Brodie’s helped me once before when I was in a bad spot.  This time was no exception.   They made it affordable and they gave me, and my car, the attention that we needed!  They switched my tires around, keeping the best two to go with my two new ones, and they put my spare back where it goes and took care of the disposal of that lovely, destroyed tire.

I dropped it off in the morning and picked it up after work.  Done.  “Okay,” you say, “they did what they were supposed to do.”  You might be thinking, “that’s their job,” or “it’s what they do!”  Blah, blah, blah.  Yeah, but they did it with their own brand of some much-needed TLC.

I looked at the pile of tires and wondered how many stories there were to tell about what happened to them and why.  The stories that tires could tell, oh my!

I did put in a phone call to the Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) but I never received a call back.  It’s over now.  I’m okay and so is my car.

Time passes and things happen.  I have even forgiven the D.O.T. because, in case you missed this on the news, when a woman was struck by her own vehicle when trying to stop the thieves from taking it in the parking lot of Barnes & Noble, D.O.T. was there.

I was a witness and it was an emotional experience to be sure — a lot of emotions.  There was fear, worry, shock, concern, sorrow, and of course, ANGER!  When you’re rattled that way, the Honolulu Police Department and the Department of Transportation bring the feeling of safety and help your nerves settle down.

The lady is better now.  Her car has been found but, as far as I know, they have not found the perpetrators yet.  Sigh.  I just went there to get a book!  I said to the other witnesses that it had, “better be the best book I’ve ever read!”

It was a good book, I bought it to link it up with Bloggers Unite and their highlighting of World Suicide Prevention Day.  I thought I was being clever.  I wrote about the book here.  “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher.  Good and fast read.  Not “the best book I’ve ever read” but it was pretty darn good!  I hated the experience of witnessing that accident, but I’m glad I was there for that poor woman.  Mahalo to HPD and D.O.T. for being there and to Barnes & Noble for holding on to what may have been the only copy of that book left on the island.

Did you know that September 3, 2007 was the very first Carnival of Aloha.  I’m having a hard time digesting it but this is actually Chapter 30!  Don’t bother doing the math, it doesn’t come out.  I counted.  We’ve actually been sharing blogs and getting to know each other for three years now!

That’s a happy thing, at least I think so!  The Carnival flies on the wings that you bloggers give it!

The election season may not be the best season to have a Carnival.  Questions about candidates and the state of the State’s affairs abound. 

“What do we do? Who do we choose? What will they do if they get in office? Where do we go from here?”

With all of the political and social issues bubbling around town, the animosity between candidates is so thick you need a knife to cut through it all, or a rubber mallet, depending.  Sometimes I need to be reminded to keep my attitude in check because I have a little too much attitude and I can’t stand smug politicians!

Sheila reminded me about the attitude thing when she asked for, Your Take: Why you Love Oahu.  Fizzle!  There goes that attitude — right down the drain.  Why do I love O’ahu?  There are so many reasons, for me, and they are often indescribable.  Thanks, Sheila, for popping that darn attitude balloon!  I know it’s unintentional but it’s a gift you have and it’s not the first time.  That’s just another reason why GoVisitHawaii.com is an important blog to more than just the tourists.

There are so many things to see and learn on all of our islands.

Jan TenBruggencate wrote an article about how The ocean’s color affects heat, storm formation posted over at Raising Islands–Hawai’i science and environment.  This gives us a clue as to just how important the colors of our environment are!  Who would have thought that color had so much power?

The beauty and natural wonders and colors of our islands make for great conversations and great Carnival rides!  I found something else, too!

Noel has started a Made-in-Hawai’i Meme!   It is The Hot, the Loud, and the Proud Meme!  I stumbled on the 6th issue of this meme and I include it here in the Carnival because Hawai’i is all about picture taking and the more beautiful colors we get to see, the better!  Thank you, Noel, I am so looking forward to participating in this meme!  Others eager to join can find out more about it at A Plant Fanatic in Hawaii.

Hopefully a lot of visiting bloggers will participate in this meme when they get home with their wonderful pictures!  When they come to visit we want to be sure they enjoy themselves and they can always use a few tips.

Pua presents Hawaii travel: 10 Best Hawaii vacation tips posted at Best Hawaii Vacation with Hawaii Vacation Blog.  This way you are forewarned about some of the things to do to be sure you get the most out of your stay, whether you’re traveling inter island, or coming from out-of-State.

In honor of the third anniversary of this Carnival I did the lazy thing and shared the same post I used for Chapter 1.

Evelyn (me) shared one of the things you can do while you’re on vacation on O’ahu — go to see the colors of the Sea Life at the Park.  Hmmm… perhaps I will grab posts from that first, debut Carnival to share next September!

See?  As much as we complain, it’s our home and we’re still Living Aloha and Loving it!  🙂

That concludes Chapter 30. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Aloha using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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In case you have not heard of Bloggers Unite, it is an organization that makes an “attempt to harness the power of the blogosphere to make the world a better place. By asking bloggers to write about a particular subject, a single voice can be joined with thousands to help make a difference.“

Bloggers Unite.org once again has bloggers stepping up to the plate to attract attention to an area that needs a lot of that attention.  The International Literacy numbers are shocking!

Grim illiteracy statistics report that, “42 million American adults can’t read at all; 50 million are unable to read at a higher level that is expected of a fourth or fifth grader.”  These statistics may be dated but they only get worse! And that’s just America!

This is a global problem.  The State of Hawaii and the City & County of Honolulu are no exception. Hawaii Literacy.org is very aware of just how much is needed in this area.

For more information and other useful links, check out the page at Bloggers Unite!  You will be able to get to see what the other bloggers have to say about this issue.