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Silly musings


We cracked open Ron's birthday present today and christened it with a batch of chicken wings.  It's a fancy shmancy deep fryer with temperature control and a metal basket.  Uptown!  Lucy is now enjoying the box.  Here she is, relaxing.  It's really her house.  We just live here.

Today I totally mistook two Kona residents for Punatics.  I could have sworn they were Punatics. I even asked them, "So, are you two visiting from Pahoa?"  Shoots, cuz.  They looked like 'em. They dressed like 'em.  They smelled like 'em.  It just goes to show you, you can't judge a book by its cover.  It also goes to show you there are pockets of Punatic-like folk all over Hawaii Island.  With the possible exception of Waikaloa, a.k.a Haole-wood.  

Here in Hawaii, it's not uncommon to hear cute little ditties on the radio singing about local foods.  There's a very popular song called Fish and Poi, with a chorus that goes like this:

I like fish and poi
I'm a big boy
lomi salmon, pipikaula
and a large lilikoi

For the record, pipikaula is Hawaiian beef jerky and lilikoi in this context refers to a passion fruit drink.  Anyway, it's clever and cute here.  There's another song that extols the virtues of a certain roasted bird:

Huli huli chicken,
I love my huli huli chicken...

Again, a very popular song.  Now, if these sorts of songs were to be sung by mainstream, white-bread middle Americans about their favorite foods, I just don't think they would fly.  I mean, would you listen the following lyrics?

I like pot roast and spuds,
I'm a cool stud,
dinner rolls with butter 
don't forget the suds....

It doesn't really work, does it?   Or how 'bout if we literally translate the second tune?  Huli huli in Hawaiian means simply to turn.  It's:

Rotisserie chicken, I love my rotisserie chicken......

See?  It's no good, no matter how spectacular the melody.  Of course Jimmy Buffett pulled it off with Cheeseburger in Paradise.  

These are the ponderings that keep me up at night.
I'm pretty sure I need some sleep.

A hui hou.  Aloha!







Comments

Anonymous said…
Another classic "island" song that somehow captures the lifestyle is King Kekai's song, Green Bottles.
12:16 AM
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