Remember YOUR "small keed time"?
Those were the good old days! YOU were young, innocent, naive and maybe even a little bit "kolohe" (rascal). When you look back, I bet you cannot help but grin, yeah? I bet you can just feel a longing oozing up inside of you for a time when life was much simpler. Wherever you live now, if you grew up in Hawaii, you must remember your "hanabuddah days". Eh, no shame ... we all had "hanabuddah".
Eh … right now get choke stories already online written by Hawaiians and Hawaiians at heart. Most all writers had the unique life experience of growing up in Hawaii. That’s why the site is called ”Hanabuddah Days”.
Enjoy these personal stories.
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- Written by A. Kimo Morris
User Rating: 5 / 5
When I was a hanabudda kid growing up on Kauai, my cousins and I use to spend most of our waking hours on the beach. One of our favorite beaches was Kalapaki Beach on Kauai's southeast side where the Kauai Surf Hotel use to be (currently the Kauai Marriott). The reason this beach was preferred was that it had a relatively wide sloping sandy beach, perfect for skim boarding. When the waves would come sweeping in, the water would rush up the sandy slope covering it with an inch-thick layer of seawater. We would start at the top of the beach with our flat fiberglass oval boards and run full force towards the water. As soon as we reached the water's edge, we would throw the board down onto the liquid-sand soup and leap onto it in one motion. We would go sliding down the sandy slope at an angle across the beach, sometimes riding as long as thirty seconds! Eventually, we would skim far enough down to meet the waves at which point we would dive head first into the breakers. It was quite exhilarating, especially when you saw your friend try it when there wasn't enough water under them. They would plant the board, jump on it, and do a face plant right into the sand.
There was also a small river that emptied onto Kalapaki Beach. We use to use that river for all kinds of purposes -- that is, before they began converting the cane fields into cattle grazing land. The river use to be relatively clean, but now, you gotta be careful not to get any of it in your mouth... you don't know when was da last time a cows went kukai in da watah. Anyway, where was I? Okay... So, we use to get on our boogie boards and ride the river out into the waves. Plus it was a good place to rinse off before you got into the car. It also turned out to be a good place to hear the old men playing slack-key up by the benches beyond the river (but that's another story).
Was good fun...
But perhaps the best game we use to play involved the tourists who would frequent the beach. You see, when I was 10 years old, I use to have fun at the expense of the tourists... I'm not proud of it, but to be honest, it is making me laugh just thinking about it (besides, don't tell me YOU didn't do da same 'ting when you was a kid!) Anyways, we use to collect the small sandcrabs that populate Kalapaki Beach. We would then pop them into our mouths where they would scurry around and find a safe place to hide (usually under the tongue or between the cheek and gums). We would then proceed to lay down on the sand at the waters edge where the waves would rush up over us and move our bodies around like beached whales (hoo, get plenty sand in da hair). We would roll our eyes back in our heads and act like we were dead...
Now, picture Mr. and Mrs. Haole Tourist strolling leisurely down the beach... enjoying the sun in paradise... trade winds blowing through their hair, and all of a sudden, they come upon a native boy unconscious and in trouble!...
The tourists would come running over to us, kneel down and start to pick us up. Once we were craddled in their arms, we would then begin to make deep throated barfing noises, opening our mouths slowly and releasing dozens of sandcrabs fleeing out of our mouths, scurring all over our faces and onto their clothes like some demonic X-Files episode! Most of the time, the unweary tourist would simply drop us, jump back a few feet, and frantically brush the crabs off of themselves. But occasionally, we would get tourists who would sprint like Carl Lewis back to the hotel shrieking like they'd seen a ghost. Ahh, the poor crabs. They were probably more scared then the tourists.
I finally stopped putting sandcrabs in my mouth after I accidentally swallowed one. It was not pleasant. Let's just say, I think that spiny thing got stuck every two inches down my intestinal tract.
About Author
Kimo Morris lives in Southern California and spent half his childhood between Hanamaulu, Kauai and Torrance, California. His mother left Kauai to seek a degree in nursing from El Camino College (CA) where she met and married Kimo's dad, a California native. Much of his family still lives on Kauai, though some members have moved to O'ahu, and still others (including his immediate O'hana) call the Mainland home. No matter where they are, the Aloha Spirit runs strong through his family. Kimo received his B.A. in Marine Biology in 1994 from UC Santa Barbara, and in 1997 received his M.S. in Biological Systems Modeling from Oregon State University. He is currently employed as a Group Scientists at a marine biological consulting firm in Costa Mesa, California. Kimo is also in the midst of pursuing a PhD in Marine Biology at UCLA. He is happily married to April Hiraki-Morris (editor of Alohaworld.com's Plate Lunch Connection Page). Kimo and April have a lovely daughter, Jade. Among his hobbies, Kimo enjoys scuba diving (he is a certified Divemaster), surfing, martial arts, pole vaulting, full-contact scrabble, web design, and hanging out wit da wife and friends.
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- Written by Chris M. Urmeneta
It's all coming back to me now.......the good ol' days of summer way back in the mid-60's, when I thought $1.40 an hour for flipping pineapples into a conveyor belt for eight hours a day was lots of "fun". I'm not sure which was worse....picking in a new field that had never been picked before and the pineapples were huge and heavy or in the old field where you had to dig for the pineapples because the plants had been picked through and stepped on so many times before.
Then there was the quotas. It depended on the field you were picking that day. You had to pick so many truck loads and after that, you could make a bonus. And even THAT depended on how many MORE trucks you and the rest of the "gang" could fill that day !!
We got a half hour for lunch and many times that meant rice ball with nori around it and boiled hot dogs. You just barely had enough time to eat and "talk story" a little, then it was back to work. Sometimes when we worked right next to the highway, the tourist bus would stop and all the haoles would climb out with their bright-colored, matching muumuus (remember...white with the big red flowers )and their cameras clicking away.
I remember growing up in Sunset Beach. Our house was right along the highway and the property was lined with big tall coconut trees. The tourists would stop there once in awhile, asking for coconuts. I'd climb up those trees (didn't seem dangerous back then) and knock down a few, peel off the husks with my pickaxe, like my dad taught me to do. I would end up making a couple of dollars, which back then seemed like a lot of money. Then I'd go down to Sunset Beach store or Kammie's and get a Coke and Snickers or Twinkies.
We had a pretty big front yard in which my brothers and I teamed up and played football with some of the other kids in the neighborhood. Sometimes the games would up with fists flying but the following weekend, ... there we were, playing football again. I spent many hours mowing that front yard and unfortunately, it was a push mower. You didn't push.....it didn't cut.
The property was sloped from the house down to the road where we caught the school bus and when it rained hard, the whole front yard would be flooded. On those days, we had a raft built that we had to ride on to get across the water. We'd load up the school books, climb on and with a long pole, propel our way from the house down to the road to meet the bus. On more than one occasion, the books and us kids ended up in the water. For days after the water was gone, the yard would smell bad. Of course, the grass would make a comeback soon after and you know what that meant. Bring out the push mower! This was not the fun part of having a big front yard.
I really miss the ocean among so many other things. It's probably been 28 years since I last rode a wave a Sunset Beach and other spots along the shore. I understand our old house is still there but probably not Orian's poultry farm that used to be right behind our house. To be back home right now would be great ... in fact, I wouldn't mind mowing that front yard with the push mower... watching the cars go by...thinking about going surfing in the afternoon ... stroking out through the white water .... outside the breakers ... the ocean is warm ... you can see the shafts of light reaching down below you into the deep clear water.....soft salty breezes in my face....waiting for the next set....squinting up at the the hot hawaiian sun in a clear cloudless north shore sky.
About Author
Chris Urmeneta was raised on the North Shore of Oahu and went to Kahuku High School ('67). He is married with two grown children in their 20's. "We are expecting our first grandchild in July !!" He and his family live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Chris is a purchasing agent for a hospital based durable medical equipment company in Tulsa. To be able to say I was born and raised in Hawaii makes me proud. I miss the Islands and think of my old friends and classmates often. Kahuku, class of '67?
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- Written by Demeter Gaheton Williams
User Rating: 5 / 5
When I was one small kid, my gramma and grampa when raise us cuz my fadah was in Kwajalein... my madah, well, guess she nevah like being one mom so she when take off wit some oddah guy, but dass one uddah story. Anyway, was good when we was small kid time. My gramma's house was da besss... She had orchids all ovah da place, one side of da house was all lined up with antiriums, da uddah side was lined up wit ti leaf and gardenia, pikake, oh you name it. Jus tink how owa place when smell every day, ho, da nice.
Anyway, da back yard was owa domain. We had hayden mangoes and common mangoes. We had lichee dat when spill ova from da Silvas yahd, we had five finga and avocado, geeesh, now I stay all haole-fied, I no can rememba what uddah ono tings was in da back yahd. My gramma, eh, no make her mad boy, she make you go pick one stick from da guava tree and bring em back so she can give you lickens!!! Whoa, I remembah dat! An say bad words... aye, you gotta go pick chili peppah, da red kine and she make you eat em. Oh yeah, da back yahd was our domain, we did everyting back dea. We used to au'au when we was all hauna and pilau in one big bucket, all tree of us....an, aye, if you get dirty feet, watch out, hea comes da gramma, checking if we when go outside barefeet again.
One ting I rememba about small kid time, and I share dis wit my kids is da time I was outside by mysewf... We nevah had pets because grampa always end up makin kau kau out of dem. Anyway, (real wala au yeah me), anyway, I stay outside cuz Boy and Susan stay taking a nap, I already had mine, and gramma made me go outside play... stay playing make preten eh, and when you small, like two and a half feet tall, and only tree, foa yeas ole, everyting look big. So, I get closa to da antiriums on da side of da house, whea my gramma get one gahden with bricks to hole in da rocks. I look, and I when scream one big time, whoa, was wan big tigah! I wen in da house yelling, "Gramma, Tigah, Tigah!!!!!!"
I was so scaaad..(was one calico cat)..I tink i neva go outside fo long time. So, I stahted going in da front... and you know how was back den, you can only go outside when get plenny light because, come almos dahk time, dey fumigate wit da big trucks up and down da street... I was listenin and heard dis big music.. booom boom... drums, all kine, so I look, aye, get some real pupule looking people coming... all of a sudden dis scarey looking guy wit all kine colorful paint on his face, aye, he was walking up to me, I when run fasssss... and den he when pull out one pixie stick.... whoa, you neva see me stop so fas! Found out da circus when come to Pearl City... .man, dat was one trip!!
I miss home, miss da kau kau, miss body surfing waikiki, catching da bus wit my boogie board...hoo, it's been a long time since hanabuddah days.
About Author
Athenia "Demeter" Williams (Naupaka) was born and raised in Pearl City, Oahu. She was from "small kid time" raised by her grandparents. She graduated from Moanalua High in 1978. She worked in tourist industry as lei greeter and Tour Coordinator at Holiday Tours. She now lives in Maine to "have a safe and happy place to raise my kids and give them room to grow. We live near the ocean, as I would never be able to live anywhere else." She has three keiki, works part time as a sales associate, and is studying to get into a nursing program.
Maine is a beautiful place to live, it's quiet, it's clean and the ocean, my mana, is always with me.
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- Written by Linda "Lika" Relacion Oosahwe
User Rating: 5 / 5
It's high noon and kaukau time for da Hollywood Gang, Del Monte Corporations bestest hoe hana teen-agas; in da middle of nowhere somewhere in da pineapple fields. All us girls sit in one big circle on da road. Az all choice get, da dirt road or da dirt road, unless you like sit on da pineapple plants.
Da kaukau we share wit each ada stay put in da middle and we put our thermos in da middle too. So if anybody like some, everybody juss help dem selves, reaching ova whateva. Get anykind different stuffs for eat. And any kind juice; most of us get fruit punch in our thermos cups in front of us.
Of course soona or latah da talking story turns to sex la dat. Anden somebody mentions how bummahs it is to have your rags wen you working in da fields, cause no moe such ting as battroom. Us wahines gotta literally stick our okole out squatting like one manung at da chicken fights. And if you get your rags....oh man, juss use your imagination.
Anyways dis one girl her moe "mature" den us hah. She says "Its not so bad if you use Tampons." All us country jack keeds stay look at each ada side eye kine; da eyebrow stay all clueless. Okay we talking what, 1969, dose 'shovemup' tings was like just invented? Us wuz products of parents who no tell us about sex stuff. Dey just tell us "not to do IT" BUT dey neva explain how or what IT is.
So nobody wen like ack like dey dorono notting. Was quiet. But me da type, if I don't get it; I going say I don't get it! So I asked "What is one Tampon?" And Ms. Mature Girl says, "You guys no use tampons?"
All us stay shake da head, no. So she went pull out one tampon from her bag fo' show us. And we all still stay looking pretty clueless. So somebody else brave for talk now ask, "How can dat small ting be like one pad?" So Ms. Mature Girl unwraps da tampon. All da while explaining how to use it and its absorbancy features etc. She takes it out of da applicator and is dangling dat "ting" at us, swinging it at everybody like show & tell in school. So somebody else says, "NOT, dat no can hold all da blood!"
So Ms. Mature wen trow dat tampon across da circle of food and it landed right in my cup of fruit punch! Da ting went splash and started fo' grow bigga! AYSOS, zaazooosssh, all us jumped up screaming and laffing so hud. We was huddled ova dat cup of fruit punch wit dat "ting" in it, going "eeeeeeeeeee". I picked up da cup and whipped da stuff into da fields. We all had big eye, we neva saw such a ting la dat. Wen we went sit down somebody said, "Hooooo juss like you going shove one roman candle insai you." We all was literally rolling on da ground and us all had side pain. And az how I learned about Tampons.
Moral of da story ... Teach you kids about sex stuffs or dey going learn "show and tell" style !!!
About Author
Linda "Lika" Relacion Oosahwe was born at Queens Hospital raised in Fernandez Village/Ewa and Waipahu. She currently lives in Gardnerville, NV. She has three children; Quannee Mokihana, Star Leinaala, and Keokuk Hokule'a a.k.a Quan, STA & BoBOY! A palm reader once told her she would have three husbands. She's behind, still on the first one be 26 years March 99; but she heard there's a line starting at Leeward's Drive In. When she grows up she wants to be "financially independent" currently she is "financially embarrassed!"
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- Written by Izzie Kikue
User Rating: 5 / 5
How many of you guys no can stand kaka-roaches? I know I wen spell um wrong ovah hea but, eh, when you cannot stand something, you guarantee going call whatever it is you cannot stand, kaka, yeah?
Anyway dis one time, when I waz one teenagah (waznt too long ago), we nevah have nothing bettah fodo on one Saturday nite, so my three friends wen pick me up fo go holoholo town sai. Of course, had to score some beeah first, but since we waz all undah age, we had to go park by Nankos, which was one package stoah in Kaneohe. Nevah take too long cause always had da old Filipino men used to walk pass and I would go tell um dat eef dey go buy fo me, I go geeve dem extra kala an dey can go buy what dey like for demselves.
Aftah scoring some beeah, dis one particular time, we wen go Ala Moana beach and go park on da oceansai of da road. Eh, had full moon, and da reflection on da wattah was so beautiful. All of us waz juss sitting in da ca talking stories drinking our beeahz getting silly. Whooooo, eef my muddah only knew !!!
Anyway, da mobeeahz we drank, da mo silly we wen get making any kine, lidat. We ended up lighting matches and seeing who can make the brightest blue flames wit whateveah natural gas we could manage to dispense, eef you know what I mean. Only waz cracking us up. Plus, we waz eating plenny cuddle fish an, da kine, dried cod fish too an was only hauna in dat ca.
Well, all good tings muss come to an end. We figah, we go ress libit befo we drive back to Kaneohe. We put on da radio and juss all kick back. Befo we knew it, we wen all fall asleep. Talk about knock out city!
Az I waz sleeping, I wen feel something on my face, so I wen try shoo em off, tinking waz one of my heah wen fall on my face. I waz half way sleeping wen I wen reach and touch what waz on my face. I thought, eh, how come my heah feel thick? So, I stay lilbit buzzing from da beeahs an I wen try grab what waz on my face an den try folook at um in da dark. Ho I no keed you, wen I saw what waz .. I had instant chicken skeen and one shock wen start from my toes an wen run all da way up my back bone!!!
KAKA-ROCH!!! I wen go scream at dat top of my lungs. I tink I wen go scream so loud dat I wen wake up King Kamehameha himself!!! I wen fly da buggah outsai da window so fass and konk my head on da ceiling of dat ca at da same time.
Everybody in da ca wen wake up wondering, what da heck waz going on. Den, one of my friends in da back seet started to scream too I wen look in da back an I couldnt believe my eye balls!!! Da back waz COVERED wit kaka-roches Dey waz climbing all ova da place.. An wasnt da kine, pakanini kine.. waz da 747 kine, wit pink wings!!! Had so many of dem waz unreals!!! All of us wen fly open da dooahs and scramble out so fass. My friends in da back seet had kaka-roches all ovah dem.
We wen juss run an hop ovah da small stone wall an drop on da sand and started rolling like sushi trying fo get dat pilau feeling off of us from doze disgusting kaka-roches.
Aftah we pau roll, we wen walk back to da ca. Eh, I wen spock one of doze big barrel rubbish cans filled wit da kine peoples half eaten plate lunches and bento waz right next to da ca. Da rubbish can waz all black, crawling wit kaka-roches. So, some of dat kaka-roch gang wen find their way insai our ca. We had to push da ca down da road cuz nobody wanted fo get insai to start um up and drive.
Good ting had towels insai da ca cause we wen use um fowack all da kaka-roches. People dat was driving pass us thought we was mad at da ca cause all four of us waz standing around da ca wacking um wit da towels. We finally waz able to get rid of most of dem. Da ones we could see at least.
Wen I got home da next morning, I waz grounded fo two weeks fo coming home so late. Cunfunit kaka-roches, waz their fault! Till dis day, wen I see kaka-roch, I run foget one towel.
So, my friends, da moral to dis story is. No go eat cuddle fish and cod fish insai your ca and park next to one beeg rubbish can. You going be sorry!
About Author
Izzie Kikue was born in Honolulu and raised in Kaneohe, Hawaii. She now resides with her ohana several minutes southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Her career has involved being Director of Ministries and a Certified Biblical/Pastoral Counselor for a large Christian Ministry in Southern California and later in Georgia. With a Th.D. (Dr./Theology), she devoted much of her time and energy traveling to third world countries offering physical and spiritual aide to people who needed assistance due to war situations and other misfortunes. Izzie is currently taking a breather from overseas travels and is now focusing her time and energy on her nani daughter, as well as "Bringing Aloha to the Internet" as AlohaWorld's co-owner and host.
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- Written by Patrick L. Kahawaiola
Eh... I wen grow up on da Hawaiian Homesteads in Hilo. We was living up Keaukaha and us neva kno' we was pua... but my neibas house had screens in da windows... and we neva had... so you know what da mosquitos did to us !!
I was the youngest of tree boyz and if you da youngest... hoo you catch da rap. Witout screens, I had to make shua dat da lumi moe was free of mosquitos befo' everybody wen moe moe...so around 5 o'clock... I close da windows and "shoot fleet." You gotta pump da can and spray da fleet all around da room... and when you moe moe you open da window or you pass out from da fumes.
Anyway, about once a month da USDA would sen da mosquito truck around. Dem buggas would spray DDT. Hoo, da thick white cloud and the "putt putt" sound of da pump would be da warning... plus all da keeds down da street stay yelling: "Mosquito ka... Mosquito ka...". Den we all open da windows to let da fumes into da hale and den chase da ka...right into da clouds of DDT. Hoo da good fun.
Ass you kno' now..."they" say DDT no good....but I now realize dat da mosquitos no bodda me now. In fack, not one of all da bruddahs and sistahs I know wen "ma ke" yet from DDT. I jus' tink da government wen try fo get rid of us guys...us Hawaiians back den... but eh... neva work... anyways not on us homestead buggahs.
Eh... da smog in L.A. not as bad as Hawaiians running full blast inside da cloud of DDT... one two feet from da gas come out of da pump... eh... I wen live to survive and tell you da story !! Eh IMUA da Hawaiian... more strong den DDT !!!
Ass you kno* now..."they" say DDT no good... but Inow realize dat da mosquitos no bodda me now. In fack, not one of all da bruddahsand sistahs I know wen "ma ke" yet from DDT. I jus* tink da government wentry fo get rid of us guys...us Hawaiians back den... but eh... neva work... anyways not onus homestead buggahs.
Eh... da smog in L.A. not as bad as Hawaiians running fullblast inside da cloud of DDT... one two feet from da gas come out of da pump... eh... Iwen live to survive and tell you da story !! Eh IMUA da Hawaiian... morestrong den DDT !!!
About Author
Patrick L. Kahawaiola'a was raised on Hawaiian Homestead lands on the Big Island. While in the Navy, Patrick was stationed in Long Beach, California. He met his "honey" in L.A. She originally was from Papakolea, Oahu. They lived for a number of years in North and West Hollywood. Finally, He realized a dream to move back home to Keaukaha, Hawaii in 1981. Now retired, he visits old haunts on the West Coast and spends time with friends and "one keed who still lives in Torrance, California". Down to this day, Mosquitos STILL do not bother him !! Eh, Bruddah Pat...must be da residual DDT, eh??
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- Written by Linda "Lika" Relacion Oosahwe
My first job was working in da pineapple fields of Kunia. I was a proud member of da "Hollywood Gang". Our job description was either hoe hana, cut sucka or pick fresh fruit; mostly hoe hana. We wuz da keeds who would not use da regulation screen goggles dat make you look like one fly; wen we rode da trucks. We all wore our besses sunglasses. And pau hana time befoe getting on da truck, we had to put on masscara first anden da sunglasses.
Dis one week we wuz working Whitmoe/Halemano side; makai of da Alii Birthplace, Kukaniloko. One day we worked juss one long pineapple block down from deya. From where we put our kaukau tin and wata jugs, wuz like 2 blocks away just slightly up hill from where we ate lunch.
So being kolohe keeds; me, Regina Dayacamos and Valerie Pabria decided to go visit da Birthplace. Some ada girls told us not fo' go cuz you no 'pose to play around la dat. What? We wuz juss going look! Honest. So us tree went.
Till today I rememba it wuz a really hot sweaty day, but at da Birthplace it was really cool. Even with no shade, there's a really soft calm breeze dat hugs dat place. Wen we got there, each of us wen off in our own direction checking out da large boulders. I wondered who must have been born here and felt it was indeed a sacred place for women.
So den we had to head back cuz was pau lunch pretty most. As we all stood together on the road; Val said, "us go scare da gang". And us wuz like how we going do dat. And she said to me, "act like you fainted & us going carry you back!" We wuz cracking up now. "Stupid, you guys not going carry me back." I was da smallest & shortest of us tree TITAS so as why dey wen look at me. Val was on my right and Gina was on my left. Val stay coming up wit anykind lolo plans. Next ting I know, Val went push me down hud; my okole wen hit da ground. Her wuz yelling and laffing instructions to Gina. I wuz about to get up, wen Val grabbed one leg and Gina grabbed da ada leg and dey both started running.
I wuz laffing so hud seeing dese two Titas run and da position I wuz in wuz funny. Dey just kept running and I wuz trying fo pull my legs from dem but da moe I try da moe I wuz feeling da rocks scrape my okole. Da gang started running towards us wen dey saw Gina & Val dragging me. Gina running? By dis time I pau laff all ready, my okole juss stay grinded & I wuz sowa! Gina & Val finally stopped, and dey went into their Academy Award actress mode ~ dey ackted all sad la dat wen da gang reached us. I stay rubbing my ass hell I wuz sad man, I wuz hurtin!
Anden one of da girls started crying, telling us she told us not fo' go ~ wuz 'bachi' yeah, us stay play la dat. Bumbye someting bad going happen. So anyway da Luna came give us stink eye and we ackted like not-ting wen happen. Us had to go back hoe hana.
Pau hana time on da truck back to Kunia we told everybody we wuz juss playing around. But some of da girls neva like believe and told us we betta say rosary and pray.
Moral of da story The moral of da story is no let your friends drag you on your okole. Its okay to be da dragger, BUT NOT da draggee!
About Author
Linda "Lika" Relacion Oosahwe was born and raised in Ewa/Waipahu, Oahu. (Waipahu High 1971.) She currently lives in Gardnerville, NV with her husband of 26 years and three great kids. "A palm reader told me once that I would have three husbands. Well, I guess I am behind, I am still working on the first one, but I heard there's a line starting at Leeward Drive In !!" When she "grows up" she wants to be financially independant. "Currently, I am financially embarrassed !!" Lika's got lots more hanabuddah stories of working in the pineapple fields, so watch out..there's gonna be more !!