I had this crazy penchant to share and compare my hanabuddah childhood memories with same kine folks that wen' grow up in the Kaimuki District in Honolulu and other places around the Islands.

It all started one day when I was bored sitting at the computer and decided to jot down things that happened when I was a little boy growing up in Hawaii ('Ass long time ago almost...practically B.C.). The list started to grow exponentially after the first few entries. Most were thoughts of the carefree days of my youth when Hawaii was not yet a state. Should have kept it that way if I had my choice again. But ass' a noddah story, no can change that now. Funny how one can remember the remote and insignificant things in life when you all by yourself looking at a computer screen. I guess I was one of the fortunate few which had the rare opportunity to grow up in Hawaii during the "good old days" and truely experience "Paradise on Earth".

I kinda figgah some of you ole' futs out there can reca'membah mo' better kine stuff if you could just close your eyes and think real hard inside your head...like me, as you can see (I know you buggahs nevah went school just to eat lunch, yeah Eh, no fo'get, most or all of these stuffs stay all gone and not around no moah', and oh, by the way.mahalo nui loa. Aloha!

Ok...hea goes !!

1. The manapua man yelling manapu...pipiau while strolling down the neighborhood streets.
2. Dairymen's and Foremost milk delivered to your front door
3. Meeting new relatives off the Lurline at Aloha Towers.
4. Policemen dressed in olive green long sleeve gabardine uniforms.
5. Playing milk covers and marbles (agates) with your neighborhood friends.
6. Reading stacks of comic books on your neighbor's porch.
7. Picking up your Tinker Toys and Log Cabin pieces off the floor.
8. Figuring what else to make with your Erector Set.
9. Trade your Mickey Mantle for both Johnny Unitas and Y.A. Tittle bubblegum cards.
10. Cranking up the phonograph player to play another 78 RPM record.
11. Waiting for the neighborhood grocery truck to come so that you can buy candy.
12. Watching and waiting for the next episode of Flash Gordon and Seahunt to come on.
13. Wearing your Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, or Gene Autry outfit to play cowboy and Indians.
14. Junk-an-a-po to choose up sides for chase master or dodge ball.
15. Finding your "kini" to play sidewalk hopscotch.
16. Making it to "around-the-world and pig-pens" playing jacks with the rest of the girls.
17. Looking for your skate key to tighten the metal skates onto your good shoes.
18. Buying "see moi" in brown paper bags scooped from large glass jars at the neighborhood store.
19. Flying those Japanese kites that costs five or ten cents and have them buckaloose.
20. Tea cola drinks in wax sticks for a penny apiece (bite off both ends later and make pea shooter).
21. Sen-sen and Violets breath mints.
22. Colored bubble bath soap which came in little packets.
23. Plastic bubbles which came in little tubes with a straw. Had hard time trying to plug up the pukas.
24. Peel off tattoos on sheets of paper you had to wet on the back before you used.
25. Colored button candy on long sheets of paper.
26. Playing with the 1000 green molded plastic army men you sent away for.
27. Stuffing rolled up newspapers into the canvas delivery bag in front of your bicycle handle
28. Wearing box hats made out of used newspapers.
29. Trying to develop the best design for paper airplanes.
30. Candied puff rice and colored popcorn.
31. Push-up ice cream on a stick and ice cream bon-bons in a box.
32. Red lips candy and red coconut balls.
33. Little colored jujubees in a box which was later used as a horn.
34. Yick Lung 10 and 25 cent cellophane bags of seeds and candies.
35. Nihon Bashi sheets of sweet pressed cuttle fish.
36. Tomo Ame rice candy with the edible rice paper and toy in the little green box at the top.
37. Eating 10 cents rainbow shave ice from Mama-san's delicatessen.
38. Riding the electric trolley cars up Waialae Avenue.
39. Window shopping at the old Sears Roebuck and Kress Stores.
40. Going downtown after dinner at Christmas time to enjoy the strung up streetlight decorations on both Waialae Avenue and King Streets.
41. Chasing the Santa Claus candy float up Waialae Avenue.
42. Going trick-or-treating with cardboard jack-o-lanterns which had a burning candle inside.
43. Wearing your Davy Crockett coonskin cap.
44. Schoolgirls wearing wide hoop skirts and boys wearing "drapes" or humongous corduroy bellbottoms to school (real tough buggahs then).
45. Pomade and pedal pushers.
46. Knowing the best place to eat local saimin and plate lunches (too many places to mention).
47. Hanging out at Chunky's Drive In on Isenberg St. on weekends before and after the races.
48. The Chubby Rolands Show featuring "Funny face number 1". Free funny face frame.
49. Shopping at the Piggly Wiggly Stores.
50. J. Akuhead Pupule, Lucky Luck, and the Tom Moffat Shows on radio and TV.
51. Listening and watching the Kini Popo Show on radio and TV in the mornings.
52. Remembering Kam Fong Chun and Napua Stevens.
53. Arm Forces Day Parade and the 49th State Fair.
54. Bottle rockets, aerial bombs, and Roman candles on New Years Eve.
55. Dried abalone and your favorite pocket knife.
56. Watching Crusader Rabbit and Rags the Tiger on TV.
57. Smelling the fresh baked bread at Love's Bakery in Kapahulu.
58. Two way traffic on Kalakaua Avenue and Ala Wai Blvd.
59. Neighborhood kids going barefoot to public school.
60. Swimming in the Natatorium in Waikiki and watching people jump from the 3 story tower.
61. Stomping your feet on the old Stadium's wooden bleachers at football games yelling "termites".
62. Watching the original Mickey Mouse Club and wearing MM hats with ears. Can you still sing the song?
63. The menfolk drinking Primo Beer and eating boiled soy beans and peanuts.
64. Watching Lucky Strike and Old Gold cigarette commercials on TV. What does LSMFT stand for?
65. Driving on the old Pali Road to reach Kaneohe.
66. May Day pageants at school.
67. Fishing for oama and moi'li in Waikiki and Waimanalo.
68. Swimming, fishing, and renting boats on the McCully Bridge at the Ala Wai.
69. Yappy's on Kapahulu Avenue (enough said!).
70. Working summer vacations at Dole's Pineapple Cannery for extra money.
71. When the "country" was nothing but pineapple and sugar cane fields.
72. Going 45 MPH state maximum speed limit on the Mauka Arterial.
73. Kokua K.K. Ka'aumanua for office (He always run with your money, auwe!).
74. Picking guavas, lilikoi, and white ginger on Tantalus.
75. Going to the movies at one of the Royal Theaters (King, Queen, & Princess Theaters).
76. Eating at Lau Yee Chai or Wo Fat Restaurants.
77. Catching rainbow and mosquito fish (medakas) at Moanalua Gardens.
78. Picking seaweed at Sand Island and Ewa Beach.
79. Listening to Hawaii Calls with Webley Edwards, Alfred Apaka, and Harry Owens.
80. Watching local talent shows like Televi Digest and Filipino Fiesta on TV.
81. Attending the first Surf Festival and Battle of the Bands at the Waikiki Shell.
82. Listening to K-POI, K-ORL, K-UMU radio stations.
83. Cheering on Keo Nakama and Greta Andersen swim the Molokai Channel.
84. Surviving Hurricane Nina.
85. Riding your bicycle with the long "gooseneck" handlebars and long mudflaps with reflectors in back of your fenders.
86. Mastering the art of spinning tops and Duncan yoyos studded with the rhinestones on the side.
87. Playing with your Chatty Kathy Dolls.
88. Rinso White or Rinso Blue (soap or detergent it's up to you!).
89. (Feed him) Dr. Ross Dogfood (and do him a favor...)
90. Listening to Lippy Espinda "the poor man's friend" sell cars on TV.
91. Getting home before the Pearl Harbor traffic began.
92. Fishing in Hanauma Bay and don't have to pay to get in.
93. Walking around Waikiki without Japanese tourists from Japan.
94. Boxing and Roller Derby at the Civic Auditorium.
95. Waiting in the long line at the HIC Arena for the Battle of the Bands.
96. Entering the hula hoop and limbo contests.
97. Dancing the twist, mash potato, continental, monkey, stomp, and the jerk.
98. Waxing down your surfboard while singing along with Jan & Dean and the Beach Boys.
99. Body surfing outside Kuhio Beach with your homemade paipo board.
100. BBQ sticks for 10 cents with 4 to 5 pieces of meat.
101. Turning your fingers backwards and upside down to cover your eyes to make like Captain Honolulu.
102. Eating green mangoes with shoyu, vinegar, and pepper.
103. Carrying school books in the blue square Pan American Airlines bag.
104. Green River at Alex's Drive Inn on Kapahulu.
105. Riding the HRT (Honolulu Rapid Transit) for a dime with unlimited transfers.
106. Going to Waialae Drive In Theater at dusk. Kids were free.
107. Twenty-four cents hamburger, eleven cents fries, and 5 cents fruit punch at W&M's on 9th and Waialae.
108. Boufant hairdos for the girls and box haircuts for the guys.
109. Watching the slopman haul off the home food wastes to feed his pigs all before garbage disposals.
110. Sitting on the curb watching the honey wagon suck out the full cesspool.
111. Saying no to the Filipino garbage man who just asked if you still wanted your dog at Christmas time.
112. Raking up the red firecracker paper on New Years Day. Watch out for un-popped crackerballs.
113. Wearing your Makaha shorts with the wide colored stripes on the sides with the comb pocket.
114. Timely local utterings like 'Ass why hard or Warp your jaw. Shaka 'bra and geev 'um came later on.
115. Filling your Esterbrook or Parker fountain pen with blue washable ink.
116. Drinking eight ounce Coca Cola and 7 Up bottles from the vending machine which costed a dime.
117. Getting full service at the Flying A Gas Station on Kapahulu Ave without having to ask.
118. Smelling the keawe grilled manini and tako pupus freshly speared off Diamond Head.
119. Breathing in the strong scent of lipoa limu near the Diamond Head lighthouse.
120. Looking for the obake "moonmen" up on Tantalus and visiting Morgan's Corner near the Pali.
121. Wearing black & white saddle shoes for the girls and white bucks for the guys.
122. Sending away one boxtop and fifty cents to Kelloggs, Battle Creek, Mich.
123. Getting visited by your family doctor at home late at night when you had a fever.
124. Receiving ten times the Green and Blue Chip Stamps from the gas station and redeeming them for prizes.
125. Looking over old people's shoulders playing checkers and mahjong at Aala Park.
126. Remembering to write "airmail" on your envelope otherwise it went by boat.
127. Poncie Ponce, Cricket Blake, Kookie Burns...Hawaiian Eye. Move over McGarrett and Magnum!
128. First pizza in Hawaii @Woolworth's. Best tasting pizza - Ye Ole' Public House Special @Shakey's on Nimitz.
129. Fong Fong Restaurant on 10th and Waialae. The best won ton mein in Kaimuki (sigh).
130. Gathering oysters in Pearl Harbor off the pilings.
131. Watching the old Japanese fishermen with their long bamboo poles in the Ala Wai Canal trying to catch mullet.
132. Seeing who can catch the most green grasshoppers in a kim chee bottle with the little pukas on top.
133. Removing the plastic glue from your fingers after finishing up your Revell model airplane or boat.
134. Buying your PeeChee at the store for a dime. Folder paper ten cents more for a pack.
135. Saving Royal Crown Trading stamps from the grocery stores.
136. Getting free Golden Harvest Wheat pattern chinaware in Tide soap boxes.
137. Seeing swarms of termites around the broken cement street lamps on hot, summer nights.
138. Catching hinalea and mamamo from the tidepools with a bamboo pole, line, hook and split-shot sinker.
139. Getting strawberry shave ice and roasted peanuts at the Honolulu zoo.
140. Drag netting for opai lolo in Kuliouou Beach Park.
141. Catching giant Samoan crabs in the Ala Wai and Kuapa Pond.
142. Digging for Manila clams in Kaneohe Bay and the Ala Wai Canal.
143. Popping paper shot on the sidewalk with a rock.
144. Making shoo-shoo babies from bent in half checker bombs and Camel brand firecrackers.
145. Going to the Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig Clubs at the Kaimuki and Kapahulu Theaters for 9 cents.
146. Watching the Phyllis Shield's Christmas plays atop the old Sears Roebuck Store on Beretania St.
147. Watching Biddy Boxing on TV.
148. Listening for the Stars Spangle Banner to come on and and staring at he black and white test pattern on TV.
149. Going to bed when the Aloha Tower sirens came on at 800pm curfew every night.
150. Spending your allowance at Ben Franklin and National Dollar Stores.
151. Going to Stewart's Pharmacy soda fountain and drinking their ono shakes and floats.
152. Ordering cherry and vanilla cokes at Capitol Drive In on 6th and Waialae next to Chang's Poi shop.
153. Playing in you neighbor's cement bomb shelter.
154. Attaching playing cards with clothes pins flapping on the rear wheel spokes of your bicycle.
155. Watching 50th State wrestling at 1030 Friday nights from the Civic auditorium, and at the studio at 230 Sat. PM.
156. Shooting your spud gun at your little brother (mean, yeah?).
157. Sitting on the curb watching the "guttah guttah" (air jackhammer) man break up the rocks in the street.
158. Riding in the "juckalucka" car to go buy malasadas at Leonard's Bakery in Kapahulu.
159. Playing dirt and "five hole" agates with your small kid friends under the house.
160. Collecting little brown koa seeds to make throw bean bags.
161. Smelling the sweet fragrances of the many lei stands on Maunakea St.
162. Riding the school bus with your classmates to school picnics at Ala Moana Park or San Souci.
163. Watching the Polo and archery matches at Kapiolani Park on weekends.
164. Catching tadpoles, frogs, and o'opus in the Kaimuki High School stream.
165. Waiting for the Christmas decorated HRT bus at the bus stop at Christmas time.
166. Taking musubi with ume for lunch inside your Roy Rogers lunch can with the glass-lined thermos bottle.
167. Reaching for the plastic comb in your back pocket stuck under your skinny black velvet belt.
168. Going to the stadium to watch the Unser brothers race around the track.
169. Playing one and two hand touch football in the street from telephone pole to telephone pole.
170. Naming the baby to "Lani Moo" contest for Dairyman's Dairy on Waialae.
171. Stealing ice from the Meadow Gold milk truck.
172. Seeing the first live broadcast between the mainland and Hawaii with the Lani Bird satellite.
173. Watching the night sky glow with the H-bomb tests over Johnston Island.
174. Seeing "Kaiser pink" construction trucks and Jeeps all over the island.
175. Listening to Kui Lee, Alfred Apaka, and Genoa Keawe on the radio.
176. Remembering the rules for agates: high and low hands, spam or double spam, dick-pan-roll, etc.
177. Playing games like "Freeze" and "Pass on, no pass back".
178. Going to the movies paying and watching for two features instead of one.
179. Feeding the hundreds of white pigeons with crushed peanuts from your hand at the Honolulu Zoo.
180. Listening to George Barati and my uncle D.K. conduct the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.
181. Finding and digging out "valuable" green Hawaiian diamonds (so we thought) from worthless rocks.
182. Passing the walls of opened white night blooming cirrus (sp?) at Punahou School.
183. Walking through the aromatic stalls of fresh fish, vegetables, and hanging meat carcasses on Maunakea Street.
184. Collecting soda water bottles for the two or five cent deposits.
185. Fishing for awa awa, barracuda, and tilapia in the small ponds next to the Ulu Mau Village in Ala Moana.
186. Watching people fly their gas model airplanes in Ala Moana Park.
187. Eating ono plate lunches off the catering trucks in Kewalo Basin.
188. Climbing the coconut trees and watching the Kodak Hula Show at the Natatorium.
189. Sitting under the banyan trees and watching the neighborhood volleyball games at Crane Park in Kapahulu.
190. Standing in line at the E.K. Fernandez circus when it came to town.
191. Building a skate car from old roller skates and plywood or "borrowed" wheels from someone's baby carriage.
192. Climbing and sitting in a tall mango tree on a windy day with your friends pretending to be a crew on a B-29.
193. Inviting your neighborhood friends over to make sugar sandwiches.
194. Mixing laundry detergent and water using hollow papaya stems to blow giant bubbles.
195. Buying Love's bread in the bright gingham wrapper for twenty cents.
196. Getting dirty lickin's from the infamous "slippah" (rubbah, nothing! It was hard and heavy and big as a frying pan).
197. Throwing rocks down on the tin roofs at the 2nd Ave. quarry and running (use to make the old man real mad!).
198. Tagging along with "Popo" to observe "friendly wagering" of mahjong in the dark streets of Chinatown.
199. Watching your father going down to the police station to bail out Popo (loved that dear little old lady).
200. "Borrowing" green mangos from your neighbor's tree (those were the best tasting kind!). Note: refer to #196.

Clinton Lee lived in the Kaimuki area on Oahu and attended St. Patrick School in the 50's and St. Louis High School and Chaminade College in the 60's. He now lives in Torrence, California.

fShare

Tweet