We wuz jus' da local kine keeds from Uleawa. I guess we wuz about 10 or 11 yea's old. I shua you seen us in da evenin' going home wit our homemade kine paipfo boards out of plywood, on da top of the rise by Uleawa beach park near da bathhouse.
Our paifo boards wuz made from jus one old piece of wood dat we would find somewhere in da bushes or up in da quarry. Eh we even wen use da kine 2x4's if we found em' on da beach if we neva have. Any kine fo' ride da surf. Yeah dat wuz us, all da little papaa skinney kine keeds at da beach. We wuz cool den. All freezin' headin' home but happy in our own way and glad to be livin' in Hawaii (even if we neva know dat at da time. It would come to us a lot later in life). But we were a bunch of skinny little kids going home in the dark with what gear we had at the moment.
All we really had was that board or just a pair of fins if we were lucky enough to own one. Sometimes only one fin was all we had. Most of us couldn't afford stuff' li'dat. More than likely we got those fins from the sea as it was washed up from some unlucky body surfer who had lost it catching a wave. If you did find em' afta losin' em' you wuz one lucky bugga cause most times you not goin' see em in da whitewash. Das da same way we got our slippa's too. It would get washed up on shore and we would pick em' up. As long as we get same size da color no matta. Most of us had two different color slippa's anyway but no shame.
Us keeds would play all day in da wata at Uleawa. So not only did Uleawa give us fun on the waves and sometimes something to eat (Opihi, Limu, fish or crabs) but it provided us wit some fins or rubba slippa's. Wat a deal ah.
Da paifo board could beused fo' one of two things. Can ride da waves or you can da kine sand slide wit em'. Of course cannot sandslide if you get one skeg on em' We use to have good fun wit em'. Eh, no wonda we was all so skinney den. All dat exasize we got. Plus most of us keeds neva go home fo' lunch. Eh, neva had stuff like lunch fo' us. Back den kala was tight so fo' most of us keeds neva have lunch. We had fo' rely on our own way fo' eat if you hungry.
Going have to go fish from da ocean or look fo da kine empty kine return bottle so can turn em' in fo' couple cents and buy somethin' fo' eat.
Anyway as we heading home we'd stop at da Uleawa beach park (back den was only one Uleawa beach park, across from B&K store, now stay all the way to Maile. Progress ah.) and go showa unda da cold wata. Use to have plenty keawe trees back den and couple coconut trees too. Nowadays wea da keawe trees waz stay all gone. Dat wuz across from where Miles bakery stay now. Even dat wen move. Use to be down by Nakatani long time ago. Get little bit keawe hea an dea but back den was almost all keawe trees.
But anyway would always be one or two bars of soap dat somebody left at da showers outside. So we would clean up on da way home. Anadda great deal on da way home. Eh, save wata an soap. If we was lucky we had one towel fo' dry off. Or we share one towel for all us keeds. But most times neva have. Cannot jus' take em' from home li'dat. Gotta git permission first or you git lickins'. But most times we stay dry off by da time we git home.
By da time we get home whateva food stay left you know us skinney keeds goin' eat plenti'. Eh, my favorit wuz da pork' n beans wit slice kine hotdogs and da onions and of course da rice too. Hooo ... waz ono brah. Or even betta wuz wen Mom made da kine hambuger patti's in gravy wit rice. I stay hungri' awreadi man.
Das wuz da days. Wen da sun wuz warmer and da days longa an wuz good fun yah. Eh, cannot go back to those hanabuddah days but I still live em' in my mind. So wat, you like fo' go wit me look fo' fins or slippa'?
About Author
George K. Cabral was born in Wahiawa and raised in Nanakuli, Oahu, two blocks from B & K store. He graduated from Nanakuli High in 1973. He joined the Army thereafter and shipped over to Germany where he spent almost 22 years of service. He retired in 1996 and is now working as a Government employee for the Army in Bosnia with the Deployed Operations Group or DOG. He and his wife, Jutta have two daughters, have settled down and made a home there. They try to get back to Hawaii every three years or so to visit the Ohana there, get that Aloha spirit, and maybe get new slippa's from Uleawa beach.
