Beginning on November 1, which is the date of my mother’s first letter from her Hawaii trip 84 years ago, I am serializing day by day, the book, Cecilia King’s Extraordinary Senior Trip, which you can obtain from Amazon in either Kindle or paperback.

I hope you enjoy the upcoming nine-months in Hawaii 1940-41.

Honolulu, Thursday, December 26, 1940

Thursday night Dec. 26

Dear Daddy & Mother,
Just mailed a 2 week old letter. I found I my desk drawer – so guess  my reports will be sort of mixed up – because the Matsonia took the other one out today. We’ve really ben having a fiendish “winter” – Banner headlines of local paper “Winter season opens with low temperatures of 63o” vely cold, very cold! North wind “’never thin” Electric heaters on here until the fuses blew from over-activity.
Not much doing her today – breakfast at noon, did a little washing. Checked on my evening clothes to find my white stain slippers absolutely ruined (beyond Clorox, sun & Energene ) – cleaners pronounced spots on chiffon with striped skirt “immovable” but took a try at revitalizing the blue net.

Editor’s Note:Spelled “Energine” A cleaning fluid consisting of Solvent naphtha, petroleum, light aliphatic, no longer manufactured (https://www.whatsinproducts.com/types/type_detail/1/2995/standard/p%3Espan%20style=%22color:)

Filled my ant-eaten holes in floor with arsenic – improved my mind with “Intimate Detective” (10¢ at your neighborhood bookstand) – garnished it with a touch of Dorothy Parker – but not very elated over it all.

Editor’s Note: Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Parker

Mary McDonald called saying they’d come in for me afternoon of New Years Eve – we’re having dinner etc. at Schofield Club. Called Barnwells to get dressmakers name to have dress shortened (decided against Leatrice –she’s too harum-scarum & in a hurry).

We engaged a Filipino, Tony, to start work tomorrow and are hoping “better luck, this time.”

Aunt S. is really enjoying Kitty Foyle – and the orange Jello-peanut- carrot, etc. salad I suggested.

Editor’s Note: Kitty Foyle” is a 1939 American novel by Christopher Morley. A bestseller in 1939 and 1940, it was adapted as a popular 1940 film, and was republished during World War II as an Armed Services Edition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Foyle_(novel)

She is going to Marcell tomorrow for a permanent – think I’ll do a little fancy shampooing myself, in the privacy of the shower.
My nose is on the warpath tonight & my toes frigid – so I’ll bury them all under four layers of blankets & start dreaming about “the murderer in the pink shirt” or some other reminiscences of my uplifting reading of the day.