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 6, 1940
Friday night – Dec. 6th
Dear Daddy and Mother –
Well, it looks as if the fleet didn’t come in tonight and Cecilia didn’t go to the hop. But, being a bit under the weather and a nose, at this point I wasn’t too disheartened about the lack of a gala evening. No cook yet so we had dinner at the “South Seas” again. Uncle Ed wouldn’t let me order what I wanted – Swiss steak – because he thought it was a hamburger and we can’t eat island pork so I went conventional with filet mignon. And I can’t figure out why I’ve been trying to fool myself & everyone else for the last several years into believing I liked it. It’s always like trying to kill a scorpion to tackle them (even at the “donest”) and super chewing power and still no taste to explain about. They’re so many good foods, why become utterly exhausted over something I simply don’t like” So – now that that’s off my chest and on to me black list I’ll go on with further observations made at South Seas: A very demure young lassie in beautiful taffeta evening dress, dancing around with nothing on her feet but ten red painted toe nails. Her partner, a little more conservative, wore black socks but still no shoes. Many Japs and Chinese, a few sailors, two Negroes, and several very fat, very inebriated, old women. The head waitress was a Jap dressed in their native long silken gown. Floor shows – usual here and burlesques. Very obvious signs plastered around – God Bless America –we are proud to be Americans.
Figure 28 – The old South Seas nightclub on Kalakua Avenue at Mccully in Waikiki across the street from Fort DeRussy. Source:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/kamaaina56/13153783953
Aunt Susan and I spent from ten till five today placing dressing gowns, shoes, vases, pillows, books, trays, rugs (& even lugged one brown & white striped chair across the house) to try different colors for the window seat cushions. After each trial she would go into a trance muttering about shadows, compliments, and keys of different colors that interior decorators had informed her about. I followed my nose & could smell the purple right away – and after much worry, trancing, & recalling of rules of color, fabric, & nature’s course that’s what she decided on.
Think I will get my nose & drivers license tended to Tuesday – and “escort” A. Susan home after the dentist dopery.
I’ve formed quite a rigid impression of Army women by now – maybe it will change later but hope I won’t. They have a gigantic store of gushes – loads of very un-natural animation – never seem to say what they think (I’m beginning to wonder if some of them ever think at all). Very gracious supposedly (I find it like biting into a tensil when I thought it was butter). And, with the exception of Methodist Ministers Inc. ( a few exceptions on that later) are the most scheming cunning form of animal. Of course they are a few who are sincerely gracious, and I sincerely like them immensely but that doesn’t, somehow, seem to be a place for sincerity among the most of them.
Any hoo – so much for tonight’s palaver – and hope I will be too busy soon to have to think. I’ll gild my wings and flutter & squawk with the other tinsel flys.
An old & very good saying is “never write letters at night” so perhaps that will excuse most of my off-the-record ideas that fly by night but forget to come out in the daytime –
It’s a wonderful night and I’m very happy ---- so don’t take my sarcasm seriously. My outlook changes with the seasons -- & winter is at hand.
Good night --