Beginning on November 1, 2024, 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. You can order the entire book from Amazon in either paperback or Kindle format, click here.

Honolulu, Sunday, February 16, 1941

Sunday night

Am so ab-so-lute-ly or is it ab-sol-ute-ly well anyhoo I’m so weary & weather ridden can hardly keep my eyes open & my fingers going – just came in from the movies with Max (Bitter sweet, J. McDonald & Nelson Eddy) good music & movie. Was supposed to play tennis with Worley at nine this A.M. -- & struggled sleepily out of bed, fixed some orange juice – then he called & said he’s spoiled a leg at baseball & couldn’t play, so I dropped back in bed – about that time I was well asleep again Bob Dunlop called, asked if I’d eaten – said he’d be right over & we’d go eat. So I dressed again & we went down to the Waikiki tavern for “brunch” – sat out on the “deck” on bamboo chairs, right over the beach.
It was a wonderful day & there were jillions of surfboarders, canoers & swimmers in the water. After a good chicken salad & ice tea with “heart-of-pineapple” stick in it, we struggled through the Sunday Waikiki-ers, down to DeRussy – chatted around there. Sam (Air Corps) Potts who asked me for a date Wed. night (no could do) – then rushed back about 1:30 for my date with max at 2 – after Dunlop had made dates for Mon. night & supper etc. next Sunday.
Max & I re-rode back to DeRussy – left about 4:30 to go to Swanky Franky for fried chicken & so to the movies. Saw the loveliest rainbow this afternoon – doble, & the most vivid colors I’ve ever seen. Would like to see one of the lunar rainbows seen here so often.
Yesterday afternoon, I spent the afternoon at DeRussy with Mandy Allison.[1] She is the most attractive person I’ve seen in ages, dresses beautifully, is quite an artist, graduate of U of Alabama, has been abroad several times. Knows Maureen Haley in Little Rock – went to King-Smith[2] in Wash. D.C. By the way, I’ve heard several excellent reports on that school – it might be interesting if it isn’t expensive. But, back to yesterday, I got a terrific sunburn, but had quite a nice afternoon chatting about the pavilion, meeting lots of new people – made a date for Tues. night with a very B.J. unattractive Coas A. from Ruger.




Then last night was our party at DeRussy -- & Westy my date. Wore my green chiffon (with red face above, gave a suggestion of Xmas rather than Valentine’s) & we stopped at one of the little lei carts on Waikiki to get a very lovely, crisp white carnation lei. The leis were all hung on the back of the cart -- & inside were about seven little aliens offsprings squatting & stringing flowers. On to the club – just in time to see a very brilliant sunset looking west out across the water – the entire sky tinted. The tables that night had the Valentine centerpiece – quaint & dainty rosebuds & sweet pea nosegays scattered the length with three big bouquets at intervals –the latter were tiny white clusters of flowers against maiden hair fern in a heart shape – filled inside the heart were deep red carnations & roses. Had a nice crowd, good orchestra & grand time. Westy & I became quite extra-extra on the rumba as played by the 251st Coast boys.

Editors notes: Mary Amanda Allison (1917 – 1973), daughter of Mary C. Ryan, stepdaughter of Major General William Ord Ryan. Married Lt. Elliott Owen Stephenson of Atascadero, CA January 16, 1942.

The Washington, D.C. arts and educational organization, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), was founded by poet Robert Richman in 1947 to bring arts and culture to the nation's capital. The school, originally named the King-Smith School of Creative Arts, was redesigned and renamed Institute of Contemporary Arts by Richman in 1948. (https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/institute-contemporary-arts-records-9688) The school closed in August 1951, but the ICA continued to provide an impressive roster of programs and performances held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and other D.C. institutions, such as exhibitions by Naum Gabo, Bernard Leach, Isamu Noguchi, and Hans Richter; readings by W.H. Auden, T.S. Eliot, Katherine Anne Porter, and Dylan Thomas; lectures by Charles Eames, Aldous Huxley, Octavio Paz, and Frank Lloyd Wright; and performances by Aaron Copland, Paul Hindemith, José Limón Dance Company, and Ravi Shankar. The organization also sponsored visiting professorships for international artists and writers, such as Nadine Gordimer, and hosted an annual Congress of Artists and Writers from 1959-1964.