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.
Dear Daddy and Mother,
May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii – and yesterday the entire island was garden, lei exhibits, lei queens and coronations, lei dances. Everyone wore a lei – officers, soldiers sailors,
business men, Orientals, children, shoppers, salespeople, bus drivers – we went down near River St.
(the unspeakable district of Honolulu) to Lei St (Kaunakea) where, in the midst of open chop suey houses, dirty beer parlors, little Chinese shops, and city slums in general the loveliest leis are made and hung around the sidewalk edges. At least twenty
or thirty women sitting threading a blossom at a time from their baskets of freshly picked flowers. Gardenias still wet with morning dew, carnations and maiden hair fern in a solid mass thicker than half this sheet, lovely delicate blue leis of tiny blossoms
– just wonderful.
From the sublime to the ridiculous, we nosed as far into the smallest corner we dared, looking for a 25 cent priced lei – to be “patriotic” as cheaply as possible – and came
out with pale carnations, a little droopy from the atmosphere. (“We” was Beth Herman & Kay Wolfe) – anyhoo, from town we swished down to DeRussy for a bridge game & played until about three thirty, then broke up when Holland, Brightman, etc. came charging
into the club after work – from then on the usual chit-chat with the usual afternoon crowd. Last night, Holland & I went to Trader Vic’s – we’d heard that they had
excellent dinners. BUT on the menu were forty dinner suggestions, and not one of good American food. I read through Isou Mins Toes, Ye Hop Fat. So So La, and all the other fancy mess of bamboo, mushrooms, bean sprouts, pork, noodles – finally
spied “steak” – “Hawaiian style.” But being so utterly suspicious of their food & service by then, I persuaded Holland to make a quick dash to Paul’s for something simple like an Idaho baked potato and filet.
After dinner we went up in the Chinese neighborhood of School Street to the Golden Wall Theatre – something I’ve been wanting to do for ages. I’m enclosing the program, and
will write about the play at the back of it.
Wednesday night I had a pretty god time – went out to Schofield. We had dinner out on the large lanai – were put with a table of
drips with the exception of Mary, Walt, the Elmores and Adams – food was atrocious (cold fried potatoes, cold doughy roll, lukewarm asparagus & burned chicken with no meat on it – terrible!) and Max had blisters on his feet so couldn’t dance with me
— the one night there wasn’t a stag in sight! Anyhoo, the South American cabaret was very good – all officers wives, and their rumbas, tangos and congas looked professionally good.
I had on the white taffeta with red dots — & that little ole dress must have some kind of magic because it
always gets more astounding compliments than all my other dresses together (except the striped chiffon still out of order due to financial straits).
Wednesday morning I took a good hula lesson — & that afternoon went to DeRussy with Holland — had a nice swim with Mary Jane Thomas (she’s sailing May 27th for
Little Rock but rumor has it that she’s to be married soon as they reach the mainland).
No plans for tonight or today. I’ve been closet cleaning & taking stock of clothes for the Hawaii trip — & I must talk finances wit Uncle Ed. The sailing day will be jumping
“Bad” at me before I know it — & I won’t be ready. Uncle Ed sails for Maui Sunday & will be gone a week.
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