Category: Down Memory Lane

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REMEMBRANCES 0F PAST CHRISTMASES

Here’s the thing: You’ve been singing Christmas songs and carols for a long time.

But have you experienced some of the haps in these melodies?

I started paying attention to some standard holiday numbers … and concluded that there are some haps in some tunes that are gaps in my life.

Let me count ‘em as I found ‘em.

1 – In “Jingle Bells,” the lyrics refer to “a one-horse open sleigh.” I know what a sleigh is, but it’s something totally out of my realm in Honolulu.

2 – “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” mentions figgy pudding. Huh? Never had ‘em, only know it from this song. You probably don’t know figgy pudding either; so, I Googled and learned that it is a rich boiled pudding, made from flour, suet, figs and other dried fruit. Not to be confused with the Christmas-time fruit cake.

3 – The countdown in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is overwhelmingly foreign to my actual experiences. I’ve seen drummers drumming, but not 12 altogether. Never experienced nine pipers piping, nor 10 leaping lords. Nine ladies dancing? Yes, think hula halau maidens. But never milking ladies, not even one, so forget eight. Swans are not plentiful here, so seeing seven a-swimming, nada. Six laying geese, never. But five golden rings, yes, in jewelry stores. But no, no. no, no, no to four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.

4 – “We Three Kings” is about gifts for the new-born king. Gold is notable and widely familiar.  But I’ve not seen frankincense nor myrrh.

5—Kui Lee’s Christmas tune, “The Song for Christmas,” is heavenly-bright, and favored by numerous Hawaii performs. It mentions ”Aurora Borealis,” the formal name of the Northern Lights, which brighten the skies. Alas, I’ve never once experienced this gift of nature, though know what it is.

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Did you have bubble lights on your Christmas tree, back in the past?

They are still available today, mostly via online, and they’re considered retro now.

Frankly, these lights feature liquid-filled tubes representing candles. As the lights warm up, the liquid bubbles, hence bubble lights.

The problem: these lights are heavy and would often sag on lean branches, so they require thicker branches.   Norfolk pine might be suitable  for bubble lights.

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Before there was Ala Moana Center – and the subsequent smaller malls in suburbia – there was downtown Honolulu.

For Christmas shopping, the family got into the ol’ sedan, and drove to Fort Street, where Liberty House was anchored. We’d visit, not just for gift-shopping, but also to see the annual holiday show in the LH windows. Peeking from the sidewalks was not an issue; this was the only game in town.

Of course, downtown was home to McInerny, Ritz Store, Kress, Woolworth, and Hub. But Liberty House was the magnet.

Fort Street was wholly open – cars could travel from King Street to Beretania – so the small Fort Street Mall came later, though operative today, minus the “name” destinations.

And downtown King Street had overhead decorations which lit up at night; not a big thing now, but then, it was the bomb.

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Over at Beretania, Sears Roebuck was the mammoth newcomer retailer – and boasted the first escalators, a vital installation at all multi-level retailer since. Escalators! Moving stairs, up and down. And at Christmas, Sears staged an outdoor holiday show going above the main entryway, and families watched from the parking lot. Such pageantry doesn’t exist anymore…

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And remember the Christmas-painted buses in seasons past? HRT (Honolulu Rapid Transit) had a few buses painted with holiday cheer. As kids, we wanted to catch one, of course, instead of the bland regular buses, and I recall these holiday buses only operated on the main route, between Waikiki and either (maybe both?) routes to Kalihi and Liliha.

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ARE YOU OLD, OR OLDER TO REMEMBER?

Received this “You Might Be Old If…” compilation that has been making the rounds on Facebook.

It’s a great reflection of things past, but clearly a list of more recent experiences.

So I put on my memory cap, and searched the cobwebs of my growing-up time, and came up with a “You Might Be Older Than Old If…” version.

Of course, there could easily be an Old-Like-God compilation, if someone is willing to share…

You might be older than old if …

  • You shopped at the five-and-dime store.
  • You had milk delivered in glass bottles to your doorstep.
  • You ordered chocolate and strawberry milk.
  • You had washing machines with wringers.
  • You remember your five-digit telephone number.
  • You bought groceries from the yasai-man (vegetable seller who also sold fish and meat from a wagon/truck).
  • You bought dim sum from the manapua man who had two tin cans hanging from a pole.
  • You pounded your own mochi at home for new year’s.
  • You owned fountain pens with a jar of ink with a well for refilling the pen, before the arrival of ball-point pens,.
  • You watched movies in the hub of downtown movie houses, including the Hawaii Theatre, Princess Theatre, Liberty Theatre, King Theatre.
  • You purchased aku bones at the market for a delish dinner.
  • You made your own tsukemono by soaking cabbage in a large pot with water and old bread, with a stone weight to keep the contents in water.
  • You wore festive kimono (girls and women) or yukata tops (boys and men) to go summertime bon dances at local Buddhist churches.
  • You slept in sleeping bags, on the floor, while in grade school.
  • You wore Buster Brown shoes.
  • Your elders watched Japanese films at Aala Park and the Kukui St. area.
  • You had manual typewriters, with black replacement ink in a spool, and red-and-black in if you were able to afford ‘em.
  • You owned a phonograph with multiple speed choices, to play 78 rpm, 45 rpm and 33 rpm discs?
  • You communicated by snail mail, not e-mail, and when needed, paid extra postage for air-mail.
  • You used bubble lights on your Christmas tree.
  • You and the family ventured to Fort Street to view Liberty House’s decorated, animate Christmas show in its storefront windows.
  • You  watched prime-TV series, like “The Ed Sullivan Show,” which were shown here a week after its mainland airing.
  • You remember when the 50th State Fair was the 49th State Fair.
  • You rode city buses, operated by Honolulu Rapid Transit, which were trolleys requiring electricity.
  • You recall when Kalanianaole Hwy. was three-lanes, one heading to the Hawaii Kai, one heading to town, and the center lane for left or right turns?
  • You took your own pot, to order take-out saimin, from a saimin stand?
  • You attended Japanese language school, which were common after-school destinations, for those of Japanese ancestry.
  • You took in first-run movies at the Waikiki #1, Waikiki #2, and Waikiki #3, plus the Kuhio, in Waikiki.  And the Royal Theatre, also in Waikiki.
  • You saw in Don Ho, at his mom’s Honey’s in Kaneohe, before he went big-time at Dulke Kahanamoku’s at the International Market Place. It’s where he first introduced Marlene Sai to local audiences.
  • You watched the original “Sunrise” live morning show on KGMB, hosted by Kini Popo  (Carl Hebenstreit) and featuring Lei Becker.
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A MEMORY, FROM 20 YEARS AGO

Geez, it’s a Flashback Moment!

It was 20 years ago, on June 7. 2003, when “Black and White and Read All Over” was staged at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Coral Ballroom. ‘Twas a benefit for Manoa Valley Theatre, sponsored by Honolulu Advertiser (my former employer. This was the promotional postcard. Two beloved Broadway phenoms, Craig Schulman and Cris Groenendaal, provided stunning Broadway music of the night; Schulman starred as Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables” here and Groenendaal was the Phantom in “Phantom of the Opera.”

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REMEMBER THE ‘BUTA KAU KAU’ CAN?

If you grew up in the Hawaii of the 1940s and ‘50s, you likely will remember something commonly called the slop can, where your family dumped their kitchen discards.

This was an era where most households didn’t yet have garbage disposals in their kitchens.

So “wet” garbage, like soups and kitchen debris, like carrot shavings, cabbage cores, pineapple skins and orange and banana peels, had to be disposed somewhere.

Garbage destined for the slop can.

This also was a time where there were no oversized plastic garbage bags – or composting in the backyard – to conveniently dispose these food remnants.

Enter, the slop cans. Or in local lingo, “buta kau kau,” literally pig food. Gross? Yes, but it was part of everyday life.

Most homes had a slop can outside their kitchen door. The canister was a rectangular-shaped can, likely the kind of container for oils and other liquids, with an open top, where garbage would be disposed. A wooden cover was necessary, to keep flies and bugs and even feral cats and dogs from seeking the remnants of discarded food. And a bucket-type handle was necessary, to lift the can and contents.

 I remember having that duty to bring out the daily veggie and fruit stuff and even chicken and rib bones. I recall, too, that slop had a sickly sour odor, and you made sure you didn’t allow seepage.

This messy load would be picked up once a week, like the rubbish vehicles hauling away other throw-aways.  The slop was destined to rural pig farms in Waimanalo, Kahala (before the luxury homes were erected), and other farming zones. The thought that slop could be food for pork that we’d eventually buy and eat was unimaginable.

As garbage disposals became prevalent and vital, not merely for convenience but for health reasons, the slop can happily became history.

Till today, we don’t toss stuff like fish or steak or pork chop bones into the disposal; we place ‘em in produce bags from food stores and dispose in the gray bins for waste collections once a week.

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GRAB-AND-GO BENTOS AT FUNERALS

Been to a funeral recently, or during the later phases of the pandemic?

Bentos now are very much part of the funeral experience. It’s trending as an alternate to post-services buffets in the reception hall.

Also, services at the mortuary are now welcoming larger crowds like the past decades, unlike the 10-maximum head count at the height of the pandemic. Face masks are recommended, like other events with huge attendance.

The  local custom at funerals always has included post-service fellowship with the grieving family. Over the decades, a mini-buffet of local food – sushi, perhaps fried chicken, macaroni or potato salad, with mochi as the dessert offering – used to be the rule of thumb. Paper or foam plates would be available, along the usual utensils, like chopsticks, forks, napkins, where mourners used to self-servce.

Sample bento menu at Ige’s catering.

Not anymore. Bentos in pre-packed take-out type containers are stacked in the reception hall, awaiting mourners of the family of the deceased. When you consider health safety, a pre-packed meal makes a lot of sense, however awkward it might seem. And there are no more intrusive, pesky flies.

If folks start to exit and skip the refreshment hall, announcements are made to pick up a mini-meal in a grab-and-go format. Even take-out plastic bags are available for those opting to nibble at home.

Apparently, catering organizations have been revving up the post-funeral bento meals. Websites reflect a range of bento options, from minimalist to the excessive (and expensive), depending on budget.