I don't often digress from what brightens my life now-- with postings of fences and yard art, desert flowers and fauna, my little veggie garden, my bird visitors and occasional trips to interesting places. But I was inspired to share something with you by reading a recent post on
An English Girl Rambles where Denise shared post cards from Hawaii. I lived in Hawaii for six months when I was only five years old. I don't remember very much. I recall the way our apartment looked, and two of the little girls who lived in the building and that one of them had a monkey toy that banged symbols together when you wound him up. I remember being told that we were going to have a luau and the landlord and some others had gone up to the mountains to kill a pig for us to roast in the ground. I remember the way our leis smelled when we left to head back to the mainland on the transport ship (more on that later) when I was seven ....the smell of plumeria and white ginger. (More on plumeria also). The reason we left for the mainland two years later, and we had only lived on Oahu for six months is because my Dad (who was stationed there in the Navy) was given the opportunity to take an assignment on Midway Island instead. We lived on that tiny island one and a half years and I remember a LOT about Midway, and will post of that adventure at a later time! But, back to Oahu... My brother was born at Tripler Army Hospital, but his birth is not something I recall. I do remember the statue of King Kamaemea in front of an important government building. I remember going to see the "blow hole" spout water up in the air when the waves came in. When we returned to Hawaii from Midway when I was seven, my brother was two years old, and had never ridden in an automobile or seen traffic, because on Midway you weren't allowed to have your vehicles there, and people went everywhere by bicycle. I remember passing fields of pineapple in that car, playing pick-up-sticks with a friend on her patio and seeing a brightly painted mural on the wall of a hotel. But, that's about it.
I do have a very special keepsake...a book called Hawaiian Mother Goose: The Nonsense Rhymes of Tutu Nene. It was printed in 1954 by the Tongg Publishing Company, Ltd. in Honolulu, Hawaii and was written by Emma Lyons Doyle and illustrated by Ethelyn Myhre. It was purchased for me some time around 1956 probably and the fact that I still have it is pretty amazing as the book is 56 years old!
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| This is the cover of the very special book....somewhat worse for wear, but overall in pretty good shape. |
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| "The man by the lava flow said to me, "How can ohias grow in the sea?"" Then it explains that ohias are mountain apples. |
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| I always loved this page: "Sing a song of hapaumi, (Enough to buy a peach) Twenty-five brown babies playing on the beach, When a wave came splashing in, they ran up out of reach; It followed them and rolled them round, and they began to screech! BUT IT WAS FUN." The it says that hapaumi is five cents. |
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| "This little pig danced the hula, And this pig played the guitar; This little pig went surfing, And this little pig drove a car. And this little pig cried "Go for broke!" And HE got a spanking from Ma." |
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| "Hey, diddle, diddle, ukelele and fiddle! The surfer jumped over the raft! The ladies all screamed, But the swimmers just beamed; And the surfer himself only laughed!" |
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| OK, I am VERY sure this is not my crayon scribble, but some of my siblings' artwork! I was a much better artist by age five, and besides I'm sure I wouldn't have drawn in my book! (I'm not so sure those aren't my alphabet letters on the frontspiece, though!!!)....."Pitty! Patty! Polt! Ride the wild colt! Parker Ranch cowboy Doesn't mind a jolt!" |
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| "To market, to market, to buy a big fish, We'll bake it in ti leaf, and , oh, what a dish! We'll eat it with poi, and a dash of kukui, It's a meal that's a joy, and you mustn't say "Phooey!" " Then it says: "Ti is a plant, Poi is taro paste, Kukui is a nut." |
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| "Mele, Mele, Mele, Mele, Won't you get your ukelele? Won't you rattle up the chords and sing a song to me? Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, All the songs I know are silly, But I know you like them dear, so which one shall it be?" |
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| "Higgelty! Piggelty! My guava tree! Pink fruit, sweet fruit, for you and for me! Mother makes jelly and Aunty makes jam; Spread it on bread, and how happy I am!" |
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| I am pretty sure this is the same as an English rhyme: "A bridge and a fish hook, And in goes the school book! Oh dear! And the bell will ring soon! We got there last Friday at just ten o"clock And today we won't get there till noon!" |
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| The center page must be missing because these are two pages of illustrations beside one another. That is a such a shame! I only vaguely remember the rhymes. |
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| "Auwe! Margie Kalei Sold her spring mattress Slept on a punee, Three of her sisters And one girl friend, Slept on it with her Not reaching the end." Then it says: "Auwe means alas and punee is a wide couch" |
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| Interesting name! "Little Claudito, With grass for a seat, oh, Was peacefully reading the Funnies; There came a mosquito And bit poor Claudito, And he ran just as fast as the bunnies!" |
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| "Lokilani Kai Sat on the lanai Playing, singing Until time for ai." And it says "Ai is food." |
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| "Ka-le swam in the river, Ka-le swam in the sea; Ka-le caught mahimahi And brought it home to me." |
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| "Dong, Dong, Ding! Punahou Spring! Funny little froggies, Dancing in a ring. Ding, Ding, Dong! Punahou gong! Children hurry in to school, What a happy throng!" |
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| "Little Kapena sat on a moena Eating his two-finger poi; He made many dips, Then, smacking his lips, Said "I'll be a pretty fat boy!" Then it says: "Moena means mat." |
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| This one always cracked me up! :-) "E, Kaohe! Quite kolohe! Why do you play such jokes? I like to see the haoles laugh, And show them we're lively folks!" It says "Kolohe means mischevious"....I like that they assume you know that haole means white person. :-) |
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| "Kimo went a-fishing all night on the reef Then he gave the fish away and bought dried beef, He called it pipi kaula and said that it was ono And made him grow an inch a day like the honohono." "Ono means delicious and honohono is a fast growing weed." We are left to wonder about pipi kaula. |
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| On the last page, there are two rhymes. The first is "There was a wahine and where ever she'd go, She's not eat a thing but pink poi and mano; The mano made her strong and the poi made her fat, But she saved all the best little bits for the cat." It says "wahine is woman and mano means shark." The second rhyme says: "Aloha, aloha, please tell me the day You'll go back to Maui, and I'll make a lei! Aloha, aloha, I'll go Monday noon, But if the lei is fragrant, I'll come back soon." |
Like I said, this book is such a treasure to me. I wish I had more keepsakes from my time in Hawaii...at least I have a brother. :-) I will share more about the plumeria and the move to Midway at a later time.
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