Last night I had to clear out da garage and if you seen my garage you would have just suggested to dynamite it.

I had years and years of accumulated organized chaos lying around from old trophies to, well, old everything. Since it's an open garage there was dust everywhere - along with a few former living things - and it wasn't pretty.

I started at 9am and didn't get done till 10pm.

Ok, ok. I was done at 8:30pm but was taking a "break" across da street.

Our street is decently long - I'd say about a dozen or so homes on each side -and we pretty much "know" each oddah. Aside from not knowing each oddah's names, we know wat kine car they drive/have, wat kine friends visit, wat time they stay home, if they get dogs, keiki etc etc.

Or it could be just my keen observations skills going shmall kine nuts again.   

Our immediate neighbor we talk story shmall kine wen we stay outside at da same time. It usually goes along da lines of common interests like wat we stay doing to our homes or our dogs. He asks from time to time if I need dis or dat to help out.

Our oddah immediate neighbor they stay around Da Wife's and I age so we end up talking about stuff "our age". I always ask them if they need help with anything cause they always buying new tools and I tell them no need if they only going use 'em one time cause I get tools they can use instead.

Our neighbor across da street, he's one character.

He reminds me exactly of NKHEA and even to da point my neighbor really no can hea, he stay practically deaf. He always comes ovah and asks if I need help with anything wen he sees me working or loading da truck. He always tell me come ovah cause EVERY Sunday get pah-tay his house. He share his beea's, his kau kau but most of all he shares his Aloha.

A rare treat in dis day and age I'd say and he's passed it on to his ohana.

It was about 7:30pm and I still had more than a couple hours of work left. Then his two grandsons come ovah, then anoddah uncle and my uncle. They all came ovah to help no questions asked - nothing in return. They helped clear my garage in a hour and we was pau.

Then it was time to relax.

Wen I go ovah it's feels like how it should/would have been back in da good 'ole days. Got da radio on - no tv unless got a game on - everybody sharing their mo'olelo's, their pupu's and laughing and teasing. Everybody listens and stay geniunely interested in each oddah's conversation. 

Did I mention dat "Uncle" stay turning 90 dis year?!

Da hui at Uncle's house stay about twice my age except for Uncle's grandson's who still stay about 10 years older than me and you really wondah how da heck can practically four generations sit in one garage and wala'au and "understand" each oddah. Even though they are not my "neighbors", they end up being wen they around.

Gotta be da Aloha no?

Uncle did it right and passed it on to his keiki and now to his grand-keiki and it keeps getting passed on through witness of his actions and it'll definitely get passed on through me.

Do you know your neighbors? Do you lend a helping hand to your neighbors? Do you even say hi? Talk story? Know their names? Or is it usually just the casual nod, smile and hurry in da door?

Maybe da world could/would be just a bit bettah if we took da time and love thy neighbor..........

Eh, not dat kine love.      

Howzit!

Was up since 4:45 dis morning getting ready for an early morning doctor's appointment so short and sweet today on Mumblin' Monday.........  mumble on!  

Share 'em if ya got 'em.

Dis should actually should be a Mumblin' Monday post but uh, let's just say I was in "recovery mode" and far from posting anything coherent.    

The past few nights on the news there were so many things locally that just seemed "wrong":

• State delaying tax refunds:   It still falls under the 90 day refund policy - just barely - but if they can "delay" da refund, can we "delay" our payments?
• Army "plans" to bring in super-ferry like military vessals:   So wat? Kama'aina can borrow? Or at least can copy da EIS?
• Kapolei Parkway opens:   Good for traffic, bad for students. Can you say "let's play keiki Frogger?"
• Brand spankin' new $700k command vehicle sits unused for years:   Heck, you can pay me half of dat at $350k and I'll be more than glad to do nothing for years.    
• Bars ask for smoking ban to be lifted for "bars only":   Why don't we just allow drinking and driving since obviously second hand smoke takes too long to kill innocent workahs and patrons?
• HPD doesn't want to deal wit tailgaters (#1 cause of accidents according to KITV - gotta see da video) stating their time and resources are better used for speeders:   Hmmm, so wat does da traffic division do before pau hana time gunning down speeders going to work from da West side to town near Aloha Stadium (hint hint) cause they surah aren't enforcing car pool violators or tailgaters obviously?
• Rail broke ground and is finally being built!:  Ok, so dis one not going happen but a person can dream right?

Personally, there are a few things I'd love to change or see get done:

• How's about anoddah prison or two? We can help stir up da economy wit jobs building and running da prison. How we going do dat I dunno but it surah would be nice to see a few habitual and violent criminals off da streets.
• Get students back to school:   If I had dis much "days off" back wen I was in school... I wouldn't have made my own "holidays".
• Homelessness:   Wat can be said or done about dat? It's a lose-lose cause those who want to "get rid" of it are called insensitive having no compassion and those who want to help are told to keep 'em in their backyard if they like help 'em...... lose-lose....... no can win.
• Wat if we had rail undahground going to da neighbor islands? We got rail AND a "SupahFerry"..........

A guy can wish can't he?

Wat do you want or wish to see happen in da 808? No scade fo' say - could be small could be big. No need be a law thing - it could something as simple as seeing Taco Bell pricing da same hea as da mainland.       Which by da way have you noticed dat it's no longah da "just cause we in Hawai'i get 10 cents premium" on fast food any more? We got jacked and now paying anywea between 20 and 50 cents more!

Wassap Wit Dat!

You tinking outside da box or wat?

A new work week = 120 hours and counting.

Mumblin' Monday is born.

Just some randomness from the weekend wea we can share our mo'olelo's and manao's on da past week/weekend happenings.

• Just heard on KSSK radio dis morning dat GM hired a new CEO, Ed Whitacre who was quoted as saying "I don't know anything about cars" and that he had no plans of moving from his home in Texas to Detroit, where GM headquarters is at.

*Cherry job yeah? No need know nothing, no need move AND going get paid six figures! Wea do I sign up?

• Bombing.... no, not da terriost kine, da lolo kine. Illegal at most, if not all, streets and roads but now it's being "glorified" by YouTube users on/about our local roads such as da evah curvy, gnarly, winding road down Tantalus.  Check out the article by our Michael Tsai, "Hawaii Thrillseekers a YouTube Hit".

*If it was a sanctioned race or done legally, no problem.... but it's not. Just wait until someone gets hurt badly and/or destroys property - then we'll see some real action.

• And how 'bout them Saints! They ain't da "Ain'ts" no mo'! Congrats to a city really needing something to look forward to!*I guess da curse of celebrity stars dating players is broken but then again, we wouldn't even have heard of da Kardashians if they nevah have their own reality show huh?

*btw, I did predict the Saints and Colts to be in da Super Bowl at da start of da playoffs. Now if you asked me to pick da winnah...... you heard it hea' first...... gotta back da NFC and go with dem Saints and da "Who Dat Nation"!

Thoughts? Mo'olelo's? Stumblin' grumblin' mumblin'?