Stuff 90: Aloha

By J.J. Atwell

Love That Word

Who wouldn’t love a word that goes both ways? For those that don’t know, the Hawaiian word “Aloha” is used both when greeting and when leaving. In Hawaii, you say Aloha when you meet people, like walking into a store, and when you are done, like leaving a store. 

Wait, did you think I was going to write about sexual things here? Sorry, no. Instead I’d like to cover a few things that occurred to me on my recent two-week vacation in Hawaii. 

Plumeria

The picture at the top of this edition of Stuff is a plumeria flower. These flowers grow in many tropical climates, but somehow seem synonymous with Hawaii. They are used to make leis – the real ones, not the plastic ones you find in the tourist trap stores. They are also used in home decor. A plumeria plant can be a nice accent to your house. You can also pick the fragrant blossoms and float them in a bowl of water for a centerpiece on the dining room table.

In Hawaiian culture, women often wear a plumeria flower in their hair. Those who are single and traditional looking wear the flower on the right side. Those who are “taken” (or just don’t want to be bothered) wear the flower on the left side. That’s right, plumeria flowers are part of a secret romantic code on the islands. 

Are Coconut Bras Comfortable?

A question that occurred to me while in Hawaii is how comfortable could a coconut bra be? I’m sure it would provide great support for those boobs, but wouldn’t the inside be horribly rough? Certainly the edges would be worse than an underwire bra. Wouldn’t they? And how do you specify what size coconut you need when having one made? By the pound? Let’s hope that you don’t have to actually climb the tree to pick the right coconut. 

Yes, my mind goes off in odd directions at times. I can’t say that I actually saw a real coconut bra for sale in any of the shops I went into though. No real grass skirts either. Probably just as well, but fun to think about.

Hawaiian Food

There are some very interesting food items in Hawaii. Some will strike us mainlanders as being a bit odd. For example, Spam is very popular and appears on many a restaurant menu as part of a dish served at any time of the day. Typically, Spam is fried but may also be incorporated with other ingredients. 

My favorite Hawaiian dish is something called Loco Moco. While mostly a breakfast dish, it’s also good at any meal. It consists of a base of white rice on top of a hamburger patty and a fried egg. This is topped by onion or potato straws and drizzled with brown gravy. No, this doesn’t really have anything to do with CDing other than it will likely be the subject for a future “Any CD can cook” column here on Stuff. 

I’ll Be Back

I’ll be finding more Stuff to write about. I welcome comments and suggestions here on Stana’s page or by email at Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com. Aloha!

Wearing Boston Proper

Frederick Weller femulates in television's In Plain Sight.