A Mānoa Girl's Bloggie

No ask me why da hill behind my hale stay called “Motorcycle Hill”. Part of da Koʻolau Mountain Range, and not too far from Waʻahila Ridge, rumor had it dat sometimes da kāne would race dea bikes from da top down to da bottom. Adunno if I believe dat, cuz I wen grow up in Mānoa Valley, wea we wen get over 100” of rain a year. U know wat dat means: choke rain. Choke slippery paths, yeah? How going even get one big motorbike up dea? No can do, I think.

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One time, up at our hale in Mānoa Valley, my fadda stay working in our yard, cutting da grass an using da edging da kine around by da road. We had one pretty big yard, and wen he go for cut da grass, all he wen wea was cut-off shorts an slippahs an one lauhala hat.

Dis one time, he stay down by da edge of da road, workin’ away. Dis big ole Cadillac convertible, driven by dis rich, white-haired haole wahine, wen slow down near by wea he stay workin. She wen lean outsai da car an call over to my fadda.

“Excuse me, young man. Could you please tell me how much you charge to do yardwork?”

My fadda, witout blinkin his eye, well tell her in his best English, “Oh, I work for free here… but da lady of da house lets me sleep wit her!”

We had two mango trees in our yard up in Mānoa Valley. We wen call um “Da Top Mango Tree” and “Da Bottom Mango Tree”. How original! Us keeds would climb da trees ‘way up high into da top branches. We could spy on peepo around, or ack like da big branches was horses dat we could ride. Sometimes I wen climb up high an jass sit deah, enjoying da soft makani blowing ovah me, gently rocking da branch I was sitting on. I specially love doing dat wen da trees stay full of da yellow blossoms. Continue reading →

In our side yard, up Mānoa Valley, get plenny kakaroaches. Anybody who wen live in Hawai‘i know how bad dem buggahs stay. At night, all u gotta do is open da light an ho, alla kakaroaches run scurrying for da dark places. In da cupboards, in da cracks in da floor, in closets, everyweah! Dey so ugalee an from small kid time I stay sked of dem. Continue reading →

Wen I wuz twelve, my madda wen let me staht babysit foa da neighbas’ keiki. Da one ‘ohana wen call me da most wen stay up around da loop from wea I wen live. Dey get 5 keiki, from one yea old to about 10. Da makuahine, ho, she no like clean da hale, wuz alla time all mess up. So wen I wen ovah dea, I wen clean da kitchen foa her cuz I wen feel bad she get so many keiki an so much hana foa her to do. Wen I stay pau wit dat den I watch TV till dey get home. Continue reading →