When Robert brought home a vintage black-velvet nude painting and rare United Airlines Tiki in the trunk, Shanna said aloha to only one item. The UA Tiki was welcomed aboard. The black velvet painting with the woman wearing a hibiscus flower and nothing else? She would need to catch a connecting flight.
Robert was carefully measuring the necessary cocktail ingredients for Painkillers as he recounted the story. One evening, his regular scan for online local Tiki items revealed a five-foot Tiki for sale for a mere $100. He immediately called the seller, inquired if it’d be okay to come by first thing in
the morning, exchanged pleasantries, and hung up. Excited to share his potential find, he checked in with a few Tiki friends, showed them the picture, and immediately got congratulatory
messages that he’d struck vintage gold.
Read the rest of the story in Polynesiacs: Tiki at Home, page 270.
The River Kai, Riverside, California
