“I could not take my eyes off that image.” The drawing of a young boy and his dog staring up at a taboo tiki on a remote island in the South Pacific was one of many beautiful illustrations from Armstrong Sperry’s 1940 book, Call it Courage. Michael was around the same age as that young …
Mike is a gardener who loves Bosko’s carvings. Bosko is an artist who loves Mike’s tropical palms. Over the past years, the two men have formed a lasting friendship, one that a biologist might fondly classify as symbiotic mutualism. In biology, symbiotic mutualism refers to the beneficial relationship between two different organisms in a given …
Todd is a nomad and one of Lady Luck’s favorites. Todd hit the jackpot during a Tiki crawl raffle a few years back. He’d bought several tickets in hopes of upping his odds for some top-notch Tiki loot. The organizers pulled the first ticket, and Todd was a winner. Huzzah! The second prize was also …
Crazy Al asked, “Will you dance with me on the main stage?” The Fisherman were churning out their vibraphonic jungle exotica when Crazy Al scanned the crowd for someone brave enough to join him on stage. It would take someone uninhibited to match his renowned level of energy. Roxanne was the obvious choice, and she …
Ms. Foster asked Jennifer and Kenn, “Would you like to come over for sushi?” With a lunch invitation, what had been hoped for would come true. Jennifer and Kenn would meet Laurie Foster at her beautiful home in O’ahu, straight up the mountain above Diamondhead. Over sushi, they would soak up as much information as …
Mysterious tales and legends haunt the multitude of islands in the South Pacific. Uncharted destinations rarely sought by travelers. No island has been more shrouded in foreboding intrigue than Makoako Island. Come gather round and heed my warning. That’s how the backstory for the Lava Flow Inn begins. It’s a detailed yarn that begins with …
When you hear the “Kali Ma!“ at The Headhunter, be prepared. You may feel compelled to go shirtless and drink from a skull bowl. Kali will urge you on. You’ll hear her voice telling you to give in. Shed your shirt. Drink from the cup. Everyone can join in if they wish. The goddess of …
A murder of crows is smarter than a potation of polynesiacs. Crows outsmart children up to age eight on simple tasks. Studies have shown it. Extrapolating from this, I figure that once a group of Tiki peeps get to our third or fourth drinks, we’re likely operating around the same mental age. Perhaps we should …
“Nothing says class like a monkey with a fez.” This axiom is Stephen’s creed. The quip has even been written on his birthday cake. But, the original utterance was a retort to Heidi’s question “Why the hell are you buying all this monkey with fez stuff?” To Stephen, the answer was quite obvious. The fezzed …
Mark looked directly at Debbie and said, “It’s ninety percent her fault.” Mark places responsibility for their extensive collection on Debbie’s shoulders. I assumed the other ten percent had to be attributed to that time when Mark brought a Tiki carving back from Tonga in 1978. Mark is the proprietor of the Fuzzy Smudge, their …
In between the geoduck and geocaching, you’ll find the smudge. Read More »
