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The cars are streaming into Wailea. Tourists are lining up on their hotel balconies. All free parking lots have guards at their entrances, collecting a fee to use the facilities. The beaches are wall-to-wall people.
Its "The Fourth" and there are going to be fireworks in Wailea.
Years ago, all the hotels in Wailea would contribute funds for a really nice show. Then, for some reason, they quit. The last two years, the show has been paid for by a private individual, a guest of The Grand, who made sure that his young daughter would have fireworks on "The Fourth."
about $25,000
maybe 5 minutes
To this unnamed visitor, I want to say a big
MAHALO!
To the 5 Wailea hotel/resort/spas
YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!
The display lasted from 8:25pm to 8:30pm.
For the next 2-1/2 hours the only two roads out of Wailea, and the only roads out of Kihei, looked like the "405" in El Lay at rush hour. Bumper-to-bumper traffic, moving at 1 to 2 mph. A few thousand cars inching their way home.
The show to be seen last night was on the West Side. The Lahaina business community had a wonderful 30-45 minute display. Unfortunately there is only one way to get to Lahaina from the other parts of the island and that is SR-30. A two-lane highway that was so congested that the normal 30-minute trip was now over 2-hours each way.
* * *
It was a profittable, but frustrating, night for me. The normal driver/dispatcher, "Crazy Brian", was on an extended West Side run (out of radio range) and the same guy from the TRAIN WRECK post had the phone. He was way out of his league. Totally overwhelmed. And his heavy Guamanian accent made him very difficult to understand.By 11:00pm, I was mentally exhausted. Business had slowed but we still had 9 cabs staged a various locations on "The South Side" and the phone wasn't ringing. "Crazy Brian" had returned and taken the phone back and I went home for two hours. Came back out at 1:00am, handled a busy "bar close" and by 2:30am all the other drivers had gone home. My solo hours stayed relatively active and at 4:35am Flor and "The Jerk" (who had logged off at 2:30am!!) logged on for the day shift. I was home by 5:15am. Did my paperwork and crawled into bed.
I should note that this year the impromtu street displays were very "low key". Maybe the supplies of illicit firecrackers are drying up. ONE-NINE only got hit by one bottle rocket and I think that was by accident.
FIFA - WORLD CUP
I know "jack shit" about soccer (football, futbol) but I see that France and Italy play for the Championship on July 9th. May the best team win.
To all the losers, may I offer this individual as a possible new player for your team.
Her name is BUGALUGS and she plays for the Holly Muppet back yard team. Her teammate is named SACHI. I think BUGALUGS is better at ball control than 75% of the team rosters in the FIFA.
HAVE WE BEEN INVADED?
We've all heard stories about "little green men" taking over the world. This blogger, Little Green Men Of The World, contends that they are already here, in plain view, but that we are oblivious to their presence. What do you think?
Later.....
Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"
