Paradise Driver

Friday, September 07, 2007

I KNOW. I KNOW.

ITS A "GUY" THING

"Let's all be careful out there!"

I JUST LOVE...

NEWLYWEDS!

Chris & Alli
Chicago ("Shy Town"), IL USA

It was an abnormally "normal" night. Stumbled coming out of the gate. Sent for a Wailea pu-pu about 7:30p. Canceled before I arrived. I was just 100 yards from the resort's covered entry. 10 minutes later I finally get a "dinner run" from Wailea to Sansei, in Kihei. A very nice, and chatty early 30's couple from San Diego, CA USA.

Cleared that just before 7p, returned to Wailea and sat for almost an hour.

Second pick-up was at 9p, Hirohatchi back to the Diamond Resort. Hirohatchi is located just a few doors down from Sansei, at the north end of the Kihei Town Center Shopping Center. Also the location of FoodLand and the block due north to the "Triangle". Hirohatchi is a Japanese restaurant. Not "Japanese Style" but a true Japanese restaurant. Very popular among our local Japanese population and our Japanese visitors.

I can't remember ever taking anybody other than Japanese there.

That run started a rush the continued until midnight. By 9:30p it was just "Crazy" Brian (#11), TMR (#27) and ONE-NINE. Chris and Alli were my third run. It was 11:21p before I had a fare below $13. Thats good!

Exactly at midnight everything died. Caught a pu-pu "flag" at 12:30a, just south of the "Triangle".

Then I slumbered lightly at the bus stop in the Foodland parking lot.
Thats "Crazy" doing the same thing in front of me. He went "10-2" at 1:30a. He had a puker about midnight and the smell was getting to him. It does take a while to fade, no matter how good you clean.

The meter wide cherry on the sundae of this shift was a pick-up, at 2:10a, from a gated community in Wailea. She is leaving the island today and her friends had thrown her a "going away party". She needed to get to Ha'iku. She gave me a "Franklin" with the welcomed admonition to "Keep the change" on an $86.60.

Our journey was a bit of an adventure She was sound asleep before I got to north Kihei and I was caught totally "flat-footed". She hadn't seemed excessively intoxicated and we had been carrying on a conversation. Right in mid-sentence, she nodded off.

I didn't have the exact address!

I called her name and she didn't even flinch.

Oh, great.

t was a problem that I was going to have to deal with eventually but right then was not the best time or place.

Drove across the island to Pa'ia, where Mama's Fish House is located, and pulled to the curb under the street lights. She was in the right rear. Seatbelt on, headed tilted to her left shoulder. Sitting "Injun Style" with her hands resting on the seat between her crossed legs. Had to call her name twice before she reacted, then the period of disorientation, that we all get when waking in a strange location, had to run its course. Got the exact address and asked her which way would be best and shortest. She instructed me to continue along the Hana Highway until I got to the Ha'iku Road intersection. The name of her street floored me. It wasn't Hawai'ian! One with an English name. Thats really rare.

She snoozed a bit more as we continued on into Ha'iku but was awake when we got into town and gave great directions to her place. I had located the street on my map while still in Pa'ia and it was going to be a bitch to find, since most of the metal street signs are so badly "weathered" that they can't be read. Ha'iku is way around on the windward side of Mau'i, along the road to Hana.

Got back in Kihei and snagged 2 more fares before calling it a night.

I am a very happy camper.

15 fares / 157 miles / 3rd quarter $200 bracket

Sigh.

Tonight is my phone night. See you tomorrow.

Mahalo

Aloha

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Pa'ia

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Thursday, September 06, 2007

WHOOMP!

AND THEN THERE WAS SILENCE

I was home around midnight. Sitting at my desk, I heard/felt a loud WHOOMP! outside. Couldn't tell where it came from but it was definitely the sound of a car colliding with something. Hard. I stepped out front and neighbors were running toward Kanakanui Road, which borders my back fence, The entire area had heard it. Since my knee doesn't allow me to run anymore, I did my best "Chester" (that's a 'dated' reference, isn't it?) impression. As I rounded the corner I heard one of the first arrivals shout that someone needed to call 9-1-1 (our equivalent to Australia's 0-0-0 and UK's 9-9-9). I could hear the lady in the closest residence already speaking to the emergency operator. Then the guy said that everyone was okay but there was some bleeding. He sounded excited but unstressed. I got to the intersection and could see everyone in both vehicles moving. There were no screams. No shouting. I didn't go any further. As I returned home I could already hear sirens approaching rapidly, from every direction. Grabbed my camera, walked back and snagged this shot. I didn't hang around to see if an ambulance arrived, but it probably did. Thats pretty much S.O.P. None left rolling "emergency".

***

We had a minor power outage in central Kihei. I cruised the inky black Azeka Plaza area. Never know, someone might need to go somewhere else. Lasted about 2-1/2 hours and covered about 1 square mile. Alas, it didn't bear fruit for my basket.

***

At the end of Tuesday night's shift I brought ONE-NINE home. It was infested with roaches. Just like every other vehicle and structure on the island. That's one of the hidden facts about living on an island and why pest-control businesses flourish here. Parked ONE-NINE and set off an aerosol "bug bomb" and then aired it out and wiped down the surfaces when I awoke. Shouldn't see any creepie-crawlies for a long time.

***

I mentioned the problem I am having with my cell-phone battery. I had already tried Radio Shack, to no avail, and even though I had purchased the phone there, they no longer represented Verizon Wireless. And, despite the fact that they have for years touted themselves as the place you could always find unique electronics batteries, they didn't carry a replacement.

Last night I made it by the Verizon Wireless store.

They don't carry batteries.
They no longer have the program that I am currently under.
I needed to buy a new phone and sign-up for a 2-year contract.

I think I just might get a new phone/contract, but with Sprint, not Verizon.

***

The owner called me last night and asked if I would be interested in resuming Sunday night dispatch duties. That was a toughie. I need the money but I still haven't even come close to recovering from my "incident" at the end of July. I can now barely make it through my 5 nights as it is. While not physically tasking, dispatching is a major stress center and I just don't have the reserves to accomplish it. Plus I could risk missing my "normal" days. I truly felt bad when I declined. On Sundays he has the phone until 9p, when a night driver takes over. No one is scheduled for Sunday so it is a hassle to get someone to take it. Kimo told me that he would take it until a returning driver, Joel, can start doing his share at the end of the month.

Sounds like things might work out.

***

One OGG
One Ma'alaea to north Kihei
One pu-pu
One bar-close
Zero "dog-watch"

"And thats all she wrote".

Thats actually pretty normal for the week following Labor Day. We should see some increase in tourist business this weekend. The resorts normally book as many "groups" as they can, at extremely discounted rates. Not that we are going to be swamped, by any means, but just a bit more active than the past couple of shifts.

I did hear that day-shift had an extraordinary amount of OGG's, which made their day. We'll see how this weekend goes.

4 fares / 83 miles / 4th quarter below $100 bracket

***

TRIVIA

There are no seagulls in Hawai'i.
Mau'i had cowboys (paniolos) over a half-a-century before the mainland did.

***

Everyone have a fantastic day! Hope to see you again tomorrow.

Mahalo

Aloha

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Makawa
Upcountry Mau'i

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

ONCE AGAIN

GRAVEYARD SAVED THE NIGHT

Gas dropped another 2-cents. When I was in Lahaina on Saturday night the price was $3.549. In Kula, on Sunday, it was $3.529. Kihei was $3.579 on those days.

As anticipated, it was very slow last night. Labor Day ends our summer vacation season and we enter the doldrums until Christmas. As slow as this past year has been, it is foreboding to guess what the next, almost, 4 months will be like. We will spike on Halloween. I can usually take home between $300-$400 on that night, working Lahaina. Also, Thanksgiving week in November is always good and marks the part of the year when we are a ghost town. Monday following Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November) until 5 days before Christmas is the absolute slowest time of the year. Thats also when drivers quit to find more substantial employment. Thus reducing the driver pool and leaving what little there is available to those of us who are there all year round.

7 fares / 67 miles / 3rd quarter below $100 bracket

***

Just as I was getting off this morning, I spied that a cane field was being burnt for harvest today. The field was close to the home in north Kihei. I took the picture (left) from about 6 miles away. It looked like the mushroom cloud associated with a "nuke". There was no wind and as the smoke hit the thermo-cline it began reflecting the flames. You'll need to look at the fullsize image and scroll to the lower center.

This an enhanced cropped/blowup.

Digital cameras just don't do justice to this type of night shot. You need a long exposure film camera.

***

Mahalo

Aloha

THE PICTURE GALLERY

Makawao
Upcountry Mau'i

Annual Fourth Of July Parade
Makawao

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

A LABOR DAY WALKABOUT

OF MY NEIGHBORHOOD

Few words today. My friend and landlord Van and his family went walkabout around our section of Kihei yesterday. This is a selection of some of the images they took. Gives you a "feel" of where I live.

Just a few doors north is a new housing complex nearing completion.