Gone Green

 


...Mike McGovern also worked in the office.  His partner Shoji had a noodle factory, (‘In a Shanghai Noodle Factory’ playing in my head,) in town and they lived way up in a downtown high rise.  Mike’s family owned a vacation house out Chinamans Hat Island way, north of Kahaluu. It was snugged in among papaya and mango trees, mountain apple and star fruit with a path leading to the shore where coconut palms flourished. 

We went to a party there along with Uncle Lynn who happened to be in the islands.  Mike and Shoji put out a wonderful meal in the shade of the trees to likely 15 guests.  After, everybody ambled to the beach toward a dilapidated boat dock that was knee deep submerged in the incoming tide. 

Lynn was strolling along the water’s edge when he spotted a coconut laying in the sand.  He picked it up and cracked it open and took a deep drink of coconut water.  Which was rotten.  Of course it was rotten.  Who knows how long it’d been rolling in the surf.  Lynn, who habitually sniffed his food before eating.  Always. My entire life.  Except for this one time. I was so glad to be there.

We three had a huge laugh at him.  He'd gone that green color like the time Betsy and I took hungover him on the Octopus at Jantzen Beach, Famous last words:  “Oh, this isn’t so bad. “

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