It’s A Small Island
Heritage Paper
“I’ll tell you the story of how my father first met your grandmother,” my dad said eagerly.
Since both of my grandfathers have passed away, I rarely get the chance to hear stories like these. I listened to him speak with great interest.
“It was bright, humid, day in the city of Kahului, Maui during the spring of 1939. Even though this city was big, the population wasn’t. In the town, a small, rusty sign that read A & B Commercial Company swayed in the light wind. They sold everything from building to plumbing materials. This store is where grandpa used to work. He established friendly relationships with his co-workers, as he worked six out of the seven days a week. I knew two of them by name; Uncle Sammy and Uncle Jeff. Anyways, later on in the afternoon, he caught a glimpse of a woman walking into the shop, and couldn’t stop staring.”
“He saw her for the first time in this store. She was a full-figured woman wearing white shorts and a light pink blouse. Her dark hair had volume and fell just past her shoulders. Her delicate lips were painted in a deep coral pink. She stood no more than 5'4", however her two-inch sandals gave her a nice boost. Despite the fact that this was a small city, he had never seen her before and didn’t know any of her family. She entered the shop and didn’t pause to wander down any of the aisles or ask any questions. Instead, she walked straight to the back of the shop and talked with Uncle Sammy for a little while, then briskly left. Dad was puzzled. He was really interested in getting to know her but didn’t know when she would be coming back. All he could do was wait.”
“Next week Wednesday, through the tinted and dusty picture window framing the front of the store, he saw her approaching; the same woman he so closely observed during their previous brief encounter. He was determined to meet her. Disappointingly, though, this visit was no different from the last; she walked straight to the back of the shop, spoke with uncle Sammy for a few minutes, then left.”
“Confused, grandpa wondered if she was in a relationship with uncle Sammy, even though he had told him he was single. ‘No’, he thought, he wouldn’t lie about things like that. With all of these thought plaguing his mind, he had trouble concentrating on everything for the next few days, especially work. Realizing that he couldn’t remain in this sad, moping, state for much longer, he made a vow and decided that he would talk to uncle Sammy the next day at work. He wanted to ask him a favor; to introduce him to his lovely lady friend.”
“Dad walked into the shop the next day feeling nervous. ‘Sammy?’ He said.
‘Yea?’
‘I”ve had my eye on that lady who comes into this store every so often and talks with you; the full-figured one with nice curves. I’d really like to get to know her. Could you introduce me since you’re a friend of hers right?’”
“Sammy, with a puzzled yet shocked look on his face, exclaimed. ‘Oh I’m a friend of hers alright. And that’s no lady, that’s my sister!’”
“Embarrassed, all he could muster was a shy ‘Oh’. Sammy reassured him that it was fine and agreed to introduce her to him. Grandpa did know some of her family after all. Like I said, Kahului, Maui was a small city. Anyways, a few weeks after they met, they both decided to go golfing at the local driving range; they were both fans of the sport. Grandpa, trying to impress her, swung his club and sent the golf ball flying through the air. It landed just short of 150 yards.
‘Nice shot,’ she exclaimed. She then proceeded to pick up her club and got ready to swing. Her powerful shoulders rotated swiftly to the right and then swivelled 180 degrees to the left, finishing her shot. The ball, a mere speck against the bright green grass, gracefully fell just past the 200 yard mark. Grandpa’s jaw dropped. It was this moment that made him realize what an amazing woman she was. He admired her skill for the sport. From then on, he never took his eyes off of her. They spent a lot of time together during the next couple of years, and ended up getting married in the Fall. Aside from the humor and love story aspect of it all, hopefully this story will teach you to be careful of what you say and who you say it to, because on these islands, everyone knows everyone one way or another.”
I found this little story to be humourous with a hidden lesson embedded into it. This is the first time I heard this story, and it’s one that’s not going to be forgotten.
