It was a chill day all round.
A good day.
A leisurely loquacious morning with a new housemate.
Later… a lazily languid and largely laconic drive.
My sweetheart then chimed in… in fine form.
At around 10:27 PM my sweetheart responded to my “Hey sweetheart, how’s your day going?” and reported a fine start to her fine day shouting “I LOVE YOU!” in text before calling and joining my jolly drive on the car’s sound system. Her loving voice coming through cool and clear as I made my windward way to the north shore.
The north shore.
It’s been I don’t know how long since I’ve hung out on Oahu’s north shore. Where I once live long ago. Over ten years ago. Oh, I’ve been up for a gig or two in 2018 with Tommy and the band for one or another “Boogie on the Back Porch” at the Surf n Sea.
Joe Green is such a hoot.
But today’s plan had loads of extra time and I took it. Yes, I drove slow and yes, the windows were down. I smelled the orchids, saw all the sights and I even pulled over on occasion to take in all that this my lovely island has to offer my visual and otherwise experiential cortex.
It was glorious.
Cruising by the circus that is the pipeline surfing competition (just happening to be happening today) I took to people watching, as is my want. Might as well want to, since I’ve no choice among the cars crawling by the masses of surfers (and surf watchers) in search of sufficient swells.
I got the time.
In that time I got, I make it to the ultimate surfing tourist town that is Haleiwa. And yet another opportunity to watch. People doing what it is that people do. You know… things n stuff. It’s an hour before my meeting so I make it over to Celestial Natural Foods to check out the vegan cafe in the back. It’s always been a favorite spot. A great place for a tasty sandwich.
I’m being my usual social self as I order a breakfast tofu-scramble sandwich with avocado and vegan cheese and suddenly hear a voice behind me.
“Brian von Ahsen?”
I turn to find a young man I don’t recognize and yet I think I recognize his name. Yea, I do… but my memory is a bit sketchy. He asks me about what I’m up to with music and I give him my boilerplate spiel about the usual creative things n stuff I’m up to. Nice kid. He introduces me to some other pleasant young man who’s a DJ and they both invite me to an event at Ong King later this evening. I politely decline citing a previous engagement and turn back to be told I need to finish my order before they can start making my sandwich.
Fine. I got loads of time. What a fine day.
The woman taking my order answers my query as to how long this particular manifestation of a vegan cafe has been open (not long) and I mention that I remember my good friend Chip “started this place” or some such thing and I hear a sudden grunt from a man next to me who quickly and gruffly says…
“I started this place… in 1974! I own this place.”
“I’m sorry” (I truly am) “What’s you name sir?”
“Carter.”
“Hi Carter, I’m Brian.”
I stick out my hand and the guy takes it like a cold fish. I go back to the woman taking my order and then for some reason turn back to the man who’s name I’d immediately forgotten but of course I have no shame.
“I’m sorry, what’s your name again sir?”
The guy looks at me with profound incredulity.
“Walter.”
“Hi Walter, I’m sorry but I’m in a kind of odd but fun space today.”
“My name is Carter.”
“Oh… ok. Sorry Carter.”
The man walks away without comment. I turn back to the woman taking my order.
“Oops, I think I pissed him off a bit.”
The woman smiles and says…
“I should thank you. I’m going be calling him Walter all day now. That’ll really piss him off.”
What a fine day.
Blessed…
m(___)m
