What I Did This Summer

Question: on my vacation to Hawaii, at which merchant did I spend the most time and money? Answer: the hardware store at the bottom of the hill. I like to pay a little more at the local store instead of driving ten miles to the big-box retailers. The local store has been part of the neighborhood for decades, and the person who is never wrong is distantly related to the owners, one of whom went to my high school.

Our relative has a nice view of Honolulu

I replaced the screen door and spent a couple of days taking apart and replacing some plumbing fixtures. Although there is no explicit cost when one stays with a relative, there’s a moral obligation to contribute to the household, especially if the relative is elderly and doesn’t have a lot of help around the house. The rest of the family also chipped in, vacuuming, scrubbing, and pruning, and I was proud of the kids for not complaining when I asked them to put down their electronic toys and do some work.

It was a very satisfying vacation: we left our “hotel” in better shape than when we moved in, we celebrated some landmark birthdays, we put our diets on hold and partook of Hawaii’s rich and varied cuisine, and we did some sightseeing around Oahu.

Oahu has an undeserved reputation for crowded beaches.