Hawaii. Land of Ultimate Dreams

part one            By Tito Luv

MY FRIEND JACK BREEN: PART ONE

   With every trip. with every breath. with every stay I have in Hawaii, I fall a little more in love with these precious colorful Islands. Especially Kailua-Kona. Kona (as most people call it) is located on Hawaii, The Big Island.

   These days, my numerous visits to The Big Island of Hawaii are so evenly paced that when I return home I don't dare leave the house for days, because it takes that long to re-acclimate my mind with the real world. Really! Each issue, in our Hawaii section, MPM will serve as your humble tour guide. For instance, we'll visit some of the partying tourist areas which are beautiful, numerous and plentiful. Nonetheless, I'm personally going to take you to the less populated areas on the island. I want you to know the island the way that I know the island. I want you to love the island the way that I've grown to love the island. Please believe me when I say that it's an eye opening experience. "Know what I mean Vern?"

   When I first journeyed to Hawaii, I chose to visit my friend Jack Breen. Jack and his brother Bob (who still lives back east) are like younger brothers to me. In fact, we go back years. we were both originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But that was a long time ago. That was then and this is now. Today, we are both middle-aged men (darn)! Well as time would have it, I asked him to do me a special favor and I told Jack this long before I paid a dollar towards the purchase of an airplane ticket. What I had asked him was that I did not want to visit Hawaii like an ordinary tourist. Heck, I could do that at home back in California. I said that I wanted to slowly take in the entire island, sort of get away from the hustle-bustle of the crowd. Just call me Tito the Explorer!

   Please do not misunderstand my motives. After all, I had done thorough research on the Big Island and by doing it this way I learned that Hawaii's diversity is revealed through activities that are charged with the "Spirit of the Islands". an alternative Hawaii!

   The information I spied on line (the Internet), in tourist brochures or by word of mouth taught me a lot. I read about Kailua-Kona: North and South Kona, North and South Kohala, Kealakekua Bay (the site of death for the famous Captain Cook) and the districts of Hilo, Hamakua and Puna. Then, there's Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Botanical Gardens. The Jungle (pronounced "YPO") is exciting and straight out of a Hollywood Movie!

   Everybody who's anybody has probably heard of the legendary Royal Kona Coffee Mill & Museum where the tantalizing smell of roasting coffee and the lure of a free cup still thrills the multitudes! Oh, did I forget to tell you about the great Island Snorkeling? And please let's not forget that there's a Category of Activities like: Adventures & Tours, Alternative Healing, Beaches, Entertainment, Historic Hawaii, Museums/Galleries, Nature, Rentals, Auto/outdoors, Seniors/Children, Shopping, Sports and Recreation, Travel Services and weddings.

   Of course, travelers can choose The Big Island, Lanai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Kauai. Yes, six delicious islands of fun. But, I wanted to first look at this wonderful spot as a local and I wanted to do it on Kona.

   For my first journey, I'd decided way ahead of time to privately explore this magnificent collection of land step by step. I felt that this way I could learn the people, the way the average citizen lived from day to day and also the way business is conducted on all levels.

   Furthermore, I asked Jack if I could first visit the business section of town and also, the non-commercial areas in a low-keyed investigative manner. After awhile I realized my good fortune. It shined down on me as though it were a special message sent from the sky above, especially because Jack Breen lived on Kona and Kona was a great spot to begin my journey. He lives there with his wife Orawan, daughter Emily and son Hugh, a wonderful foursome indeed! But hold on for a minute my friends. Let us not get the cart before the horse. I think that I should definitely start my story at the very beginning, which of course is the landing of my airplane, the arrival of MPM's representative to the Big Island. I'd come for ten days and I had no intention of leaving until I had a good idea just what life is like on the island.

IN THE BEGINNING:

   Jack Breen is a likeable guy. He's a musician, a religious family man and an entrepreneur who owns his own glass company. This humble family man will replace the windows in your house or office building and he'll also create the fancy glass you see in what else. the fancy hotels. But my pal, like most of my friends, is extremely eccentric. For example, one minute he is picking me up at the airport welcoming me to the wonderful land of Hawaii, while at the same time placing three lovely colorful Hawaiian "Leis" around my neck while carefully whispering in my ear, "Tito, when you go home, you can tell the folks in California that you were only here for five minutes and already you've been laid three times already. and the next minute, he tells me about the wonders of God and how magnificent god is! Like I said before, most of my friends are intelligent, educated and eccentric. But what else can you expect from a BABY BOOMER?

   After climbing aboard his huge truck, I was immediately informed that our next stop would be at a special garbage disposal where used glass could be disposed of. While Jack unloaded the glass I bravely sat in the truck exploring the area. That's when I first noticed a strange looking character about ten feet away. It was small and looked like a miniature weener dog. I was definitely surprised to see the little fellow had a collar and lease applied properly.

   "Well Tito, I have finally emptied all of the glass. "Where would you like to go now and what would you like to see before we head home?" Jack Breen announced as he climbed back into his huge truck.

   "Actually, my good friend, I'd like to know what that little creature is. that one over there; the one running up and down that ledge eating out of that tiny doggie dish? If  that strange creature is a wiener dog, what on earth could it protect an Oscar Meyer Wiener wrapper?"

   And that's when my eccentric friend began to roar with laughter. The man was delighted for what I thought was no reason.

   "Tito, old buddy, old chum, that is what we call a mongoose."

   "A mongoose!" Gee Jack, I've never actually seen one of them up close before. Don't you think that they look like a wiener dog?"

   On that afternoon, two old friends shared a deep long laugh all the way to a private dock where he filled up his truck with gasoline and at the same time approached his friend's boat looking to purchase fresh fish, known as the catch of the day!

TO THE CITY:

   Jack Breen and MPM's Publisher (ahh, that be me) rode slowly through Kona's business district. It was very exciting riding down a street in Hawaii after all these years of merely dreaming about it. And as far as Jack and I were concerned, we hadn't really seen one another for about seventeen or eighteen years, never could quite decide the actual amount of years. However, it certainly didn't deter the friendship and affection of two long lost friends.

   The ride towards Jack's humble abode for me was an earth shaking experience. The people, the "day to day" action of the local citizens, and the out of sight island scenery, it was almost too much to bare. I'd waited a long time to enjoy Hawaii. Although, this Publisher/Editor has traveled around the world. this is his first time in Hawaii. Folks, the love that I felt that day was just unbelievable and my first impression shall always remain somewhere in the fondest memory of my mind. MPM