https://community.aarp.org/t5/Leisure-Lifestyle/LIFE-IS-AN-EXHIBITION-IN-WAIKIKI/m-p/2512227#M12086 <P><STRONG>Life is an Exhibition in Waikiki</STRONG></P><P>Yesterday on my routine walk, I encountered lots of unselfconscious people.</P><P>First, an emaciated young Hari Krishna devotee wearing a monkish wardrobe suddenly took off his shirt, revealing his scrawny chest and exposed ribs. Then he began to mumble a mantra; and in a trance-like state, he passed by me, evidently unaware of my presence.</P><P>As I was approaching the Ala Wai Boulevard, I saw a middle-aged man running backward on the sidewalk abutting the polluted Ala Wai canal. Even though he looked at ease as he maneuvered dangerously close to the edge of the waterway, I was so apprehensive about his safety that I couldn’t watch him anymore.</P><P>Rounding the bend, I saw a much younger man who was boldly walking ahead of me. Despite the heat, he wore a ski mask with a tangled hank of rainbow-colored hair sprouting from a hole at the top of the covering. Above his baggy pants he wore a frayed yellow short-sleeved T-shirt over a faded red long-sleeved flannel shirt. He strode onward, confidant in his outlandish outfit.</P><P>Near the end of my route, I saw a sturdy old woman across the street furiously running in place while she waited for a red light to change. Her legs almost banged against her chin. I hoped that she wouldn’t hurt herself as a martyr to her strict regimen, but she was unfazed in her frenzy.</P><P>Just before I reached my Leisure Heritage condo, I spied a jolly elfin homeless person effortlessly pushing a super-sized shopping cart that overflowed with his bulging trash bags. There wasn’t enough room for both of us to pass one another on the sidewalk, so I graciously stepped aside on the grass. The man was so pleased with my courtesy that he grinned, vigorously nodded his head, and stomped his feet in apparent delight.</P><P>Henry David Thoreau in <STRONG><EM>Walden</EM> </STRONG>proclaimed that he admired nonconformists: <SPAN>“</SPAN><SPAN>If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” </SPAN>Well, Thoreau would appreciate the spectacle of unapologetically odd folks populating the streets of Waikiki.</P><P><STRONG>&nbsp;</STRONG></P> Thu, 10 Aug 2023 21:15:01 GMT schlomo 2023-08-10T21:15:01Z https://community.aarp.org/t5/Leisure-Lifestyle/LIFE-IS-AN-EXHIBITION-IN-WAIKIKI/m-p/2512227#M12086 <P><STRONG>Life is an Exhibition in Waikiki</STRONG></P><P>Yesterday on my routine walk, I encountered lots of unselfconscious people.</P><P>First, an emaciated young Hari Krishna devotee wearing a monkish wardrobe suddenly took off his shirt, revealing his scrawny chest and exposed ribs. Then he began to mumble a mantra; and in a trance-like state, he passed by me, evidently unaware of my presence.</P><P>As I was approaching the Ala Wai Boulevard, I saw a middle-aged man running backward on the sidewalk abutting the polluted Ala Wai canal. Even though he looked at ease as he maneuvered dangerously close to the edge of the waterway, I was so apprehensive about his safety that I couldn’t watch him anymore.</P><P>Rounding the bend, I saw a much younger man who was boldly walking ahead of me. Despite the heat, he wore a ski mask with a tangled hank of rainbow-colored hair sprouting from a hole at the top of the covering. Above his baggy pants he wore a frayed yellow short-sleeved T-shirt over a faded red long-sleeved flannel shirt. He strode onward, confidant in his outlandish outfit.</P><P>Near the end of my route, I saw a sturdy old woman across the street furiously running in place while she waited for a red light to change. Her legs almost banged against her chin. I hoped that she wouldn’t hurt herself as a martyr to her strict regimen, but she was unfazed in her frenzy.</P><P>Just before I reached my Leisure Heritage condo, I spied a jolly elfin homeless person effortlessly pushing a super-sized shopping cart that overflowed with his bulging trash bags. There wasn’t enough room for both of us to pass one another on the sidewalk, so I graciously stepped aside on the grass. The man was so pleased with my courtesy that he grinned, vigorously nodded his head, and stomped his feet in apparent delight.</P><P>Henry David Thoreau in <STRONG><EM>Walden</EM> </STRONG>proclaimed that he admired nonconformists: <SPAN>“</SPAN><SPAN>If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” </SPAN>Well, Thoreau would appreciate the spectacle of unapologetically odd folks populating the streets of Waikiki.</P><P><STRONG>&nbsp;</STRONG></P> Thu, 10 Aug 2023 21:15:01 GMT https://community.aarp.org/t5/Leisure-Lifestyle/LIFE-IS-AN-EXHIBITION-IN-WAIKIKI/m-p/2512227#M12086 schlomo 2023-08-10T21:15:01Z https://community.aarp.org/t5/Leisure-Lifestyle/LIFE-IS-AN-EXHIBITION-IN-WAIKIKI/m-p/2512335#M12092 <P>Good day, schlomo! I wonder what your island is seeing regarding Maui? Any info you see and might post would be helpful.</P><P>&nbsp;</P><P>#StaySafe</P> Fri, 11 Aug 2023 22:50:55 GMT https://community.aarp.org/t5/Leisure-Lifestyle/LIFE-IS-AN-EXHIBITION-IN-WAIKIKI/m-p/2512335#M12092 WebWiseWoman 2023-08-11T22:50:55Z