THE ALOHA SPIRIT IS NOT ACCIDENTAL

[schlomo]

The Aloha Spirit Is Not Accidental

The other day while I was pacing about at a parking lot until the line at the Hawaii Theater dwindled, I witnessed two car incidents, the first one perhaps precipitating the second one. On a two-way street, a motorist furiously tooted another driver ahead of him. After the beeping ended, the man who had to endure the racket, perhaps unnerved by the rude driver (tooting in highly trafficked Honolulu is taboo), soon accidentally slammed into the front door of a parked car that a woman had just opened. The collision caused her damaged door to get stuck almost all the way out. The other driver’s vehicle was badly dented, but his car was otherwise intact.

If it weren’t for the tooting, could the man otherwise have stopped in time to avoid the mishap? Or was he careless or just clueless? Why wasn’t the woman aware that a car was coming by next to the driver’s door as she pushed it open? What was her state of mind at that moment? Could the accident have been avoided, or was it just instantaneously inevitable?

Although I can’t answer any of these questions, I do know that both unharmed drivers displayed the Aloha spirit. There were no harsh words or threatening looks. No one was visibly agitated. I saw no signs of repressed road rage at first or in the aftermath. Civility ruled as both people exchanged insurance information and patiently waited either for the police and/or for a tow.

I was also gratified later on to see that the man repeatedly tried to force the woman’s damaged car door back into place to fend off any further collisions from other vehicles trying to get around the accident. When he realized that the door would remain dangerously ajar, he enabled the woman to steer the car into a safer area adjacent to the parking lot. What a mensch! I could tell that the woman greatly appreciated his efforts. Although I wasn’t close enough to hear anything she mumbled, I saw her facial muscles relax, and she leisurely waited for assistance. The man could have driven away, but he stayed close to her, at least initially.

I wasn’t privy to what else occurred because it was time to enter the theater. So I didn’t know how long the man remained with the woman. But I suspect that he waited until help came.

The Aloha Spirit may get frayed at times, but its threads are resilient and deeply rooted in the Hawaiian psyche.