There is little doubt in my mind that we will reach the milestone of 109,000 visits (page-views) to this blog in the next twenty-four hours. This is mainly due to the diligent activity of pirates in the US and in Sweden. There isn't much I can do about it at the moment, and I would rather think (and write) about other things.
One day, when I was about three or four years old, my maternal grandmother was showing me pictures in a "Book of Knowledge-" type book. She had been an elementary-school teacher, and she did this kind of thing naturally. I would have to say that she contributed as much to my pre-school education as did my mother.
Anyway, Gran was showing me lots of pictures from around the world. When we came to Hawaii, I saw a picture of men, wearing plain lava-lavas, working on what must have been a dugout canoe. I became quite excited, and asked my grandmother why they were dressed that way. She said, "because they're Hawaiian men." I had never heard of such a thing, at least in this life.
Later that day, during my nap time, I stood up on my little bed and wrapped the rubber sheet around my hips like a lava-lava or pareo. I then proceeded to stomp around on the bed with the rubber sheet wrapped around me, playing like I was a "Hawaiian man."
As luck would have it, just at that moment my mother came in. She asked me what I was doing, and I said, "I'm a Hawaiian man."
Let us now fast-forward to when I was sixteen. In that critical self-discovery time (remember, this was the late 1950s), I had a dream or, more likely, a reincarnational flash involving sex on a beach with a young female. We were both wearing short, gaily-printed pareos. I have always, unwaveringly, associated this dream or flash with Tahiti, and I still do today.
It is perhaps understandable then, that I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Polynesia. I have visited Hawaii, Fiji, and New Zealand. Over the years I have exposed myself (hehe) to various Polynesian languages. I prefer those of the Tahitic group to the Samoic (including Samoan) and Marquesan (including Hawaiian) outliers. At present I am trying to arrive at a form of Tahitic Polynesian that will please me and be widely understood. I shall share my progress with you.
As always, thanks to all of you for your continued interest and enthusiasm.
Text and image Copyright © 2021 by Donald C. Traxler aka Donald Jacobson Traxler.
