Judging
from the angle that this postcard is made from, it seems that the beach
must have been much wider. The sand, that was carted in to widen the
beach, must have washed away. Now there is a concrete walk and fence
there. During the summer, young boys from Waikiki come and jump off
the fence into the water, yelling and laughing. It's wonderful. On the
right side of the picture, behind the server, there are these thorny
bushes that the hotel planted to keep out non-hotel people.
This
postcard is kind of beautiful and disgusting at the same time. On one
hand it is so kitsch. It shows how Waikiki and Hawaiian music has been
so commodified. But on the other, it is a place of my past. When I listened
to music, even on the radio, this is the place it came from. The music
is a stronghold of Hawaiian knowledge - so much of our culture and history
are still there.
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