Pau Hana

Pau Hana was Originally Posted on July 7, 2005 by lavarock

Sometimes you have to remember the saying “pau hana”.

I have just read a few interesting postings on the KonaWeb site.

The first involves all of the famous people who own homes here in Hawaii and on this island. They range from Graham Nash to Oprah and Woody Harrelson to Steve Case. Why I hear Bill Gates even owns a place just past Kona. Each island has its share of celebrities.

Then I read a note from an “IT” person, wondering if there was any work for him here. IT is short for Information Technology (he’s a computer geek just as I was). I suggested that Hawaii is NOT the place to look for IT jobs. Oh, there are a few jobs available, but he would have a better change finding work removing viruses from PCs or building web sites for people than by wiring networks or managing mainframes; especially on the Big Island (which was his destination).

Finally, a woman asked if her silver would tarnish more by being here (I guess being near the volcano and ocean). The general answer was not whether it would tarnish; rather why she was bring it here to begin with. Excluding sentimental reasons, silver silverware is just a bit too formal for a place where we eat outside on the lanai, perhaps with our fingers and it is not uncommon to cook in a hole in the ground

Moving and living in Hawaii takes a bit of a change. Many of the things that are important elsewhere are just not as important here.

People are often encouraged to dress the same for both weddings and funerals, that is, in casual aloha wear. Oh you might put on long pants for a funeral. In my case, I wore a slightly less loud shirt, but it was still a Hawaiian shirt at a funeral.

Most of what people think is important and needed here, will end up sitting in a corner unused. I met a couple that is still wondering why they spent thousands of dollars to ship antique furniture here. It warped and is not in that great of shape anymore.

Fancy dishes, silverware and antiques might do well on the mainland, but it might be construed as an insult to people who stretch their earnings to shop at Wal-Mart.

So why do famous people buy land here? Why did Jimmy Stewart buy a farm south of Kona? Why would they build a house so far from Hollywood or where they spend their time? Pau Hana? Perhaps it is to get away from the big parties and fancy silverware. Perhaps it is to hide from the press and to be treated as a neighbor than a star.

What does “Pau Hana” mean? Done with work. Now the fun can begin! Perhaps keeping up the fancy parties is work? I’ll let you decide!