The Aloha Way

I've been mulling around in my head the best way to start this post--something that would convey the humor and extreme absurdity of my day yesterday. I didn't come up with any good hook, however, and am, instead going to rely on the events of September the 12th 2009 and your knowledge of my awkwardness around children to create my intended effect.

After running some errands and grabbing lunch in town, Lulu and I hitched our way back to the farm. It was slow going and our third pick-up was a young dad and his three sun-bleached blonde kids. The two girls were immediately fascinated with Lulu and me. (Though, let's be honest, it was probably Lulu's heart-shaped shades that won them over.) How what happened next happened, I'm not really sure but Lulu and I did not make it back to the farm. We ended up baby-sitting. The whole day went pretty much like the picture above.

I mean, I've only been on the island a week and a half and have no way of gauging whether or not hiring two hitch-hikers to look after your adorable children is a common occurrence, but I'm going to chalk it up to The Aloha Way. And, you know what, once i tossed aside my mainland cynicism, it was really nice to live in a reality where you trusted strangers.