Didi's Bus Ride

Didi sent me this e-mail describing one of her bus rides:

Yesterday I got on my bus to work, I usually never sit on the seat on the accordion area of the bus, coz when the bus turns, my motion sickness tummy no can handle…so, I sat two rows back. As I sat down, I watched this middle aged Hawaiian guy pull ti leaves out of the bag on the seat next to him…wasn’t sure what he was doing, wasn’t sure what he was making, the ti leaves looked oiled perhaps ?? maybe not, but surely, they were wet as they were shiny.

I watched in amazement as he rolled, rolled and rolled his halved ti leaves, when he came to the end, he stripped the stalk in half with his teeth and pulled pulled tight and tied a knot securing the end of the leaf, tieing a knot with the now two stems and tossed them back into his bag. He did this in rapid motion, very quickly, but very precisely.  I was curious as anything and wanted to sit across from him to ask the question.

Everytime the seat across from him opened up and I was getting the urge to obviously move over there…someone else came on the bus and sat right down. I kept waiting, I kept waiting.  He kept rolloing and rolling.

Oh no, my stop is coming up….please someone get up so that I can move over there……my stop is coming …very close….

I get up the nerve to just walk over there….yes yes…on the accordion moving area…I lean up against the pole..making sure my feet are planted to the ground and that my back is secure leaning up against that also moving pole….

And I ask….”bruddah…what you making??”

“Rosettes”

“Oh, now I can see that, they are so cute”

“Its for a Christmas tree for Martha Stewart”

“Are you kidding me,  MARTHA STEWART?”

“Sistah, actually its for Martha Stewart Living Magazine, they are doing a Continental Holiday feature and approached me about my trees and wreaths, so I am making this one for her staff, so that they can re-create it for the photo shoot.”

“Wowee, congratulations !! what an honor”

“I agreed to do it, because it will be good exposure for our Hawaii”

“Well, what if they cannot re-create it, they gonna send you up to the mainland to teach them?”

“No, sistah, I told them I no fly”

All the while, this kind, warm and sensitive man with the hugest smile ever…….he never stopped rolling and rolling….our conversation went on, all he spoke about was of the opportunity for HAWAII and our people.

I wished I stayed on the bus to chat with him some more……