Aloha (On My Return)

I got home (physically into my house) just over an hour ago. Aside from checking my e-mail twice via my brother's T-Mobile Sidekick, I went eleven days without the Net and loved it.

Our vacation was mildly hectic, spending the first two days at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental (featuring a bust of Jack Lord, who apparently frequented the hotel), the next five on Maui, and the last two at the Hawai'i Prince Waikiki--site of my first trip to Hawai'i (native spelling, pronounced properly by Tom Selleck on "Magnum, P.I.") four years ago.

Despite the pace, I enjoyed myself thoroughly, remembering to make the most of each moment (including the plane rides and baggage claim). One highlight of the trip for me was overhearing a local vocalist's cover of Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby." I was standing across from the Cheeseburger in Paradise on Front Street, Maui, and had to sing along.

Alluding to the song "Cheeseburger," while visiting a Maui art gallery, my cousin Gene and I were schmoozed by a salesman who looked like Jimmy Buffett. Of course, a few days later, back in Honolulu, I saw someone who looked like Joe Mantegna at Wolfgang Puck Express.

Another highlight was watching the Pistons thump the Lakers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, a defeat that spelled the end of Phil and (I hope) Shaq and Kobe in L.A. See my story "Forgive Me Not" (right, under Publications) for more.

Speaking of my stories, my one spending splurge was a $21 t-shirt from Crazy Shirts picturing a plane that resembles a Grumman Goose, the favored plane of my character, C.J. Stone. The shirt reads, "Get away from it all on the Tropic Express. Paradise is just a flight away."

The thread running through this entry? Just get me close, and imagination will do the rest.