Gladrackets

 Curiosity has become my favorite trait. To put it another way, the realization that curiosity is so fundamental to my being gives me joy.

A man flips a postcard onto the table at a restaurant where I had only moments before leaned over to pet a dog, only to have him nip my face. I grab the postcard, rush to the curb and hand the postcard to the taxi driver, my dinner mates barely jumping in behind me. In half an hour I am cage dancing in a club on the Reeperbahn. A girl steals my purse. My friend finds her in the parking lot and steals it back. I apologize over dinner the next night, and my friend replies “That was GREAT”! 

I step into Beauty 4 You, even though it appears to be for someone else. But how can you know if there’s something you never knew you needed in there, if you’ve never seen it? And surely they have a wide-toothed comb for my  new hairdo and some stuff for curls, right? I am now the happy owner of some African Pride curl mousse. 

My notebook and phone retain curiosities of the now, in trust for the future pleasure. Edward Sullam, who designed the Kaimuki Professional Building also designed the small Diamond Head Apartments, where my friends used to live. Hon Chew Hee designed the cement facade of Holiday Apartments, and now his etching, Wash Day, hangs in our laundry room, which thrills us (and possibly not him).

Curiosity is hope. Recognition of how much I enjoy the pursuit helps me know that I will be ok, no matter what life serves me.

I look up the hill from Beauty 4 You and Annapurna Mart, toward home, where I will enjoy my new purchases.

Note: no photos of the club -- pre-iPhone, and I lost my camera in the taxi.