Enjoyed reading your Hawaii story.
My only connection with Manana is hanging out in the school bathroom, (or was it the park bathroom...maybe?), one evening in 1981 and sitting on the floor smoking a doob listening to music with a few girls. Sounds funny now - going to a bathroom to party. But it was their occasional hangout and I just went along one night. I dated a few girls from that area in the 80s. I took a few of them to Kam Drive-In for a movie. That drive in also became a swap meet on the weekend and it was a great place for football cards and Ram stuff! I remember getting those toy plastic Ram helmets that you could wear, a gold horn and a white horn, for dirt cheap. Football cards and magazines were also cheap back in the mid to late 70s.
Kids in lower Pearl City went to Manana elementary or Highlands elementary. Don't know about how they qualified, I never went to either. For me it was Our Lady of Good Council (nuns, ugh) and Palisades Elementary. Then to Highlands Intermediate for 7th and 8th, followed by Pearl City High School. Some friends from Highlands disappeared when I hit the HS. Some went to Aiea since they may have lived closer to that school... including Newtown. If you went to Highlands Intermediate at any time we may know a few of the same kids or teachers.
As far as being caucasian I got picked on here and there but nothing major. I'm sure some kids knowing that I was an artist would spare me the stress. I got hassled a bit on the last day of school (unaffectionately called "Kill" Haole day) before I decided not to show up that day just to avoid confrontations. So no real scars or ptsd just some uncomfortable memories. Intermediate school was scarier than HS for me. I just avoided bullies and kept a low profile for the most part. I don't know about hated, there were some kids that did, others maybe just disliked the white kids that they didn't know as friends. But not all of them hated, and everyone got teased no matter what race. Yeah I spoke pigeon too, we all did, and a few locals took notice and complimented me, and many referred to me later as "local Haole" so there was more acceptance as I got older.
Since we were from the same area, I remember going to that corner McDonalds a lot. Before the drive-thru was even built. We just stood in one of the 4-5 lines and ordered at the window. EK Fernandez carnivals were at Pacheco Park across the street from McD's. Mom used to shop at Holiday Mart and Foodland, and I did later too. I got my hair cut in that shopping center up until the late 80s. We got gas from the stations in the area. I took my driver's test at that Pearl City police station. Dad worked at that Primo brewery before it closed. I ended up working at Pizza Hut in Pearl City, one of my favorite hangouts before and after I quit. I also worked at that Holiday Mart for some years in the 80s.
I moved away from Hawaii in 2000. In the Rams SB 1999 season I would go to a downtown bar called Players and watch many Ram games there with my small group of friends. One of those guys was Ron Jacobs, a former DJ for KKUA radio station. He was a bit controversial but a die hard Ram fan. He was impressed with my Ram knowledge and I was impressed with his old Ram stories, including driving Deacon to practice once in the 60s. He helped me get an actual game worn Rams jersey after the SB since he knew the Rams' VP of PR Rick Smith. The big stars weren't available so I chose a home Wistrom one, with autograph... $50. They were selling them off kind of inner circle because of the change to navy and gold the next year.
My dad still lives in Hawaii so we go back every other year to visit. Our tradition is waking up early and hitting Leonard's Malasadas. I may visit some old school friends too. Much of it has changed, I wish I took more photos of the old hangouts. My mom thankfully took a lot of pics when we were growing up. Some old sky slide pics, beaches, our yard, cars and birthday-holiday stuff.
