Old Guys Rule!

On our recent vacation to Hawaii,  we didn't really meet a lot of true "native" Hawaiians.  It seemed like all of the shop owners, waitresses, and hotel workers were "imports" from the mainland United States.

Except for this one old man.  On Kauai.  We met him twice in one hour.  He reminded me of Vance's uncle Nobe who passed away many years ago.

I don't know why I didn't talk with him.  He seemed like such an interesting old man.  Nothing intimidating about him.  And he definitely was very kind.  For some reason,  I got the impression that maybe he didn't speak English (which is probably untrue) or that maybe he was shy.  After all, he didn't speak with me either.  But he didn't seem to mind that I took lots of pictures of him.  If I did talk with him,  I would have had lots of questions.  Now all I can do is speculate about his life.

Let me introduce you to him.

Meet "Old Guy".

I call him this because of the logo on his t-shirt - Old Guys Rule.

I looked up the t-shirt logo to get some insight into Old Guy.

Hmm... Make me wonder even more about his life.

Now that I have you wondering too,  let me tell you all that I know (which isn't much).

On our first full day on Kauai,  we were driving around to see the sights.  It's a very small island that is not extremely commercial or touristy, so there were not a lot of "big" sights to see.  There were a few waterfalls that could be seen without hiking,  so we started with those.

At the second waterfall, I took a few pictures and was heading back to the car when I noticed a motor-powered scooter pull onto the grass.

I should have told you one other thing.  The island of Kauai is kind of like a bird sanctuary.  You are most likely picturing tropical birds. Well, no.  The birds of Kauai are colorful, but not exactly tropical.  

I'll just show you.

So this old man gets off the scooter and every "island bird" in the vicinity comes running to see him.

The basket on the back of his weathered scooter is laden with bags of bread.  While he's wearing a pretty nice layering of shirts,  his pants and work boots are very well used and stained.  Perhaps he had done some painting?  Could he be an artist?

After I took a few pictures,  we got back into the car and headed to our next destination.

The countryside was very pretty, and I noticed a place on the road to pull off for a scenic view.  We stopped.

A few minutes later,  Vance noticed the guy on the scooter pulling in too.

The "birds" must know him,  because they came running!

And he had a smile on his face.  He was happy to receive such a welcome.

I wasn't the only person taking pictures.

This mother made sure her babies got some bread.

He gave them only enough bread that would be readily eaten without excess.  He probably had many more stops on his journey and was rationing his supplies so all of his friends would be fed.

This was the last time we saw him.  

It was NOT the last time we saw his friends.

These feral chickens, wild roosters, or jungle fowl - whatever you call them - are everywhere.  

Cars sit patiently as they cross the road.

It was not unusual to hear a cock-a-doodle-do or two mixed with the sound of the waves at the beach.

They are literally everywhere.

Curious about them,  I went online to find out more.  

When Polynesians came to inhabit the islands many years ago,  they brought chickens along as a food source.  Many sources say the population went wild after Hurricane Iniki in 1992 destroyed chicken coops, releasing domesticated hens and roosters.  Kauai is the only island lacking a natural predator, the mongoose.  They have proliferated since then.

There are way too many for Old Guy to feed, 

even if he made daily rounds. 

I applaud him for his efforts, though.

"There comes a time in your life when comfort meets substance. When all your hard work seems to have paid dividends, and the world is at your command. All the things you hoped you could do someday, you're doing. The toils of youth are now your experiences... no longer the student, but the teacher."

To celebrate your accomplishments we offer up "Old Guys Rule" to be worn as a badge of honor for a life well spent, but not nearly over...

Old Guys Rule!