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F.O.P (Fresh Off da Plane)
POSTED:Tue, June 17, 2008 @ 7:49PM
Rubbah slippahsCultural difference No. 523.I was playing basketball the other night with some of the neighbor kids for a about 10 minutes before I noticed that they were playing with sandals on. I've seen this many times now in cul-da-sac courts and Kalama Park, and it continues to amaze me. Practically from birth, everyone here wears sandals, surippa or rubbah slippahs. And these kids can move. The local boys are as quick as anyone I've seen in $150 Jordan's. I'm not so sure about hops, but I've seen plenty a sweet lay-ups and lightening cross overs. When I tried to play with my own thong (I hate that word when applied to men's footwear.) slippers, I quickly lost them again and again as I tried to keep up with a kid half my age and twice as fast. He literally shook me outta my shoes, which unfortunately put my feet directly on the pavement. Which then led to the rest of me hitting the road. I've been pulling bits of asphalt from my left hand, right knee and both feet for two days now. Sandals are a funny thing to me. They really were something that only women and hippies wore until the whole Birkenstock and then Teva crazes hit the Upper Midwest in the 1990s. Now, it's Crocs. I don't care what anyone says about comfort. I remember another fad that was very comfy; and one day soon people are gonna wake up and realize those butt-ugly Crocs are the Zubas (http://www.zubaz.com/) of this generation. We always called slippahs flip flops or shower shoes when I was a kid in Minnesota. And they were only meant for the beach or relaxing you feet after sports. Adidas flip flops with the little messaging soft-plastic fingers were standard gear for soccer players. And as a side note, one of the interesting things I immediately noticed when I moved here is that, like in Minnesota, people are asked to remove their footwear before entering someone's house. Of course, Far Northerners have mud rooms or small entry ways with benches and shoe racks to accommodate boots covered in ice and muck from our harsh winters and springs. It's about keeping the carpets clean more than anything. And it's a good excuse to always have clean socks. Here, I believe, the custom is a combination of Far East tradition, common-sense respect and the practicality of keeping ubiquitous beach sand out of peoples' homes. I quickly discovered that leaving my shoes outside cuts down on my need to sweep considerably. Nice bonus. But does anyone have any quick treatments for blisters? I'm hiking down to Kalaupapa Thursday morning.
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Chris Hamilton Reporter Chris Hamilton is a University of Minnesota-Twin Cities School of Journalism graduate. In his 12-year career, he wrote and edited for his college paper, The Minnesota Daily, and researched for the Minneapolis Star Tribune full time, at times. His beats included cops, courts, politics and City Hall as well as plenty of feature writing for the Duluth News Tribune. Ham's hometown paper. During that time, he also wrote for the DNT's former parent company, Knight Ridder Newspapers as well as the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He is still officially a stringer for The New York Times, but they haven't called in a while. Hamilton also covered the Red Lake School Shootings and Hurricane Katrina and embedded with the U.S. military in Iraq. He currently is a government reporter for The Maui News. He is also learning to surf. Badly. And play inline hockey. Even worse. He really wants to figure out a way to cross the West Maui Mountains on foot, but only after he naps. A lot.
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