Da kine word/frayze/turm uv da dey: shaka, part 2.
As the Hawaiian version of Paul Harvey would say, “An nau, heah da ress uv da stohree:”
And now, back at da ranch: I had just finished talking about watching Elvis flash da hang loose/shaka sign to the whole world in January of 1973.
Two years later, I returned home to Hilo; and now, given what I said in part 1, imagine the following scenario: I was walking by Hilo Intermediate School when some kid yelled at me: “Shaka, onkel!”
I stopped dead in my tracks and thought (wot dat buggah wen tehl?) (what’d he say?). I gave dat punk my bess Hilo steenk eye, but, he was smiling at me and flashing da eesahlay sign, so I just kept on truckin’.
As anyone knows, when in need of expert advice, you go to a bar, right? Lol! My destination that day was my local watering hole, The Green Door (in the ol’ Kaiko’o Mall), so I figured I would get to the bottom of this mystery.
I wen wok eensai da playce weyah erybuddy no my nay’m an I wen ass dem: “Wot da scoops wit dat?” (I walked in the joint where everyone knows my name and asked for help.)
After they all had a laugh at my expense, they gave me their versions; and over the course of four or five”Olys” I wen reeahlyz dat dey dohdohno nuteen! (they had no clue!)
None of them had seen the movie “Zulu” and the looks on their faces when I pressed for more info as to when and where they had first seen the sign or heard the term was priceless! So, since 1975, I have been on a quest to solve this mystery!
Think about it friends, all of us use the gesture and are kinda proud to claim it and the terms shaka/hang loose as ours! Hawaii’s signature! But none of us know the origins! Huh?!
I shot off letters to the Advertiser and Bulletin typewriter jockeys and they either didn’t bother to answer or just stuck by their (Oahu) versions! Ass why hahd dees wun! (no help/frustration!)
Then, along comes “Da Mayah uv Honolulu,” Meestah Frank Fasi. He flashed da shaka mo den enee udah buggah een Hawaii nei! ( He flashed da shaka more than a Waikiki beach boy!) Ha! He put it on every Oahu County construction sign, he put it on all his bumper stickers, and he used it at every photo op! He wuz da “Shaka Mayah!”
Then, the guy who was mayor for a combined 22 years did two more things. 1. He signed a proclamation (on display at BYU-Hawaii) stating that the Laie guy was the official originator of the gesture. 2. After a political career as a Democrat and later as a Republican (and after both parties snubbed the elder statesman) he formed “The Best Party” (to run for governor — twice!) whose official logo was, yep, you guessed it! An, all us guyz no how dat wen turn out, ah? (We all know how that turned out!)
So, let’s review: Thanks to an African Warrior Emperor, a King from Tupelo, Mississippi, and a local entertainer/used car mogul, we all proudly say, “Shaka/hang loose, brah!”
An, as I wen tehl yu fahlaha eensai paht wun, yu now no eryteen I no abowt shaka! (as I stated in part 1, you now know everything I know) We dohdono nuteen! (we still don’t know nothing!) I juss hohp yu buggahs wen get wun good edjoomahkayshen!
Note: (No fohget fo kokua da “Relay for Life” on July 9. (If you’d like to help the Hawaii Cancer Society with their annual fundraiser, call Anne at 326-4131.)
Pau fo nau.
Nexes wun July 19: Pilau wurds.
