Adventures in Paradise - Part 2

Rain started on Sunday afternoon, October 4. After lunch, we went back to Suzi’s and took a nap. Loved hearing the rain on the roof and dropping from the eaves.

In the evening, we watched one of our favorite movies, The Princess Bride, while the rain continued. Very cozy.

On Monday, after breakfast, we drove to Kehei to visit the Kalama Heights retirement home. We had mentioned it in our latest Agapé Jones mystery, and Suzi arranged for a meeting with one of the people who works there. It reminded me of Del Obispo Terrace where we do Care and Share with the residents. It is the perfect place for our character to have chosen.

Following our visit, we went to the Five Palms Restaurant to meet the guy who is the inspiration for Agapé Jones. We met him in 2005 at the Maui Writers Conference and immediately decided we had to write a character based on him. Because he is a retired detective, we can’t use his real name, so I’ll call him ‘Agapé.’ We decided early on that we are ‘ohana’ (Hawaiian for ‘family—blood relations or not). Every time we get to Maui, we try to see him. Suzi has read our mysteries and indicated she wanted to meet the ‘real’ Agapé Jones.

We were seated when he arrived. As soon as he spotted Suzi, he said, “Well, hello!” Turns out, they already knew each other. Suzi just hadn’t recognized his name. (I told you, she knows EVERYONE on the island!)

We had a lovely lunch, and enjoyed spending time with our friends, as always.

We returned to Suzi’s early in the afternoon to prepare for the big Celebrity Password party in the evening. She had invited friends (a couple of whom we had met at First Friday or at the show) for the potluck supper and to play the game. What fun!

She told us ahead of time to think up the names of eight famous people ( living or dead, real or fictional, from any sector) whom everyone would recognize. We had noted our choices ahead of time in order to be ready.

Before the party, Suzi heated her main dishes and Larry prepared his famous pineapple boats.

When the others arrived (with their dishes), we all wrote down each of our names on a separate 3x5 card (printed horizontally) and folded them so about ¼ inch of card remained on one side for ease of opening. Then we put them in a big bowl for the game.

We started with the main course and salads, and we got to know our fellow players.

Then we divided into two teams of six each. Larry and I had to be on separate teams so there were ‘newbies’ on each team.

A representative from each team drew a token to see who went first, and one of the players from the starting team grabbed a handful of cards from the bowl. When the timer (from the opposite team) gave them the start, they had one minute to get their team to identify as many names as possible. In the first round, we could use as many words as we wanted to describe the person as long as we didn’t use any part of their name.

As each name was correctly identified, the player threw the cards onto the floor. If they didn’t know the person, they could use charade-style clues to try to get the others to get to the name. When time was called, any remaining cards (including a last one not yet guessed) were returned to the bowl.

The cards on the floor were collected by the team.

The same process was repeated on the other side. Player by player, the cards were opened, clues given, and names identified until the bowl was emptied. Then each team tallied the names they had identified. (My team won the first round.)

Then the second round began, only this time, we were allowed only two words to identify the person. The advantage was we had already heard all the names at least once. (Some were duplicated, so they were even easier.) Gestures became more important in this round, which my team won again.

Then we took a break for dessert. I got the makings for Chiquita Valdez sundaes--a favorite dessert from CF Braun & Co in the '70s and '80s (coffee ice cream with crushed pineapple and chopped bananas, topped with whipped cream). In addition to Larry’s pineapple boats, we had homemade cookies and pie and other goodies.

Thus fortified, we started the last and final round, where we were allowed no words, only gestures. Larry found this round much easier, for some reason, and his team took the round.

It wasn’t about winning or losing. It was about all the laughing and fun.

By the end of the evening, my cough had returned with a vengeance (no doubt, spurred on by all the laughter).

The next morning, I started feeling badly again. We caught a morning flight to Honolulu to meet our friends, Len and Luanna Rugh. By the time the plane landed, I knew I was ill again. Rats!

More about the Honolulu portion of the trip next week.