aloha nui loa
After very little consideration, I am declaring that my 40th New Year was my best ever. No doubt there are some fun ones scattered back among the foggy middle decades--the details of 1988 and 1989 on Orange Grove come into focus to take a close second place--but 2012-13 has offered a whole new game to play. At sunset on Monday we went back down the hill to Poipu Beach Park , under downy pink ribbons of sky. Several more folks than usual wandered down with us. The noise from the beach rose as the light faded; it was the melodious electric racket of a 3000-person picnic. We rounded the bend and saw across the first cove a mess of tent canopies, white floodlights, zig-zaging grown ups and kids, sporadic fountains of rainbow sparks from roman candles. Live reggae music drifted across the water on a ruffle of wind. Barefoot, shirtless little scamps on the roadside flicked bang-snaps at us and the aroma of visiting taco trucks wafted around as if on visible cartoon squiggles. Here's P...