12/11/2025
S̸̫̑Ň̷͚̏Ē̴̩E̸͉͒͠P̵̣̓̔ ̷͍̆Ṣ̵̎̽N̶̼̖͊Ǫ̷̎R̶͈̺͑̎P̴̗̔͠
I had to get up early to catch a flight and this was the shclooooong face that saw me off. I was headed to Hawaii for my good friend ‘s wedding. You can see in pic 3 that I wore my merch, a great conversation starter…to my chagrin. When I touched down on Oahu I asked the hotel guy (formal name) for a recommendation for some good food. He told me about a dive bar nearby- to set the scene, imagine the bar from cheers next to a marina, same wood and brass but it’s all a tad piratey , ceilings are low, and it smells distinctly of rotting ocean tinged with the acrid piquant of dried beer. I strike up a conversation with a local, he introduces himself as Mikey and asks why I’m dressed like a 4 year old. We talk, or rather he drunkenly half mumbles as I desperately try to understand what he was saying- The topics rapidly changed from transient fishing to Obama to temporary work to just laughing, all interspersed with fish/ location names I have never heard of. At some point we swap slices of pizza, my mind reeling from airplane residue and now Longboard Lager. 20ish minutes later he gets up to leave. I extend my hand and say “nice to meet you Mikey.” WHOOSH. Like a switch went off in his mind, his face falls, his fists clench, I’m now staring into the contorted visage of a madman. “NO ONE CALLS ME MIKEY!!!” I backtrack, I try to desperately explain that THAT was how he introduced himself. His rage grows- I thought I was going to have to fight, I stand up, my ass sticking to the patina of old bar rag on my seat, the pooka beads around my neck swaying to the beat of my thumping heart. The rage fades. Mikey comes back. He turns and wordlessly exits with his pizza box. I hope the rest of my trip is more relaxing.