Kamehameha Day - Honolulu, Hawaii

Today is Kamehameha Day, a public holiday in the State of Hawaii (or Hawai'i.) It honors King Kamehameha, who first established the Kingdom of Hawaii, uniting the eight islands.  One of the most important traditions of the holiday is the draping of the statue of King Kamehameha with lots of 25-foot long floral tributes, which are created on site by volunteers throughout the day.  There are also parades, hula competitions and other events.

This photo and the next one were brought back from Hawaii by our favorite mailman, John Korinek, when he was stationed at Fort DeRussy in Honolulu after WWII. (Click here to see the previous post on John the Mailman.) So, this photo would probably from 1946 or 1947. The angle is a little strange, especially as King K. looks as if he has an extra head dress made from a palm tree.

The second photo is of Waikiki Beach, very crowded but missing the big hotels that are there now.  I can only imagine that the beach crowd is related to the military presence.

The Ostrich Dude - Again

Remember the earlier post featuring the Ostrich Dude? Of course not, it was back in February. Here's a link to it, so you can take a look at those dude cards too. I did a little more delving, because I wanted to know more about the significance of the dude.  He seems to have had universal appeal, since the cards were printed with store names from different parts of the country.

I found a reference to the subject in a book called Masculinity and Men's Lifestyle Magazines edited by Bethan Benwell. A chapter of the book features one of the same ostrich dude trade cards from the previous post, but with a Michigan store name printed on the front.  The author, Bill Osgerby, explains that during the late 19th century, fashion had very feminine associations. Debonair and dapper men may have been admired by some, but they were also the object of a certain amount of ridicule.

Osgerby suggests that the term 'dude' was probably derived from the German-American usage of Dudenkopf or idiot. Over the years, male fashions became more acceptable and the term dude largely lost its negative connotations. But at the time these cards were printed (1880s), the dude was still an object of scorn. I also get a sense from these cards that regular guys were afraid that women might fall for the guys wearing fancy clothes.

Note the difference between the real man and our poor dude. The real man is well dressed, but without the embellishments of watch fobs, a monocle, spats, plaid patterns, fancy tails, high collar, and shiny lapel pins. Our real man is also able to fight with his fists; the dude doesn't have any. Poor dude!

San Jose, Costa Rica

I can't say that there's anything beautiful about this postcard, but I found the message amusing.

As a side note, the Banco Anglo Costarricense no longer exists. The bank was closed down  in 1995 after incurring over $200 million in losses due to bad loans and investments in Venezuelan bonds that subsequently disappeared. Oops. A number of the bank's board members and management are serving prison sentences.

In case you can't read the message, it says:

Aug 12, 1966

Dear Ned,

I'm here at last after missing my plane. I had to wait 6 hrs. in the bus station for my suitcase. 

Isabel won't let Teri, Francisco, or me play the piano, she says only you play well enough,

Kenda