This Morning

A sip of coffee gone cold. No matter.

I read my last line and close the book,

not finding the word I was looking for.

Some days it turns out this way. It’s

too late for me to make it to China

before I go. The Chinese food here in

the Midwest is far from authentic, but

for me here and now it will have to do.

My daughter and her family go to Hawaii

on vacation next week. Luau and the beach,

she told me. Warm and balmy year round.

Here in KC in mid-November there’s an

inch or two of snow on the ground. I

changed planes years ago in Honolulu

on my way to Sydney, Australia. Never

intended to stay in Hawaii for any length

of time. A Young woman greeted all the

passengers on my plane and gave us each

a warm smile and slipped leis around our

necks anyway. Aloha, I remember her

saying. That was the extent of my visit to

Hawaii. Would have preferred to make it

to China before it became too commercially

Westernized. Now, I hear it’s too late.

Hawaii has been that way for years. Have

you ever had the Moo Shu Pork from

Bo Lings on Jefferson Street? It’s not

authentic Chinese cuisine, I’m guessing,

but for the money it’s pretty good.

Chris Hanch 11-13-18