Laura and I went to Waikiki for the first time yesterday. Well, I went for the first time; Laura had been twice already. (I know, I lived here for three months before going to Waikiki, sue me.)
Waikiki is definitely full of rich tourists. And by "full of" I mean "overrun with." Crazy crowded, it was. It was also full of kiosks with overpriced souvenirs and salespeople pushing these souvenirs on the tourists. Laura and I got snagged by a bald-headed man who handed us a flier, and on this flier we could pick a pearl for half the price of a normal pearl. It was a neat concept--you pick the oyster, pry it open, and get to keep whatever's inside for the "low" price of $14 (or $7, if you got the half-price flier)--but not neat enough for me to drop $7 on a pearl that's just going to get lost in the bottom of my purse.
Trying to be clever, I was like, "no thanks, I read that Steinbeck book and I pretty much want to avoid pearls."
The guy didn't know what I was talking about, so I continued, "you know, The Pearl? Basically the guy gets a pearl and it pretty much ruins his life."
And the guy responds, "well, anything written by a Jew would be pretty over-dramatic."
Well, on that slightly anti-Semitic note...I was turning to leave, but the guy wouldn't give up. He asked us our names, and Laura of course told him our real names. Then he asked, "are you guys Mormons?"
How did he know? I guess we were wearing the most clothes out of all the Hawaii tourists, and we had that not-drunk look about us. He said it was because we were "closed off" (um, you mean because we backed away when you got way too close to our faces?) and because we were "frugal" (or maybe too sensible to buy some pearl from a kiosk?).
Laura thought he was awesome, though, but I'm not surprised. She thinks everything in Hawaii is awesome.
John Steinbeck was Episcopalian, by the way.
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