Holidays can be exhausting

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Columnist

Ah, at last. A three-day weekend. Nothing to do but relax.

Shouldn't you do a little work first, though? Clear the deck, so to speak. Before you hit the hammock, maybe you should just tackle a few of those chores that have been piling up around the yard.

Rake the leaves. Trim the bougainvillea. Mulch the trees. Mow the lawn. Talk to the tiare (please flower!). Fertilize the mango. Turn the compost pile. Sweep the carport. Plant that overgrown green thing in the black pot Aunt Rose gave you. Whack the weeds. Clear the puakenikeni. Spray the whitefly. Prune the Christmas berry tree. Pot the seeds you bought in April. Water everything.

What about all that green waste? Aren't you going to bag it? Shouldn't you take it to the dump? While you're at it, how about dropping off all the recycling stuff at the school? Pick up something for dinner?

Now that you've got all that out of the way, time to relax. Fix an iced tea. Grab that John Grisham book. Head for the hammock.

Not so fast, buddy! Do you mean to tell me you're going to lounge around and do nothing all weekend? At least you could do something active for a change.

Take a hike. Ride a bike. Get out the kayak. Walk on the beach. Ride a bodyboard. Work out at the gym. Call the tennis buddies. Visit the aquarium. Climb Diamond Head. Throw a Frisbee. Take the kids to the park. Fly a kite. Go fishing. Drive to the North Shore. Head to the Art Academy. Tour a public garden. Stop in at the Mission Houses. Play catch. Go out dancing.

Or you could do something really special. There are plenty of events going on this weekend.

Pat Morita and D.L. Hughley are at the Hawai'i Theatre. Canned Heat is at the Hawaiian Hut. There's a big punk show at Pink Cadillac. The Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park has the Xtreme End of Summer Luau. There's a big Hawaiian lineup at the Shell. There's this really cool-sounding band downtown. The Okinawan Festival is at Kapi'iolani Park and the Tahitian fete is at Aloha Tower. A new version of "Apocalypse Now," one of the great movies of all time, is on the big screen in Waikiki.

Or you could go shopping. Are you just going to slumber while the whole town is alive with sales? Do your part to jump-start the economy. How can you just sit around and relax when there are so many bargains to be had at Liberty House (30 percent off selected silk shirts), Furnitureland, Sears, Video Life (isn't it time for a 64-inch TV?), Pearlridge, Home World, Z-Interiors, JC Penney, SamSung, Home Depot (turkey frying kits only $79), Kilgo's, every car dealer on the Island and, of course, Ala Moana.

So with all that going on, are you really just going to hang out, watch football on TV, grill something in the back yard and actually take a nap in the hammock?

You bet you are. They don't call it Labor Day for nothing.

Mike Leidemann's columns appear Thursdays and Saturdays in The Advertiser. Reach him at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5460.