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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, March 17, 2002

HAWAI'I WAYS, HAWAI'I DAYS
Nothing beat fun in the sun during childhood

By Wayne Yamada

Where have the old days gone? Children today have Nintendo, Sony PlayStations and other video games. How long ago was it when I used to play football with my brothers and cousins on our streets? We did sometimes come home crying with scraped knees and elbows, but we were boys just having fun. Now my nephew complains of blisters on his fingers that he got from his new PlayStation's joystick. Where has the real fun gone? I can still hear my mom and dad yelling, "Go outside play!"

During my youth in Kapahulu in the '60s and '70s, we used to go to Waikiki Elementary on some Saturdays to go cardboard-sliding. This usually did not last too long because the on-campus janitor would often chase us away. They have since built basketball courts in the grass area where we played. We would also bring a football and some baseball gloves.

If we had enough kids gathered, we would start a game. Nothing was planned; it just happened. Kids in the area would just come by and start joining in. Our fun lasted as long as we had time. If it started to get dark or we were hungry, we knew to head home.

It seemed we spent most of our time just being kids. Mom would be surprised if we didn't come home with some injury. This escalated when everyone started to ride skateboards around the neighborhood and at 'Aina Haina. We would ride at "Point Panic," "Walos" and the ditch next to the Hawaii Kai Golf Course. We often came home with scrapes and cuts. Of course, Mom never told me to stop playing and stay in the house. She would just patch me up and say, "Go outside play." She was the neighborhood nurse and mom to many kids. She always welcomed my new friends as well as old ones.

After surviving my childhood and adolescence, society has labeled me "Generation X." I'm not too sure exactly what "X" stands for; some say nothing. I can say that I stand for many things. I stand for people who love Hawai'i and cannot even think about leaving. It's home and will always be my home.

I'm sure people worldwide can describe similar childhood experiences and growing up with as much fun as I had. But they cannot say they grew up in Hawai'i and with the family and friends that I had and have.

I had it all: two older brothers to take care of me and keep me out of trouble; parents who trusted me and gave me the freedom to succeed or fail. They instilled values in me when I was very young and trusted me.

Of course, I did my share of stupid things like every child, but nothing too serious. They were able to trust me and my brothers to let us out and play unsupervised.

Now my wife and I are raising our two sons and a daughter with my childhood in mind. I'm trying to instill in them what my father and mother have instilled in me: to love God, family, friends and, of course, Hawai'i; to enjoy growing up and relish memories of their childhood. I want to be able to trust them as much as my parents trusted me; to be able to just tell them, "Go outside play."

Wayne Yamada lives on Wilhelmina Rise.

Hawai'i Ways, Hawai'i Days is a column of essays by readers on what makes Hawai'i unique.

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