Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“I guess so,” I said, impressed. “I am Jonathan, and you must be Mike, pleased to meet you.
I was hoping you could help me with a couple of things. Firstly, I may need some diesel at
some stage and am wondering how I could get it down to the harbor, and also, a long shot,
but I really like it here and am wondering if there was any work available that you know
of.”
“What kind of work do you do?” he asked, interested.
“Oh I'm pretty good with my hands; I built my boat and can find my way around a con-
struction site as a carpenter. I can do dry walling and painting and so on,” I replied hope-
fully.
“You might just be in luck actually; my wife Susan and I are looking for someone to add
on a room or two on our little place down the road. We might be able to put you to some
good use,” he laughed again.
Just then a mechanic in greasy, green overalls several sizes too small came in from the back
with a broad grin on his face.
“Hey Gene, this is Jonathan, the South African sailor from the harbor.”
“Good morning to yer welcome to Lanai,” he said affably. “I would shake your hand but
mine are full of oil.” He laughed boisterously. He was older than Mike, and his hair was
grizzled and grey, but he had a youthful good humor about him. I liked him immediately;
there were no airs and a grace in his manner; what you saw was what you got.
“I need to show you something in the back,” said Gene quietly to Mike. Mike turned and
said apologetically, “Duty calls. Look, I'll discuss the possibilities of you building for us
with Susan, and we will come down and visit you later.”
“Thanks Mike, that sounds wonderful. I look forward to your visit.”
“Oh, and by the way, we can bring a fuel truck down to the harbor for your diesel. We do it
all the time with the Trilogy boats,” he said, disappearing into the back.
“I never did get your name,” I said to the young lady at reception.
“Hi, yes, I'm Vicky, pleased to meet you. You must just let us know when and how much
diesel you might need, and we will go to your boat when we fill up the charter boats.”
“Thanks Vicky. Say, are you Portuguese? I was trying to guess your nationality.”
“My mom is Portuguese, and my dad is local Hawaiian.” She smiled at my interest.
I returned to the general store and bought a bunch of provisions which I carried outside and
over the road to a picnic table where I had a coke and a doughnut, waiting for Dee to arrive.
