by Pat Jackson
“Tex” was the nickname Sue Ellen Thomas received from her Hawaiian friends while visiting her sister on the island of Oahu this summer. The trip was a graduation present from her parents, and she used her own money for spending.
Barefooted and wearing a T-shirt and shorts, Sue Ellen sat back in an easy chair and commented on how the Hawaiian people are so relaxed. “They do not worry about anything; they just take things as they come.” You don’t wear shoes very much or outfits; you just throw on something,” she said.
“The whole place is completely different from here,” she said, “because the ocean is everywhere.” While visiting Punchbowl Cemetery, she climbed up on a lookout and saw the whole island surrounded by ocean, plus two other main islands.
She visited Pearl Harbor and the Memorial of the Arizona. “Reading the long list of names and realizing the men were still down there was real sad,” she commented. “It was pretty, though.”
Once Sue Ellen spent three days looking around in Ala Moana, a big shopping center of about 155 shops. Also, she went to the International Market Place, which consists of a group of shops from different lands.
Her average day made up sleeping till 1:00, then going down to the beach to swim and surf, or walk around town. “There is always something to see from the strange-looking people to the funny tourist,” she said. Once she saw Don Ho, the Hawaiian singer.
Sue Ellen went to a pop festival in Diamond Head crater, a dead volcano made into an auditorium, featuring local popular groups. “The Hawaiian people’s lives revolve around music,” she commented.
She also commented on the drug use by students over there. “Alcohol is not a big thing; smoking marijuana is real common,” she stated.
Her biggest impression was made when flying back to LA; she saw a beautiful sunrise over the ocean. “You could see the red ball of the sun rising between the ocean and the level of darkness of the sky.”
Sue Ellen wants to go back in May and work, and she would like to attend the University in Hawaii.