Animal House

Today began like almost everyday begins, with the sounds of chickens. Ever since feeding dozens of hungry laying hens in Vermont, mobbing towards me like free hand outs of gold came from my bucket, I’ve had a love hate relationship with the animals. Here in Hawaii, it’s not uncommon to have a couple of chickens at any household it seems. I’ve even frequently witnessed fights between roosters on front lawns down the Hana Highway, and wonder why on earth someone would choose to have more than one rooster….. This morning three of our six chickens, clearly starving and in need of food as soon as possible, wouldn’t stop going on about it until they were fed. So I rose and sprinkled handfuls of their food on the ground.

It’s interesting to watch them eat, as the three, Lay Lay, Nay Nay and Ya Ya, all have their own personality. Lay Lay is orange and the other two I still can’t tell apart as they look pretty much the same, so I’ve just come to call them all a dixie chick. One of the twins is always picked on, and the other two will bat her away from the food as I throw it down; pecking orders truly do exist. One time, Amy fed Lay Lay peanut butter and I have to say, it was even more entertaining than watching a dog battle a mouth full of it.

The eggs laid, (if you can find them…) by those chickens are for Krista and Ian. The workers at Hana Tropicals have separate chickens, Uma, Porsha and Ellen, who live in their own coop, The Mc Mansion . Every job I have, I work with an Ellen. She’s the first however, named after a celebrity. In the past two jobs, Ellen has been my right hand girl, this Ellen on the other hand, not so much. I don’t pay too attention to the chickens that feed me interestingly enough… Porsha is the coolest though. She’s blonde, like me, kind of a wanderer, also like me, and she likes to jump up on people. Those ladies have quite the range for chickens, as we’ll receive their company working out in the flower fields when they jump up on our Kawasaki and the Fugly, and they don’t leave easily!

Pepper, a faithful companion like all dogs, is a little cutie who would give her life for Krista. Every morning Krista comes down from her house in the Kawasaki, and Pepper excitingly runs right in front. This lil pup is even known to hunt down and kill a mongoose. As much of a dog lover as I am, besides Pepper, I haven’t met too many others in Hana I’ve become particularly fond of. According to Phyllis, many people hunt for wild pigs up in the mountains, and so have dogs solely for the purpose of hunting. So many angry pit bulls roam around in front yards, and bark at passerbys. Many times unfortunately, you’ll see them cooped up in large fenced cages in peoples back yards. What a way to live….

This morning, as I ran down the road to Wai'anapanapa Beach, three ferocious little dogs ran right up to me, and yipped and barked away at my feet like I had just stolen their candy. Not too pleased, I counter acted this encounterment by yelling back. Not one of my finer moments, but it’s a tough world and I must stand up for myself, even if it is against three pint sized monsters.

Chelsea and I have made ourselves honorary members of the Hana Highway Patrol, (T-shirts are in the works). We play highway patrol when we walk or run down the road, and collect garbage. Yes it may sound heroic, but mind you, we’re mostly collecting returnable cans and bottles to exchange for icecream at the end of our stay here. And if you’ve ever looked closely at your empty beer cans, you’ll notice HI is almost always there; needless to say we have high hopes. ANYWAYS, as I collect cans and bottles on my runs, I lock them into my fingers and hands any which way they’ll fit. Looking like Edward Scissor Hands, I charge down the road with my bankable finds. Perhaps that should be my new defense towards the pit bulls.

Aloha and woof.