Around the table.
\nOne woman has a dark, black line
\nbetween her gums and teeth.
\nThe one across from her keeps flipping her tongue,
\nunwrapping an imaginary Starburst,
\nwhile the one next to her keeps saying,
\n“Well, ooh, that’s nice.” All brown.
\nThe man across to my right,
\nthe darkest one, wears a checkered red and white
\nworker shirt. I hear my dad say, “Hey, is dat a Lanai shirt?”
\nThe guy nods, but he can’t hear him.
\nHis wife made the deaf sign earlier, shaking her head
\nand pointing to her ears. The one
\nwith the black-lined gums, and is apparently known for her ong choy.
\nThat’s what I had today at this luncheon, with rice and gravy.
\nThe man directly opposite me, who
\nseems slightly annoyed with my dad, has cataracts
\nso thick he looks like a blue-eyed filipino.
\nHe’s a manly, stern kind of guy, but the ladies
\nare more friendly with my dad. My dad, Bruno, with his
\nhigh pitched laugh-sigh, is the most chatty of them all
\nbesides the “ooh, that’s nice” lady.
\nThe guy next to me hardly says a word, but he gently
\nputs his hand on my shoulder when he leaves to pay. He wears
\nglasses I remember seeing my grandfather wear in photos.
\nMalcom X kind, but brown.
\nI can’t stop watching the lady with the tongue.
\nHow she forms her words! It looks like it takes
\nso much effort, but her speech is smoother than
\nanybody else’s at the table. It’s a round table, by the way.
\nI look at Shirlene, in the corner, bagging the leftovers, been with my dad a long time.
\nI wonder if she is ever embarrassed that they aren’t married.
\nThe lady from my Auntie Connie’s class at the table next to us tells me,
\n“Hawaii has claim to two saints now!”
\nI offer Shirlene some of my rice cake and she wipes off a fork and takes a piece.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Around the table. One woman has a dark, black line between her gums and teeth. The one across from her keeps flipping her tongue, unwrapping an imaginary Starburst, while the one next to her keeps saying, “Well, ooh, that’s nice.” All brown. The man across to my right, the darkest one, wears a checkered red … Continue reading Lanai Alumni at Golden City Chinese down from Kenny’s, which is closing.<\/span>