Paul

                  Paul
Teena and I first met Paul when we moved into 1405, and Paul lived next door in 1406. Pete has known Paul the longest. And I will  ask Pete to give us all the details of their long friendship. I think of them as Peter and Paul the Apostles in the Bible. But they  were "Apostles of Fun."

Paul, knowing my interest in history, took me to Wickham Field and pointed out the pock-marked bullet holes on buildings made by the Japanese attack.

One time we went to Ford Island, and looked around, including the red and white rusting control tower.

We would often go to the Coast Guard Station on Sand Island. It was there that Paul could buy his supply of wine at a cheaper price. There is a bar there where we would have lunch. We went so  often, that the bar maid came to know us well.

But the most interesting and memorable trip  to Sand Island was when Paul and I visited building 419. This large building was where bodies of U.S. soldiers and marines were returned from the war in Vietnam. In the building there was a tiny museum and military surplus store. The place was full of ghosts and termites. I wrote more about it in my blog.

Paul and I would take the bus to Chinatown, where we poked around the shops and ate dried fish, and char sui cut from slabs of red colored pork in a store window. I talked Paul into having a chop made for his large Chinese painting. A chop is like a signature.It is hand-carved. So Paul had a chop carved (like a seal with red ink.) It cost him $95 bucks.He added his chop to the painting. You can see that there were three previous owners.

Paul was a long-time nudist. He would attend nudist parties at the home of a woman named Amber. I remember one time when all those nudists rented a catamaran, and when they passed the outer body,and threw off all their clothes. Two of Paul's female friends are nudists.

When Paul's first wife died, he married a much younger woman named Donna. They had fifteen wonderful years together. A story about the two of them is just great. They were on a cruise around Greece, and one snooty woman noticed the difference in their ages. And she asked "Why did you come to get married?" Donna replied, "Because we had to."

Pete has a great story of the three of them traveling together in Europe. So as I know so little about it, let's let Pete tell the story.

Donna became very sick, and at last Hospice brought a bed for her. I was with Paul when she died. I said a few words, and Paul got out two bottles of champagne. We each drank a bottle while the hospice nurse flushed the drugs down the toilet. We asked her to join us, but she declined.

Paul rented two large canoes down in front of Dukes. The two canoes held friends of Paul. I think that Pete was in the one with me. A mile from shore, Donna's ashes were put into the sea, and I said a few words.

Returning to the Waipuna, Paul held a party for Donna. He was fond of this female singer who played guitar and sang "Oh Donna, My Donna." Pupu's and drinks were served. At least thirty people were all crammed together in his apartment.  

Following Donna's death there are five female friends of Paul. The first one is Winnie, a Dutch nudist and painter, from Florida.  She painted miniatures, sometimes with an eyelash. Teena and I have some of her paintings. The large black painted four masted sailing ship you see at the harbor was sailed by her father. She is the one who taught us how to pronounce Gouda cheese. It's really" how-duh."

And, there is Grace. A Chinese woman who lives in Chinatown. He really liked her. She had a hard life, her family owned a laundry. He took her to a nudist party at Amber's house. She wasn't cut out to be a nudist.

Next on the list of Paul's women friends is Pat, a fellow nudist, who had an apartment in Discovery Bay. She liked to drink Amaretto. Paul bought a case of Amaretto at the Coast Guard store. The clerks were greatly surprised.  As Pat's health declined, she decided to return to the mainland. Teena and I went with her to Sand Island, and arranged the shipment of her car.

Then we come to a woman we all know. Noelle, the French lady. She was very fond of Paul.

The last of the five is Helen. She and Paul had known each other for fifty years, living as neighbors with different mates. Helen's husband was gone and so was Donna. The two began spending time back and forth between California and Hawaii. At last Paul decided he would move to California for good. The two of them managed to have five years together. Love and companionship.

We all remember Paul's generosity. Need any money? Need to use his car? All this and much more. It is too bad that none of the tribe took any pictures of his marajuana plants on his lanai. I remember his fondness for cooking sausage and sauerkraut. Paul delighted in what he called "stirring the pot," when he would say some outrageous statement, and then when a person reacted, he would laugh like hell. One other thing is that he often bragged how he had the first hot tub in Santa Barbara.

Everyone here has something to remember about Paul. It was Paul who introduced the tribe to Paisano, our favorite beverage. You may recall the small white hat he wore to the exercise class at Fort DeRussy. I often made fun of his hat but he said it covered his ears.

Someone once wrote that a person was never really dead until they were forgotten. Paul's memory will remain alive in our memories.
 
           End