Stir Crazy

The “lockdown” seems to have only one goal ... mass mental insanity. There is no way to reconcile any extended period of seclusion in the tomb at the “old folks home” in Waikiki. Thus, the somewhat ridiculous itinerary (as detailed yesterday) was followed. After breakfast at the bus stop beach at Ala Moana Center, there was the discovery that the entire second floor of the mall had been closed off. Not to worry, though. The patronized venues are still open.

To understand the farcical basis of the “lockdown,” a careful scrutiny of the exceptions is revealing. For example, construction is exempt, as the latter is considered “essential.” So, all construction sites are unaffected by work stoppage. In fact, all union-related jobs are unaffected.

The daily visit to Target® led to the pleasant discovery that some canned goods were available. So, several cans of Van Camp’s® pork and beans were procured. Restoring canned beans to the monastic diet serves two purposes. First, it reduces useless calories while maintaining necessary protein and fiber. Second, it reduces the cost of daily dinners by $2 or more.

Royal Hawai’ian Hotel

Incidentally, the best time to walk around Waikiki is during “lockdown.” With very few tourists, the grotesque and cheap theme park appearance of Waikiki is just hideous. A quick look at the old Royal Hawai’ian Hotel is a reminder of the legacy of Hawai’i. Once, it was one of two grand hotels. Now, it is obscured by the surrounding modern hotels and shopping malls.

A closer look at the entrance reveals its modest architecture, which really is what Hawai’i was all about. These days, few would be impressed.

Here’s a view of one of the wings in the main lobby. It’s obviously small, narrow, and modest. Yeah, that was the old days. No thousands upon thousands of tourists. No coronavirus.

The eye appointment scheduled for today at the Waikiki Health Center was postponed until the end of April. Going to the clinic during the novel coronavirus pandemic did not seem prudent.

Addendum: The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases is now ninety-five, just five more than yesterday. The individual who was classified as the first coronavirus death has been reclassified. Thus, no deaths have resulted from the novel coronavirus.