Trapezoids

After the ten thirty service at Trinity United Methodist, the five of us all scrambled into the van, and grabbed lunch before our Sunday adventure. First stop, Hank's Haute Dogs on Coral Street in Honolulu.

If the cost of living on this island isn't high enough for you, stop in to eat at Hank's for an elite hand shipped carnivorous casing comestible. The dogs are flown in from Chicago, and elsewhere. It depends on whether you go with the classic Hot Dog, the Portuguese Sausage, Bratwurst, Chorizo... should I stop? Okay.

My only gripe is, when you are talking seven dollar dogs, size really IS everything. I was expecting an aspiration hazard, what I got was little more than a fist-full. Oh yeah, and they laughed at my wife when she mispronounced "Chorizo". That's a little too Soup-Nazi. Oh well, when you are haute you're haute. Hank's definitely is.

After our fine dining experience, the Sunday afternoon adventure led us to the Honolulu Academy of the Arts for the Family Sunday event. The beautiful structure housing the academy is almost more like its own campus than a building. Inside the massive exterior stone walls are several class rooms, exhibit halls and grass courtyards big enough for performance art.

There, we met up with Paul (a friend of Sue's from work), and his family. Their little girl is about the same age as our Naomi. All the kids enjoyed sitting on the grass in the courtyards watching a magic show by "The Amazing Mr. O", and then trapeze and aerial silk performances. After the A.D.D. set in, there was another courtyard set up for kid crafts.

The professional performances by the acrobats were both rehearsed and improvised. It was a beautiful fusion of gymnastics, theatre and dance. Students performed following the opening act (pictured). There was a tense moment when a young lady attempted to execute an elaborate spin while she was ten feet off the ground. When she failed, she hit the mat with a hard thump. Her weight tugged the silk so hard that the bamboo frame supporting the rig cracked and broke. Everything went quiet, and it was a huge relief when the student managed to collect herself off the floor, nothing broken.

As a lifetime swimmer, the cost of under-performing is just coming in last. Maybe throwing up in the pool gutter, and feeling humiliated. For these young ladies and other gymnasts, failures like the one we saw first-hand can result in broken necks and disfigured bodies. It takes a lot of courage to do that kind of sport. Even more to perform again later in the day after failing. I suppose I wish I had the courage to stay and watch her perform again later. I hope her mother did.