Crazy Crap Item #125: The part where 1500 Norwood bids 'Aloha'

It's that time again. Summer block party time. As is well known, we at 1500 Norwood thrive on the themed block party. Last summer, it was the Olympics. In the fall, it was the Old West. Previous themes include Christmas in July, Oktoberfest, and Mini-Golf. Festive.

This year, we had many hot contenders for the honor of block party theme. Bastille Day. Venetian Night. Star Wars. Around the World Tour. But the far-and-away winner was .... Hawaiian Luau.

In the spirit of island languor, this was a relatively low-key block party. The general tenor seemed to be, "Meh, it will be fun. Let's drink beer."

The day started at 9am, with a sumptuous breakfast of island and not-so-island treats. Ann Casey had the brilliant of idea of foisting upon us all "Hawaiian names," and provided a key so we could translate our names using the Hawaiian alphabet, plus name tags to promote said island names.

The morning was mostly taken up with low-key fun: the eating of pastries, the riding of small vehicles, the gyration of hula hoops, the drinking of coffee, the drinking of coffee, and the drinking of coffee.

I should also mention that in some instances, costumes were worn.

The most surprising source of ongoing fun, I believe, were some inflatable decoration I had purchased: a tiki statue and a large hollow pineapple to be used as an ice chest. Amusing, I thought. They will just sit there on my lawn, being attractive and Hawaiian. I was wrong. The tiki statue, I found, could variously be used as a hat, as a sort of faux train, and as a chaise lounge. It can also just be rolled upon.

The pineapple ice chest held equal wonders. It was used for one-person sack races, as a means to trap unassuming neighbors, and, of course, for rolling, rolling, and more rolling. Needless to say, it was popped long before it could be used as an ice chest.

We'd also arranged some deliberate island-themed fun, including:
* the stringing of sea shells to make lovely island necklaces
* a seashell hunt in the Cancilla sandbox, during which the marine booty could be traded for toys and candy at the Daly Outpost
* a volcano demonstration, headed by Eamon, involving small "pocket volcanos" and bottles of diet Pepsi spiked with Menthos
* island floral photo opps

At noon, we broke for lunch, a tasty repast of hotdogs, donated by Patio Beef and lovingly prepared by Megan and John Calto. Alfresco dining was enjoyed by all.

We also indulged in some non-island fun, including a visit from our beloved firemen and the unparalleled opportunity to swarm the firetruck. And of course, whether on the islands or the mainland, nothing can beat the joy of digging, digging and more digging, made all the more accessible by a recent visit from People's Gas (which entailed plowing up sections of all our parkways).

For the grown-ups, daytime fun (when it didn't include managing the aforementioned activities) consisted of dandling babies on knees, sitting on lawn furniture (sometimes joined by smaller folk), strolling, chillaxing, standing around, jawing, waxing sentimental, and, occasionally, scowling.

Things picked up again in the afternoon, with a performance by a local a cappella group (yes, my a cappella group), a fiddle serenade by Jim Casey, and of course, a lavish pot-luck dinner. As always, Eamon and I served our patented Louisiana whiskey slush, of which John O'Connor partook, perhaps to excess. I was proud to serve a much lauded Hawaiian meatball dish, which to me was the perfect typification of Hawaii by way of the 1950s Midwest. Jim Casey offered his supremely good pulled pork (which allowed for many jokes about how Jim had been pulling his pork all day. Ah, pork humor. Always fun.).

After dinner, competition heated up with a hula hoop contest and several coconut "broomball" bouts. Later, tiki torches were lit, a firepit was stoked, a guitar jam session played, and "Finding Nemo" was viewed on the big, middle-of-the-street movied screen, propped up against the one lone parked car on the street -- the leavings of some unlawfully parked and inconsiderate resident. Ruth decorated the malparked car with battery-operated tiki lights to striking effect.

The party cranked 'til midnight, at which point, we re-opened the street to more pedestrian pedestrian behavior.

A final note: Rick did not attend.