This young lady is the coolest cat I’ve seen so far on this Designated Writers sojourn to Honolulu for the Hawaii Bowl, which Louisiana Tech and the University of Hawaii will play in Saturday night at 9:30 CST in the historic Aloha Bowl, hard by Pearl Harbor.

Again, cool things to be see every whichaway in our 50^th state, but this little girl…She can’t be 10 and the reason I noticed her was because in a fair crowd of people, she was by far the youngest on one of these boards. Her dad sort of pushed her out there and turned around to do other things because perhaps they have done this dozens of times. She was as at home up there and out there on the water as jelly on toast. On this beautiful morning in Waikiki, the life she represented, the gift of life and youth and health and confidence, was the most gorgeous and glorious thing I saw.

What I have not seen in three days here is a necktie. Wait, I saw one. A guy on a moped was wearing it, riding in the misting rain, just off work or leaving for lunch. Otherwise, ties here are as rare as sport coats, English, and weather in the 30s.

Those of Asian descent have about a 40-to-1 advantage over we non-Asians, it appears. I have done no sightseeing except to walk down the road to Eggs and Things (to eat some eggs and things), but that particular stretch of Kalakaua Avenue is a people-watching paradise. The team has gone to Pearl Harbor and a Lau Au (not at the same time) and will visit a water park tomorrow, and some of them have hiked Diamond Head and driven to the North Shore.

I can report that the team workouts have been spirited, that I think the Bulldogs have convinced me they will cover the small spread, and, most importantly, that the pineapple is delicious.

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