The wind is howling right now.  Howling.  Screaming, if you will.  Wind tends to last a few days over here in Maui, so I am hoping it will blow itself out quickly this time.  Especially since I am supposed to fly this week.  The only good thing about wind right now - it will hopefully blow away all the vog that has settled over all the islands this week.  Lots and lots of vog from the Big Island the last couple of weeks.  *cough* *cough*

There was another car accident behind our house this past Friday.  Yes, for those of you counting, that makes Crash #7 since I moved here.   This one was worse than most I've seen so we called 911 to hurry up the police.   There was only a quick moment of brakes squealing, so we knew the impact was pretty hard.  The ambulance came and pulled one passenger out of one car, but it didn't take off quickly with its sirens screaming.  So I assume - either the person was not too badly hurt or dead.  I'm going to guess "not too badly hurt" because I didn't see anyone wailing with grief.  All the folks in our neighborhood, including one dog, were standing in my neighbor's yard looking over the fence.  Which just goes to prove that Dane Cook is right about car accidents:

Yup.

Once again. Count this one as #6 for me. The sixth car accident I have personally seen behind our house in the last year and two months. Again, remember how I mentioned My Least Favorite Sound? (go there and check out the Dane Cook bit - it never fails to crack me up!)

Well, this evening's crash didn't even sound that bad. I heard the screech and a couple of vague *Cruuuncch!*s. Looked out - one SUV on the side of the road with a hanging rear bumper. Figured she had been hit and the other driver took off. Can't see the full intersection because of a tree. She looked ok - saw her get out of her car and look at the bumper. But then, a couple of minutes later, I hear sirens. Getting louder. And louder. And two police cars show up, soon followed by a siren-y third. Pretty impressive. The police NEVER show up after accidents around here. But I guess there were two other cars sitting in the intersection because I saw them finally pull over after the cops showed up.

Funny thing - our rental manager was just at the house today. He walked through the house and said to me "Oh, the traffic noise doesn't sound that bad." We've mentioned it as a possible reason for moving. I said something like - well, it's pretty bad on Friday and Saturday nights. People drive crazy.

And......oh look, it's a Friday night. And I've seen crash #6. And I'm not counting the one that occurred when I was gone that sounded so bad, Sweetie got dressed and ran down to the intersection to make sure the guy who got hit was ok.

Best thing I can say is, 3 police cars are a sight better than one ambulance, any day in my book. Ug. SLOW DOWN PEOPLE.

oh...and also...I'm not counting the accident that Sweetie and I were in that totaled his poor wagon. 'Cause that was all the way on the other side of the island. Yippee.

Well, this ranks right up there.

Few things can make me cringe as much as the sound of squealing brakes on the road.  I brace myself for the potential Bang! of metal on metal.  OK, that may be the worst sound ever.  Dane Cook may laugh at the sight of nearby smash-ups, but I do not likey.

Would you believe I've heard it twice in the last 12 hours?  Ug.  Our house is right behind a two-lane expressway out of town.  Considering the speed limit is 35 mph, I'm pretty sure most people are speeding when they see a green light at the stop-light intersection on the corner. 

First was about 5 a.m. this morning.  Deep in sleep, I woke up to the Scrrreeeech of brakes, followed quickly by a loud "THUNK" of metal on metal.  I took a peak out the window but only saw one car pulling over to the side.  After a while, the car was gone.  It took me a good long while to go back to sleep.

Then, this morning around 11:30, I never even heard the slightest sound of brakes.  Just the BLAM! of another accident.  I went to the window to see a jeep behind a truck.  Two guys got out of each car to stare at their respective vehicles.  Everyone looked ok, but they must have called it in because two police patrol cars showed up about 30 minutes later.

I've now seen more accidents in four months here than I did in my 5 years at my previous home.  Those were a couple of major smash-ups that ended up in everyone in the neighborhood calling 911.  Luckily, no major injuries.   Let’s hope these two today are the last ones.  Drive carefully people!

Today, we say a final good-bye to the faithful green monster, the Ford Taurus. My sweetie went to the wrecking yard to try and pull out some things, and he is getting a (very low) insurance check. The title will be exchanged, and the Taurus will be sent off to that great racetrack in the sky.

Or wherever cars go after they get smooshed.

I'm trying not to be too peeved at the fact that the insurance check will probably only help us make a down payment on a used car to get us through the rest of our stay here in Maui. For those of you who don't know how the Taurus biffed it, we were hit head-on on the Hana Highway by a local who was trying to pass another driver, while looking down to change his radio. He was completely in our lane, and there was nothing we could do but smack into the front of his truck. We had a car that would have lasted us the few more years we will live here. Now, because of the other driver, we have to go out and find a new (used) car to drive. And because of his insurance's low-ball payment, we will be shelling out our money to pay for it!

Once I have some time to get through the “I’m just happy no one was hurt” feelings, I have to admit to feeling a twinge of annoyance at the unfairness of the situation.

So, to channel my father’s famous words (again), I should exclaim “Who said life was fair?!”

Here’s a toast then, to the dear ol’ green Taurus. Thanks for the memories!

I was driving back from the grocery store the other day. I ended up behind a truck with a bumper sticker that I see every so often here in Maui. It said "Slow down. You're not on the mainland anymore."

Which just kind of makes me laugh.

I think that people who live in Hawai'i can justifiably gripe about several things. I think tourists do create more traffic on the streets here. I think that people who move over and buy up houses cause the slow sprawl that seems to be taking place. I think that people who move over and buy up expensive houses drive up the price of property on the island, making it harder for the average person to buy over here.

But I really don't think the locals can complain about mainlanders driving too fast on the island. Because, from my experience, it's the locals, not the tourists who drive crazy over here. When I see these bumper stickers, I want to ask:

"What do you say to the locals who screech past my house every Friday and Saturday night like NASCAR Cup chasers?" We don't live in a touristy area and the crashes (five of them so far) and gunning engines are common. Mostly at night. More so on the weekends. I don't think these are mainlanders.

"What do you say to the locals who tailgate everyone?" I get tailgated on the way to the grocery store by delivery fans and other cars going to the grocery store. These are NOT mainlanders behind me.

"What do you say to the locals who get impatient and speed past everyone while driving, legally or illegally?" I know for a fact the guy who hit us head-on on our drive back from Hana last year was NOT a mainlander. He was a local who was pissed off at a slow tourist and tried to pass another car over a double-yellow line, going around a curve.

Serious advice to travelers on the road to Hana (and elsewhere on Maui). Unless you are one of the speed demons these bumper stickers are addressing, let locals pass you on the roads. When we drive to Hana and back, we always pull over when it's safe to let people pass us. We like to take the drive slowly, but we don't want to piss other folks off. When you see space to pull over, just let people pass. It makes for a much more pleasant trip (if you don't get hit).

Anyway, like I said - there are some legitimate gripes about mainlanders. But, having experienced the driving behavior of Maui inhabitants, I always laugh a little when I see this bumper sticker. Do these folks *really* not know who the speeders on Maui are?

Ug. Remember how I blogged about my least favorite sound?

Heard it again tonight. Talking on the phone with my old Roomie. Suddenly, I'm yelling at her:

"Oh FUC*! FU**! I think they did it again!"

....."Yup".....as I walk over to the window....

...."Crap."....look out the window...

"Yup, some idiot just smashed into someone else again."

For the record, this is the fifth accident behind our house since I moved here in August. I assume the folks were ok because one car was pulling to the side of the road as I looked outside. Have no idea where the other car went. I didn't even really hear the screech of brakes this time. Just the impact. Two police cars and one tow truck showed up, but no ambulance, thank goodness. Don't really know what they can do about this intersection - long, flat stretch of road. I bet some people are just trying to make the light. Or not paying attention to people stopped in front of them. Not sure what.

But I'm tired of the smash-ups. OK? I am not Dane Cook. I don't think these are funny.

Dane Cook, however, is pretty hilarious. So here is one of his car accident bits. Animated by someone, not sure. Hilarious and obnoxious. Classic.

Well, this ranks right up there.

Few things can make me cringe as much as the sound of squealing brakes on the road.  I brace myself for the potential Bang! of metal on metal.  OK, that may be the worst sound ever.  Dane Cook may laugh at the sight of nearby smash-ups, but I do not likey.

Would you believe I've heard it twice in the last 12 hours?  Ug.  Our house is right behind a two-lane expressway out of town.  Considering the speed limit is 35 mph, I'm pretty sure most people are speeding when they see a green light at the stop-light intersection on the corner. 

First was about 5 a.m. this morning.  Deep in sleep, I woke up to the Scrrreeeech of brakes, followed quickly by a loud "THUNK" of metal on metal.  I took a peak out the window but only saw one car pulling over to the side.  After a while, the car was gone.  It took me a good long while to go back to sleep.

Then, this morning around 11:30, I never even heard the slightest sound of brakes.  Just the BLAM! of another accident.  I went to the window to see a jeep behind a truck.  Two guys got out of each car to stare at their respective vehicles.  Everyone looked ok, but they must have called it in because two police patrol cars showed up about 30 minutes later.

I've now seen more accidents in four months here than I did in my 5 years at my previous home.  Those were a couple of major smash-ups that ended up in everyone in the neighborhood calling 911.  Luckily, no major injuries.   Let’s hope these two today are the last ones.  Drive carefully people!