A short while later the little jet descended to a safe and stable landing at the Kahului airport on the northern part of Maui. Charles and Xation stepped out onto the tarmac to a beautiful tranquil day there in paradise, the bright sunshine warming their face as they felt the weight of any problems they had in their life dissolve away like salt in hot water, and for the first time Charles felt like he was home. Though he had never been to the Hawaiian Islands, this was still a part of the United States of America, and with his fake passport he breezed through the little customs office with Xation without delay. With this behind them Xation picked up his rented car, a brand new, bright red '92, fully loaded convertible Corvette Sports Coupe, with it's 350 cubic inch, 300 horsepower engine, equipped with Slip Regulation Traction Control, and this reminded Charles of his old friend Azir, who loved his prized '69 Vette, Charles wondered, momentarily, how the crafty Indian fellow was faring in prison, but as Charles tossed in his suitcase and expensive set of Ping golf clubs into the trunk he realized, after everything he had been through, he really did not care about Azir anymore, nor did he care about his past, for Charles only ever wanted to live in the moment, to now be here, and to be here now.
The two drove off from the airport, south on Route 30 down past the many sugar cane plantations and native forests through the little fishing villages along the southern coast. They had the top down, wind in their hair and the sun shining down from a clear blue sky, the radio tuned to the local Classic Rock station, Soul Kitchen, by the Doors playing through the speakers. Charles marveled at the millions of lush, green sugar cane plants, over twenty tall, all in perfect lines, for miles up the face of the ancient volcano; which had gone extinct to allow the lush vegetation to thrive for thousands upon thousands of years. Now this stupendous sight was to his right and to the left, as the road wrapped around the coastline, Charles saw the massive expanse of the mighty Pacific Ocean, the water so bright and blue, like no other color of blue he had ever seen in his life, not like the waters of California or Aruba. The 'Muai Blue' waters crashing out into a thick foam on the white sugar-sand beaches with massive black boulders of basalt in the form of small columns dotting the shore. Charles turned his gaze to Xation who was tapping his thumb on the steering wheel along with the music, a smile of true happiness on his face, and he radiate warmth and joy with just a smile. Charles said with a grin "Why Xation, I have never seen you so relaxed."
Xation laughed with great cheer and he said "Here on Maui, the weight of the World will rise up off your shoulders and vanish into the clear blue sky!"
A far too short drive back up north led the two travelers past the magnificent Plantation Course up to the Ritz-Carlton at Kapalua where they were greeted by two beautiful Polynesian women at the front desk and the friendly women were kind and courteous, and the two men felt so relaxed and at ease chatting and flirting with the young Hawaiian lasses. The bell-boy took Charles and Xation up to his usual corner suite, with a large patio overlooking the golf course and the islands of Molokai, to north, and the smaller island of Lanai, to the south. Charles and Xation stood for a moment in pure, perfect silence, only the sounds of the roaring ocean off in the distance, the warm tropical wind gently rustling the palm leaves and the sweet sound of the Hawaiian song birds in the fragrant pine and eucalyptus trees bordering the shoreline.
"Well my friend, shall we go and see about our tee-time?" Xation said giving Charles a firm slap on the shoulder.
"Yes, but.., I just hope I don't embarrass you out on the course. I am no where near as good as you are Xation." Charles confessed with his current handicap of 21.
"Listen Charles, when it comes to the great game of Golf, there is only one thing you must make clear in your mind. We are just out here to have fun and enjoy our time in Mother Nature in all her resplendent glory. So no cell-phones, or cursing, or breaking of any clubs." Xation laughed remembering a time, or two, when Charles had become so frustrated he had a few 'outbursts'. "The great thing about golf is you can always pick up your ball and take a triple bogey." Xation laughed along with Charles.
The two went to their respective rooms and hurried to change into their golf attire, Xation in his white FootJoys, with matching white crocodile belt, and white hat with the Callaway logo emblazoned upon it in black; which matched his black pants and black golf shirt, whereas Charles opted for a pair of white pants and a green shirt with black golf shoes and no belt and soon they were on their way to the Pro-Shop at the Plantation Course adjacent to the posh hotel. They were so looking forward to this beautiful round that beautiful day, a little after one in the afternoon at a golfers dream course. However, due to the huge amount of people on the island for the upcoming PGA event, they were paired with two Germans, who were incredible golfers and were making Xation and Charles look incredibly bad out on the links, and the fact that they duo barely could speak English did not help matters any. Now one of them spoke French a tongue familiar to Xation, but any conversation had to go from French to English, just so Charles could understand what they were saying, though Xation could not translate some of the rude remarks they were making in their native language, about Charles and his swing, or lack thereof. This was not conducive to a nice tranquil day out on the greens, so when they turned, to head out to the back nine, Xation and Charles decided to just end their day and make their way to the Club House for a nice lobster dinner and pitcher of dry martinis. The vodka helped Charles to forget about the score of 56 he just had, compared to Xation's 39 and, though they may not have enjoyed the company of 'our German cousins', Xation and Charles did enjoy the breathtaking scenery and recalled, over dinner, the pod of whales they saw jumping high up out of the water down by the shore and Xation's incredible eagle on the par 4, hole #3.
Xation and Charles sat at their ocean view table on the balcony of the Club House eating their fill of fresh fish and perfectly cooked lobster, drinking one too many pitchers of the strong alcohol. "Well, I could not possibly eat any thing more, I am about to burst!" Xation said pushing his chair, and himself, away from the table as he tried to pay the bill, but Charles would not here of it so he paid the outrageously expensive bill. This he did happily, continuously thanking Xation for bringing him along. Xation did admit to himself that he did enjoy Charles' company a little more than he liked hanging out with Bengiman. Even though he owed everything he had to Bengiman's loyalty to him. It was true he was a very simple man, of common birth and little education, but Xation knew his dear, old friend may not be able to carry on a lengthy, intelligent conversation, but Bengiman Pruce was always good for a laugh and a good time. Here Xation hoped his close friend was following doctor's orders and healing quickly from his nasty double ear infection. Putting this far from his mind Xation looked over at Charles saying "Now let's stagger over to the hotel, I don't think we are able to drive a golf cart right now, and besides." Xation paused letting out a hellacious burp as they stepped outside, as the sun began to set and the air grew a little chilly as night fell upon Maui. "Excuse me!" he said with an embarrassed laugh "We have to get up early in the morning to catch the ferry over to Lanai." Xation said pointing out across the water to the island to the south.
"All I want to do is take a nice, long hot shower and then wrap up in my warm bathrobe, climb in my bed and go to sleep!" Charles said with a yawn and a stretch as they walked across the lawn lugging their heavy golf bags on their shoulders. Just then a caddy drove up on his way to locking up his golf cart, and he ushered the two tired men into the cart helping them with their bags and driving them the 100 yards to the lobby. This young man's gracious hospitality was rewarded with 2, crisp one hundred dollar bills by a most grateful Xation Day.
"Enjoy your stay on Maui!" the pleasantly surprised young man shouted as he drove away.
The two drove off from the airport, south on Route 30 down past the many sugar cane plantations and native forests through the little fishing villages along the southern coast. They had the top down, wind in their hair and the sun shining down from a clear blue sky, the radio tuned to the local Classic Rock station, Soul Kitchen, by the Doors playing through the speakers. Charles marveled at the millions of lush, green sugar cane plants, over twenty tall, all in perfect lines, for miles up the face of the ancient volcano; which had gone extinct to allow the lush vegetation to thrive for thousands upon thousands of years. Now this stupendous sight was to his right and to the left, as the road wrapped around the coastline, Charles saw the massive expanse of the mighty Pacific Ocean, the water so bright and blue, like no other color of blue he had ever seen in his life, not like the waters of California or Aruba. The 'Muai Blue' waters crashing out into a thick foam on the white sugar-sand beaches with massive black boulders of basalt in the form of small columns dotting the shore. Charles turned his gaze to Xation who was tapping his thumb on the steering wheel along with the music, a smile of true happiness on his face, and he radiate warmth and joy with just a smile. Charles said with a grin "Why Xation, I have never seen you so relaxed."
Xation laughed with great cheer and he said "Here on Maui, the weight of the World will rise up off your shoulders and vanish into the clear blue sky!"
A far too short drive back up north led the two travelers past the magnificent Plantation Course up to the Ritz-Carlton at Kapalua where they were greeted by two beautiful Polynesian women at the front desk and the friendly women were kind and courteous, and the two men felt so relaxed and at ease chatting and flirting with the young Hawaiian lasses. The bell-boy took Charles and Xation up to his usual corner suite, with a large patio overlooking the golf course and the islands of Molokai, to north, and the smaller island of Lanai, to the south. Charles and Xation stood for a moment in pure, perfect silence, only the sounds of the roaring ocean off in the distance, the warm tropical wind gently rustling the palm leaves and the sweet sound of the Hawaiian song birds in the fragrant pine and eucalyptus trees bordering the shoreline.
"Well my friend, shall we go and see about our tee-time?" Xation said giving Charles a firm slap on the shoulder.
"Yes, but.., I just hope I don't embarrass you out on the course. I am no where near as good as you are Xation." Charles confessed with his current handicap of 21.
"Listen Charles, when it comes to the great game of Golf, there is only one thing you must make clear in your mind. We are just out here to have fun and enjoy our time in Mother Nature in all her resplendent glory. So no cell-phones, or cursing, or breaking of any clubs." Xation laughed remembering a time, or two, when Charles had become so frustrated he had a few 'outbursts'. "The great thing about golf is you can always pick up your ball and take a triple bogey." Xation laughed along with Charles.
The two went to their respective rooms and hurried to change into their golf attire, Xation in his white FootJoys, with matching white crocodile belt, and white hat with the Callaway logo emblazoned upon it in black; which matched his black pants and black golf shirt, whereas Charles opted for a pair of white pants and a green shirt with black golf shoes and no belt and soon they were on their way to the Pro-Shop at the Plantation Course adjacent to the posh hotel. They were so looking forward to this beautiful round that beautiful day, a little after one in the afternoon at a golfers dream course. However, due to the huge amount of people on the island for the upcoming PGA event, they were paired with two Germans, who were incredible golfers and were making Xation and Charles look incredibly bad out on the links, and the fact that they duo barely could speak English did not help matters any. Now one of them spoke French a tongue familiar to Xation, but any conversation had to go from French to English, just so Charles could understand what they were saying, though Xation could not translate some of the rude remarks they were making in their native language, about Charles and his swing, or lack thereof. This was not conducive to a nice tranquil day out on the greens, so when they turned, to head out to the back nine, Xation and Charles decided to just end their day and make their way to the Club House for a nice lobster dinner and pitcher of dry martinis. The vodka helped Charles to forget about the score of 56 he just had, compared to Xation's 39 and, though they may not have enjoyed the company of 'our German cousins', Xation and Charles did enjoy the breathtaking scenery and recalled, over dinner, the pod of whales they saw jumping high up out of the water down by the shore and Xation's incredible eagle on the par 4, hole #3.
Xation and Charles sat at their ocean view table on the balcony of the Club House eating their fill of fresh fish and perfectly cooked lobster, drinking one too many pitchers of the strong alcohol. "Well, I could not possibly eat any thing more, I am about to burst!" Xation said pushing his chair, and himself, away from the table as he tried to pay the bill, but Charles would not here of it so he paid the outrageously expensive bill. This he did happily, continuously thanking Xation for bringing him along. Xation did admit to himself that he did enjoy Charles' company a little more than he liked hanging out with Bengiman. Even though he owed everything he had to Bengiman's loyalty to him. It was true he was a very simple man, of common birth and little education, but Xation knew his dear, old friend may not be able to carry on a lengthy, intelligent conversation, but Bengiman Pruce was always good for a laugh and a good time. Here Xation hoped his close friend was following doctor's orders and healing quickly from his nasty double ear infection. Putting this far from his mind Xation looked over at Charles saying "Now let's stagger over to the hotel, I don't think we are able to drive a golf cart right now, and besides." Xation paused letting out a hellacious burp as they stepped outside, as the sun began to set and the air grew a little chilly as night fell upon Maui. "Excuse me!" he said with an embarrassed laugh "We have to get up early in the morning to catch the ferry over to Lanai." Xation said pointing out across the water to the island to the south.
"All I want to do is take a nice, long hot shower and then wrap up in my warm bathrobe, climb in my bed and go to sleep!" Charles said with a yawn and a stretch as they walked across the lawn lugging their heavy golf bags on their shoulders. Just then a caddy drove up on his way to locking up his golf cart, and he ushered the two tired men into the cart helping them with their bags and driving them the 100 yards to the lobby. This young man's gracious hospitality was rewarded with 2, crisp one hundred dollar bills by a most grateful Xation Day.
"Enjoy your stay on Maui!" the pleasantly surprised young man shouted as he drove away.
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