Kirby's Wright's Weblog

Honorable Mention, Honolulu Magazine--Part I

During my senior year at Punahou School in Honolulu, my extracurricular activities included accompanying my friend Steve Johnson on his drug deals. We'd go off-campus and hang out outside the Lutheran Church—that's where Steve sold his magic mushrooms, Maui Wowie, Bangkok hash, and hash oil. The hash was being smuggled into Hawaii in hollowed-out boards and Steve knew the smuggler's brother so he got a good deal. He'd carry his drugs and paraphernalia, including a scale he'd ripped off from chemistry lab, in his mother's old cosmetic case. Steve's blond hair was a beacon to students searching for mind altering substances. Everyone from the Brains to the Jocks would show up on the Church lawn and even ROTC cadets marched across the street. Drugs had a way of bringing people together.

Steve and I had become friends after his chemistry textbook was stolen and I let him borrow mine on weekends. He'd been a Brain until his father died flying helicopter missions into Cambodia. He'd always thought of his father as a hero and, with him gone, he quit ROTC and got into drugs. Steve claimed the combination of hash and blotter acid damaged his eyesight and forced him to wear glasses. He couldn't wear contacts because his corneas were warped. He said drugs were destroying his sense of sight but they made up for it by stimulating his mind. Because most of the money he made supported his consumption of hash oil, he quit buying new clothes and ate only two scoops rice and gravy for lunch. He started shopping at Big 88 army surplus in the low rent district of Kalihi. He was the first to wear camouflage pants to school and he started a craze that swept through campus. Dean McQueen said it was a slam against the military. Miss Takata, my English teacher, made a camouflage skirt. It didn't take long for Sears and Liberty House to catch on and create entire camouflage sections. When I told Steve he should get a percentage, he said he'd gladly sell his rights for a quart of hash oil.

(let me know if you would like to read more! :-)