Hawaiian Culture Series, Part II: Going Postal

The suburban area that I live in now is quiet. It is full of Haoles (that's a beautiful Hawaiian word for what we in Oakland used to call "honky crackers"). Nothing very exciting happens here besides the odd bake sale.

But there's one thing: mailboxes. They have more personality than some of the people I've met.

Some of them are lovingly hand painted:

Or glued-on with shells and fake geckos:

Some have their own flowerpot attatched:

While others are mysteriously growing out of a flowerpot:

Some have their own garden:

But they are totally put to shame by the one with its own picket fence:

Some of them try to hide or blend in with the scenery. I don't know if this is a matter of trying to stealthily trick the mailcarrier or if they are just shy.
"Nothing to see here, I'm just a bush..."

"I'm hiding in a tree!"

"I'm just a lobster trap on a stick."


Or, there is the classic nonchalantly-sitting-on-top-of-a-bush style:

At the opposite end of the spectrum, there's the overinflated-mailbox-ego.

"I'm a Swiss Chalet!"

"I'm a pile of volcanic rocks."

"I'm a tiny house."

"That's nothing, I'm a tiny house with kittens, sprouting out of a faux well!"

"I'm an island hut within a bush!"


You also have the Georgia O'Keefe mailbox:


And the surrealist patriotic-dolphin-jumping-into-bush mailbox:


Taking the lead in the suprising category of Sexy Mailboxes: two sexy mailboxes on a stick.


Which clearly wins the category (even though the girls don't have faces) because it was the only sexy mailbox, possibly in the world.

And then, here's the topper:

Yes, that's a real anchor. A Giant Anchor. If anyone can tell me what a mailbox has to do with an anchor I'd be grateful.

Keep in mind these are all within a two-block radius of my house. I'm far too lazy to go looking for this kind of thing. It's kind of making me feel insecure about the inadequacy of our own humble mailbox.

Maybe I'm supposed to glue tiny farm animals and beensy hay bales to the side or something.