Welcome Back

We're happy to announce that the Little Civic that Could arrived safe and sound in Nawiliwili harbor last Monday. This week, after procuring the necessary paperwork, I got our new Hawaii tags. Don't they look cute on her?

On Monday, I drove the Civic to a tire shop to get the mandatory safety inspection needed to drive legally. Someone had asked me if I thought the car would pass. I never really considered it NOT passing - it is a Honda, after all. And here, you'll frequently see rusted out pick-up trucks circa 1972 with tires the size of Jupiter flying down the roads at warp speed. If they can pass, surely the Civic would be fine, right? But after being questioned, I began to worry. She is old, and of course she's not the best equipped vehicle on the road.

After arriving at the tire shop, I settled in for what I figured to be a long ordeal. Prepared with my book to pass the time, I pay the woman at the counter. She hands me a form, and heads out the door. When I take a closer look at this form, I realize it is my safety certificate. On it, there is a detailed checklist for the inspection - blinkers, brakes, lights, mirror, etc. Oddly enough, I notice that 'acceptable' is already checked for each item. How can this be, one might ask, when no one has inspected the car? Puzzled, I follow the woman out to the car, where she proceeds to walk from the front end to the back bumper. She puts a sticker on the bumper, and tells me 'You're all set!'. The safety inspection consisted of her walking halfway around my car and affixing a sticker. The ignition was never turned on; a door was never open.

It's reassuring to know they have such high standards for vehicle safety in this state.