Haven’t seen blue sky since we’ve been on Kaua’i. Mostly overcast, with the typical Hawai’i on-off rain patterns (“Don’t like the weather? Wait five minutes”). But yesterday it broke into a full storm, with all the fixin’s.
Without wishing to seem overly melodramatic, being on a body of land just barely 550 square miles under such conditions is a little unnerving. I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like during Hurricane ‘Iwa in 1982 or ‘Iniki 10 years later, with winds up to 175 mph.
But, as they say here, “No rain, no rainbows.”
Listening to a collection of slack key guitar music that we picked up from Borders in Lihu’e. Borders is a big deal because when my wife was growing up, there were no book stores on the island. There was a book section at the drug store, there was a library, and there were trips to O’ahu.
As for slack key, according to Moon Handbooks Kaua’i it is a style of guitar originally brought from Spanish vaqueros (cowboys) in California during the reign of Kamehameha III. Players fingerpick the strings, typically alternating bass lines with melody lines (which themselves are often harmonized), and use different tunings to achieve different sounds. For the guitarists reading this, slack key players also use techniques such as fretted harmonics as well as hammer-ons and pull-offs. Traditionally, slack key tunings have been closely guarded within families, although that is changing with the times.
Often the guitarist is unaccompanied. Other times, there may be a traditional falsetto vocal. The songs are mostly in major keys and there are very distinct phrases–particularly turnarounds–that are a part of every player’s repertoire. Because of the generally upbeat melodies and the traditional cliched phrases, the music may sometimes sound unsophisticated to our postmodern pallette that insists on irony in all art. But make no mistake, like the bluegrass musicians of the eastern United States, these cats can play. And for my money, slack key guitar is some of the most pure, honest, and beautiful music in the world.
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Our photo today is of a “traffic jam” in Wailua. It may not seem like much, but this is the road you must take if you plan to go just about anywhere on the island.
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So we’re looking at current Padre broadcaster Mark Grant. His profile is on page 628 of The Scouting Report: 1990, directly opposite that of Tony Gwynn’s, and goes a little like this:
Since Mark Grant was a youngster with the Giants, the big rap on him has been his lack of maturity… Grant was known more as a cut-up than for a cut fastball–a perception that was highlighted when he was caught on camera administering a hot foot to a teammate one night… Under the watchful eye of Padre pitching coach Pat Dobson, Grant has made significant progress. A two-pitch pitcher basically relying on an average fastball and slider, Mark has been working on adding a change up to his repertoire. More importantly, Dobson seems to have been able to teach Grant how to pitch with his head… Grant, responding well, recorded career bests with an 8-2 mark, a 3.33 ERA and a pair of saves in 1989… At 26, Grant may have finally turned the corner… Though he will always love having a good time, Mark has shown he can get down to business when it comes to doing his job.
As it happened, 1989 was Grant’s best season in the big leagues. His playing career ended following the 1993 season, which he split between the Astros and the Rockies. The former first-round pick of the Giants finished up with a 22-32 record and 4.31 ERA in 638 2/3 innings.
I doubt that much of this will come as a huge surprise to folks who have been watching Grant on television for the past several years. Fortunately for us, any “lack of maturity” that may have been evident in his big-league career has made him a genuine pleasure to enjoy a Padres game with on the tube.
That’s all for now. One more day of R&R, then it’s back to San Diego and being outraged at the outfield situation…
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