Since we arrived on Maui, we have
driven past the Sugar Museum about a dozen times, and each time one
of us would say “We should make a point of going in there one day.”
We had ordered tickets to see James Taylor this Friday and were
headed into town to pick them up when we approached the Museum again.
I was just about to tell Louise that “We should make a point to go
in there sometime.” when she said “Let's go in the museum!”
Well, I want to go too, but I didn't
really think we ever would. I knew what it would be like without even
knowing anything about it. There would be a tiny parking lot that
even with only 15 spots it was always empty. In the surrounding area,
old rusty pieces of machinery that had out lived it's usefulness
would have grass growing where grass shouldn't grow. It would be so
hot outside that you would be hard pressed to take a deep breath and
when you did it felt as if you were breathing dust.
We walked up the stairs and opened the
door to be greeted by a tiny woman of indeterminate age or
nationality. She went into her speech about the museum and just about
two thirds the way through I heard the words “Seniors over 60 pay
five dollars.” Yes, it was going to be five dollars too much, but
it wouldn't be $7.50 too much. She told us to go to our right and
that there was a short ten minute video later on to watch. The first
sign that I saw was the one that said no cell phones and no cameras.
I was crest fallen! I was hoping that there would be some antiques
that I could get a picture of and perhaps use it for a few days as
the desktop picture on my computer.
You know, I would have thought that the
sugar museum would smell a lot like sugar. In fact, I was
anticipating that I might have to leave early because of the sickly
sweet smell that was a combination of cotton candy and almost made
toffee. From the moment I entered, all that I cold smell was human
waste. I suspect the little old lady had a bag attached or was
wearing Depends, but my nostrils closed of their own volition and I
was breathing through my mouth. I'm sure I was imagining the smell,
but sometimes imagination can be just as real as real is real.
The museum and exhibits were quite
interesting. Not five bucks interesting, but interesting. I guess
that I am spoiled with Google, being able to research anything I want
at a moments notice. The pictures and video were eye opening, and
once again I thank whatever God there is that I was born in this day
and age, and not 100 years ago. I am not someone that will gladly
work myself to death without complaining as those people did. I
always wonder just how shitty their lives must have been before to
decide that this is a better option. They did hard labour in this
heat and had to be covered up to protect themselves from the chaff.
This for about a buck a day. They would have had to work for a week
and a bit just to get into this museum, unless they were over sixty.
I have the feeling that not too many of them made it past sixty.
We read all of the captions under all
of the pictures and even watched the ten minute movie. Louise (rebel
that she is) managed to take a picture of an interesting stove that
the workers would use. I should have taken some pictures, after all,
I think I could take shit lady in a fair fight. We met another
volunteer on the way out, an older man (maybe he was the one that
smelled like shit) who was very Hawaiian looking. I figured that he
might have retired from a hard life in the cane fields, but it turned
out he was just some retired insurance guy from Michigan doing
volunteer work.
We chatted a bit and then as we went
out the door, Shit lady called us back to give us some complimentary
sugar in a bag. We got a bag each and I don't think I will ever use
it. It cost us $10 for two tiny packets of sugar and I don't know who
filled these tiny baggies but I do know that I didn't see any latex
gloves around and the place still had that smell to it.
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