Good ‘Feeling’ Statue

As I was driving through Waikiki the other day, trying to keep my cool in the heavy traffic that seemed to move a few inches every 10 minutes, I started sweeping the sidewalk with my eyes.

When the snail’s train of cars reached the Luxury Row shopping center at 2100 Kalakaua Ave., a seven-foot tall bronze statue of a seated Hawaiian woman came into view. I’d never seen it before.

The statue was black, its patina disguising its true golden-bronze color … except where people had continually touched it. That’s what interested me – where people had touched it.

If you’ve ever been to Harvard University and seen the John Harvard statue, you may recall that his left foot has been rubbed clean by tourists who are told by guides that it’s good luck to do that. Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know, but I have to say that I’ve done just that.

I bring that up simply as an example. How does it apply to the Hawaiian woman statue and where people have touched it?

Look at the picture. The patina has been rubbed off on the inside of her arms, the tips of her breasts, and her crotch.

Just what does that say about the tourists? I dunno. You tell me.