One of the first things (if not the only thing) people want to know is how we came up with the idea for Go Fish-Hawai’i, our signiture card game for kids of all ages.
It all started innocently enough. A number of years ago I was visiting Auntie Lois in Kailua with my two kids, Alex and Taylor. Among many other things, we asked her how to pronounce the name of Hawai’i’s favorite fish. She lined us all up and said it very slowly:
“Who moo who moo.”
“New coo new coo.”
“Ah.”
“Poo.”
“Ah. Ah.”
Then she said it again. And again.
After a few butchered attempts, it was finally rolling off our tongues.
“Humuhumunukunuku-a-pua’a.”
“Wow!” I said. “What if you had to ask for the fish by their Hawaiian names when you played Go Fish?”
Hmmmm. That’s not such a bad idea.
And thus, Go Fish-Hawai’i was conceived.
I must say, it has been an amazing ride. Just after we published Go Fish!, I was snorkeling at Shark’s Cove on the North Shore of Oahu with my son, who was nine at the time. Suddenly, he reared his head out of the water, spit out his snorkel and sputtered, “Did you see the lauwiliwili nukunuku ‘oi ‘oi?”
Soon, our customers were asking for more and, not wanting to rest on our laurels too long, we came out with another game, Great White!, and then released our Reefer Magnets!
We’ve also headed out in another direction, thanks again to Auntie Lois who stopped by our house in Kailua one day and dropped off a couple of `ukuleles. One thing led to another and we launched Kani Ka Pila (which means “let’s make music”) to develop products to enhance our enjoyment of this very fine and fun instrument. And that led to Ukulele Adventures, ukulele retreats and excursions to all parts of the globe.
What a wild and wonderful ride it’s been.
Alex and Taylor have both now graduated from from college and we still visit Auntie Lois in Hawai’i whenever we can, swim with the fish and honu, eat shave ice and malasadas, and play our ‘ukuleles. So, here’s hoping that you and your family and friends will enjoy your time together, playing our games, remembering Hawai’i, the ocean and its creatures, (and perhaps even taking up the `ukulele) as much as we have enjoyed bringing them all to you.
