Growing up in Newport Beach, Michael and his family and friends played a lot of beach volleyball. Michael’s dad and his friends used to play a drinking game mixed with beach volleyball that Michael now plays with his dad. The game is called Ace.
In Ace, you start by placing a pack of beers next to one of the poles that holds up the net. Everyone breaks up into two teams on each side of the net. Generally you play with two teams of four or possibly two teams of six. The game is similar to regular beach volleyball, however when someone gets an Ace, the drinking game starts. An Ace is when the ball hits the ground on the other side of the net without anyone on the other team touching the ball. When an Ace occurs, the team who got aced must share a beer. However, once an Ace occurs, a mini game takes place. Both teams try to grab the volleyball and touch it against the pole with the beers under it. Whichever team the person who touches the volleyball to the pole first is on, that team has possession of the ball. During the attempt to get the volleyball to the pole, each team can pass the ball and tackle or hold down other people to try and prevent the person form getting to the pole. The advantage for getting possession of the ball if your team got the Ace is that you can serve the ball the second the team finishes their beer, which is an easy opportunity for another Ace. The defending team advantage for possessing the ball is that they do not need to worry about the other team serving quickly because the other team can’t serve to continue the game without the ball. The game ends when the first team gets to fifteen game points in volleyball, meaning a team served fifteen successful balls over the net and hit the sand inside the court of the opposing team. Ace is just a mini drinking game that is a part of the game of volleyball. Ace just plays off the term used when you get a point where no one on the other team touched the ball. Therefore, the number of Aces doesn’t matter to the score of who wins Ace. Getting more Aces just means that the other team has to drink more and is likely to preform worse.
Author Archives: Wilson Knapp
Queens Prayer
When Kula and his family would have big family gatherings, they would all say a prayer before they ate their meal. The prayer was called the Queens Prayer and went like this:
Ho’onani ka ma kua mau
ke keiki me ho’o na me no
Ke akua mau ho’omai ka’I pu
Ko kea au ko kela au
Amene
(English)
Praise God from whom all blessing flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.
The prayer was similar to saying grace before a meal. However, it is not solely said before a meal. It is used as an initiation to something important. Hawaiians would say the prayer to start chapel service or at the opening of a new restaurant or business or before a surf tournament. In whichever case the prayer was used, everyone involved would join hands while one person, usually the head of the family or event would say the prayer. Everyone else would quietly say the prayer along with the orator.
Jon-kana-po
Jon-kana-po is the Hawaiian version of “rock-paper-scissors.” Two people would play by putting their hand into a fist and chanting Jon-kana-po as they shook their fist up and down with each word. When they got to the word “Po,” each player had to change their hand into either a fist, a flat hand, or in the shape of scissors. Jon was the name of the fist; kana was the name of the flat hand; and po was the name of the scissor shape. Each hand shape had its advantage. Jon would beat po; po would beat kana; and kana would be jo. However, if each player put the same hand shape out, they would try playing again, but this time they would chant: “Itchy-Itchy-to.” This change in chant did not change the game at all. The hand motions and shapes stayed the same, but the change of the chant made it to stress the importance of the next move as well as show that the round was not over.
The Turkey and The Tree
Matt’s dad told him this joke once he started working the summer before going to college. The joke was meant to be a funny story that provided Matt with a moral.
“There was a Turkey who really wanted to get to the top of a tree, but he didn’t have the strength to climb the tree. The Turkey walked around trying to figure out what he should do. He came across a Bull and began to explain that he really wanted to get to the top of the tree, but he needed more strength. The Bull told the Turkey that he should eat some of his droppings because they would provide the Turkey with some nutrients that would give him strength to get to the top of the tree. So, the Turkey ate a little bit of the Bull’s droppings and climbed up a few branches in the tree. The next day the Turkey ate a little bit more of the Bull’s droppings and climbed a few more branches of the tree. Within four days, the Turkey made it to the top of the tree. The Farmer walked outside that day and saw the Turkey standing on top of the tree. The Farmer shot the Turkey and then ate him for dinner.”
Moral of the story: “Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.”
The joke provides a truth that in order to be successful, you need to understand your job as much as possible. Pretending to know how to do something or know something might work for a little bit, but once you have to perform it or talk about it you won’t be able to succeed.
The Ghost of Alta Dena
There is a specific street in Alta Dena that is completely flat and rarely driven on. The street is out of the way from almost any house, so people infrequently drive along it. In the past, a terrible accident occurred in the middle of the road, and a man was killed. Since it took so long for the ambulance to get to the man and because the body was so mangled, the ghost of the man is known to haunt the street. It is said that if you drive to the middle of the street and put your car into park, then switch it to neutral, your car will begin to slowly move forward. The car starts to drive itself because the ghost of the man who was killed pushes the car. It only works if you are facing the street to the north because that is the direction the man was travelling at the time of the accident. It is said that he is still trying to get to his destination that is why he pushes the car.
In reality, the street is most likely not perfectly flat. Probably, the street has a slight decline to it that makes the car roll forward. However, the street does appear flat, and people continue to spread the story of the ghost who pushes the car forward.