125 years ago today David Kalakaua, the last king of Hawaii, was forced at gunpoint by the Americans to sign the Bayonet Constitution giving America more power in Hawaii while stripping Hawaiian citizens of their rights. God, those Americans really hate the monarchy, don’t they? So because of this historical event, and the fact that nearly the whole country is melting from a godawful heat wave, I thought it would be appropriate for us to visit the Lawn Sprinkler Museum. Yep, that’s right. A lawn…sprinkler…museum.
The owner Bob Bosley, a collector of “sprinkling antiques” as well as Diamond Head Sprinkler Supply, has more than just a bunch of old irrigation devices (most dating back from the 1800s to 1920s) in his Kakaako Shop; he also has a 19th century folding bathtub, a 1915 nickel slot machine, a Hawaii car license plates collection, mid-20th century pinball machines, steel gates from an old Hawaiian king’s tomb, and a 1890s telephone that still works (um…wonder if the iphone will work a 100 years from now). Above all this mess is a dance studio reserved for him and his wife, ballroom dancing champions. But it sounds like Bob has some competition with the on-line Graves Antique Sprinkler and Irrigation Museum. Dance off!
