The group decided it would be smart idea to rent an aiga bus for the day and have it drive us around the island. It might have been one of our better ideas. New Guy's assistant at work has a brother who owns a bus. It is the Massacre Bay Express.
We left Palagi Village around 11 am, which was basically on time for us - a surprise to all of us. Ed wanted to come with us,
but we realized that none us were responsible enough to make sure Ed made it back to Palagi Village. However, Ed being the smartest dog in the world, would have been able to find her way back. We headed west, and started to pick up people.
We had to stop at one point to reconfigure the coolers.
We were quickly running out of space on the bus. Luckily Samoa Steve brought his own bottle opener - his mouth.
ouch. By the end of the trip we had 30 people on the bus. Even Mr. Kava came back to Am Sam from the mainland to take part in the ride.
Everyone had a blast on the bus. As you can see & hear.
On the westside we stopped for barbecue - it was outstanding.
Due to our load, we were not able to make it up the hill on the westside. We turned around and headed east. We drove through the canneries - it was an especially stinky day. Nevertheless, we pulled through and made it to Tisa's Barefoot Bar.
We spent a couple of hours at Tisa's. On the way back, the police pulled us over. We thought it was going to be jail for us - which would have been sort of funny since we had the entire Public Defender's Office and all but one of the Assistant Attorney Generals on the bus. However, the police simply told us to keep our beer cans inside the bus instead of hanging outside the windows. We stopped for pizza and ended our trip back at Palagi Village and New Guy's place where we burned stuff.
Good times.
After the surprise party, I went to Jeff & Mer's 
so we could say goodbye to Samoan Steve - 
doesn't he sort of look like Judd Nelson? He is leaving for Hawaii for a new job. He should be back in six months, but that is a lifetime in Am Sam - or at least half a contract for a law clerk. On Sunday, after brunch at Deluxe Cafe (perhaps the fourth Sunday in a row), a group of us went to Sliding Rock. The walk over is pretty cool.
Unlike last time I went, it was low tide, so it the pool was nice and calm. 
However, every once and awhile a major wave would crash into the pool and push us around. It was really cool. This one Samoan kid was running on the (slippery) lava and jumping into the pool. 
CRAZY!
into this.
Awesome. Samoa Steve showed us how to get down.
A little video...
As you can see.
Yes ladies, this a black velvet leopard print. 
And yes, his fly is down. good times.
No, not that guy. The new 50-cent per hour minimum wage hike for all industries in American Samoa goes into effect today. Am Sam thought they dogged that bullet, but Congress attached the wage hike to the Iraq funding bill - and it passed - so in a few years Am Sam will have the same minimum wage as that of the mainland. Right now, with the 50-cent jump, the highest rate will be $4.59, while the garment industry will have the lowest minimum wage at $3.18 per hour. Cannery works will make about $3.76 per hour. No sure how that is going to work out for the territory - the standard of living is a "little" bit different then the mainland. The major employer - the canneries -
have kept relatively quiet, but strong rumors persist that they are looking to leave. If they do leave, at least the stink will not be as bad, but not sure what the economy will be looking like - guess not everyone is a fan of 50-cents.
New Guy learned a valuable lesson - never allow Gonzo and Nate near your unlocked car. 
Now the saran wrap and palms were bad, but they left a special gift inside the car. 
A box of green printer paper. It took about one hour for us to mash up the paper - but that also involved a great paper ball fight. We are not sure if New Guy will clean out the car - I mean he can still drive it, right?
Besides helping out my friends, my moving karma required me to help. While in DC, I moved about a dozen times in about 10 years. Part of reason I moved to Chicago is that my friends refused to move me anywhere else in DC. I guess they got sick of moving my random possession which include a butter churner. Go figure. Luckily, the Keysers had moved almost everything minus the heavy stuff - like the washer and dryer. 
Not that bad. I wasn't sure why they were moving from a pretty sweet place in Beverly Hills, but once I saw the view from the bedroom - I knew why.
crap.
I properly celebrated by sitting in A/C watching TV and eating fast food for most of the day. Happy Dependence Day!