It’s crazy that today, August 11, 2021, is the 15th anniversary of Dave’s passing. 15 years. As we all keep saying, time flies. It totally doesn’t seem like it’s been 15 years.
Initially I wasn’t sure what to write in this anniversary post. After some thought, I decided that this post should be about some of the memories of the fun and funny times I’ve had with Dave.
Many who are reading this had never met him and don’t know what a cool, fun guy he was. For those who knew Dave, you know that he wondering what took me so long to tell some stories about him.
“It’s all about Dave Castles baby. “ He actually used to say that 🙂
We met in 1995 at Kamaole Beach Park One. Dave was on an extended Maui vacation…said he was “semi-retired”. Honestly, I’m not sure what that even means. 😉
He was from Methuen, Massachusetts. He had been in the auto sales business for maybe 10 years and managed a couple of dealerships. He was burned out and decided he needed to take a break. Good timing because I had just left the radio station and was taking a break myself. We hung out every day and night for five months….mostly at the beach.
The one about da Isuzu
Dave was on a six month vacation (he extended it a month) so he rented an ohana apartment in Kihei and bought a car. The funny thing was that after driving brand new cars for years working at dealerships, he actually bought Maui cruiser! He knew it made sense to buy a good used car rather than rent one for the entire time he was in Maui. Of course, later on, he ended up selling it for a profit.
He bought a blue Isuzu pick up truck for I believe $2000. It was lowered and had tires that were too wide and touched the fender if you turned the steering wheel too far. This was totally not a typical Dave Castles vehicle, but he loved it and enjoyed driving it! I so wish I had a photo of it! But of course back then we didn’t think to take pictures of this Maui cruiser. 🙂
Dave called the Isuzu a “sweet ride” and said it with a big smile and looked at you as if waiting for a reaction.
The one about the cover charge
Dave hated paying cover charges when we went out. We used to go to Moose McGillycuddy’s and World Café in Lahaina among a few other places.
One night that Dave and I decided to go to World Café, we were running late and parked pretty far. Cover charge started at 9pm and it was just a few minutes before nine when we parked. Dave decided we should run to make it there before 9pm. We full on sprinted….not jogged, sprinted…. from the car all the way to the front door at World Café. We were cracking up the whole way and people must’ve thought we were crazy.
We made it just before 9pm, but I guess the local guy/bouncer at the door had already started collecting cover charge, which btw, wasn’t much. Dave told him it was not yet 9pm. The guy said they were already collecting cover. It went on for a bit with Dave explaining how we sprinted from the parking lot.
In the end the guy said, “Come on man, it’s only $2.” I remember how he emphasized TWO dollars. It didn’t matter to Dave though because at this point it was about convincing the guy to not charge us. I suggested he just pay it. He did, but I know he would’ve kept at it if I hadn’t asked him to pay it. Whether it was $2 or $20, Dave hated paying cover. And when I say $2, I mean cover was $1 each! Haha!
The one about the longest running Maui News car ad
Dave owned quite a few motorcycles in the past. Most were Japanese street bikes, but when he moved to Maui, he ended up buying a Harley Davidson Fat Boy. He loved it and it was always super clean and shiny.
At one point I told him it’s not practical to have it and that he should sell it. He agreed and placed a “Run it til in sells” ad in the Maui News. The deal was you pay a one-time fee for the ad, and keep renewing it for free until it sells. Dave set a price; I don’t remember what it was, and the ad ended up running for two years! Completely intentional! 🙂
The one about throwing gifts
Dave would make fun of some of the gifts his family gave him. He used to tell me that his mom goes Christmas shopping and remembers his gift while she’s waiting in line at the checkout, then picks something off a nearby shelf. Lol!
We were staying at the Waianapanapa cabins in Hana, Maui, when he showed me the Mickey Mouse men’s sleepwear his mom bought him for Christmas. We were cracking up as he put it on and posed with it. I also would like to add that although he made fun of the set, he did wear the shorts A LOT! Must have been comfy!
His sister, Cathy, told me about how he used to open gifts from family, usually clothes which were not something he’d wear, hold it up and say, “Oh, you got me this?” and fling it or throw it on the floor. Everyone would burst out laughing about it. They were just used to him doing stuff like that.
He had never done that around us though so neither Sierra nor I had ever witnessed him being a brat and tossing gifts. He did make funny comments though.
Recently I pulled out our entire set of mini DV tapes of Sierra when she was younger. During her time at home during the pandemic, Sierra converted them all to digital files. We came across this one video clip that I’ve watched a couple hundred times at least. It’s a cute, funny clip of her being Dave Castles’ daughter.
Now just a note that we have always encouraged Sierra to be grateful for any gift she gets regardless of what it is, but this unexpected reaction, shows how she’s daddy girl and I have to agree with what Dave says at the end of the clip. Enjoy!
Thanks for being here and reading my stories about Dave. Will be sharing more fun memories with Dave soon!