PICTURED: The night-blooming cereus flower from The House Without a Key, 1925. (they do exist!)
“If you’ve ever read a mystery story you know that a detective never works so hard as when he’s on vacation. He’s like the postman who goes for a long walk on his day off.” — Bob Eden, The Chinese Parrot, 1926, Chapter 3
Aloha, from just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. It’s a pleasure to have you along as we ponder all things related to one of America’s first and most unique characters in literary fiction: Detective Charlie Chan of the Honolulu Police. After 40 years traveling with the U.S. Air Force (as a postman), I settled back into the suburbs near my hometown. And like many of you I’m a big mystery fan. I believe the mystery story guides us through life in our sense of right and wrong, good versus evil, and helps us develop a sense of justice and injustice; even though it might not always turn out as we expect! For myself, I somehow got stuck along the way on this singular Chinese-Hawaiian sleuth. Who can resist those awe-inspiring aphorisms! Or perhaps it had to do with author Earl Derr Biggers growing up an hour from here in Warren, Ohio. Surely his brief stint as a night crime reporter on Cleveland’s newspaper The Plain Dealer influenced my thinking! Then, there is the fact I spent the last 14 yrs of my career in Honolulu, Hawaii walking the very streets and visiting locations from the novels. Yep, that probably sealed it!
Posts and links are to the right, so please dig in. And I hope you’ll come back to visit as I share my thoughts each month on this world famous detective. Or just sign up at right to get my monthly post sent via an email!
Mahalo nui loa,
Lou
P.S. Stop by each Sunday to hear a new Charlie Chan movie Aphorism (top right!)
The Postman on Holiday 