local style

"Local style" is a broad cultural descriptor used by Hawaii residents to explain the unwritten rules, aesthetics, and problem-solving methods unique to the islands, encompassing everything from food preparation and casual dress codes to resourceful, DIY fixes using whatever materials are on hand. The phrase is appropriate in almost any casual setting and is often invoked with a sense of pride to distinguish the grounded, community-oriented, and unpretentious way of life in Hawaii from the more formal or consumer-driven "mainland style." It is frequently used to justify doing things simply or cheaply, emphasizing function, comfort, and making do with what you have over luxury.

Brandon's 1998 Tacoma sputtered and died right where the pavement ended on a lava field road in Puna. The muffler had been held together by coat hangers and exhaust tape for three months, but this time the radiator hose finally blew, hissing steam into the thick, humid air. Rodel didn't even sigh. He just popped the hood, grabbed a roll of duct tape from the floorboard, and started wrapping the split rubber while the engine was still smoking hot.

"You think that going hold all the way back to Keaau?" Brandon asked, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his greasy hand. They had a bed full of scrap metal they needed to drop off before the yard closed, and calling a tow truck out here wasn't an option. Tow trucks didn't come down these unpaved cinder roads, and even if they did, neither of them had the cash.

"Gotta hold," Rodel muttered, biting off the end of the tape. Elvie had packed them a lunch of leftover adobo and rice in old Country Crock butter tubs, which were currently sitting on the dashboard. Rodel grabbed an empty plastic Hawaiian Sun bottle from the truck bed, hiked down to a nearby catchment tank, and hauled back enough water to refill the radiator. "No need mechanic. We fix um local style. Just drive slow and pray."