Still waiting for Puff

I was out on a Zodiac, bouncing along the Na Pali coast not far from Hanalei, when I ran into Jackie Paper of all people. You remember Jackie, right? No? You don’t recall the folk group Peter, Paul, and Mary (or PP&M as those in the know called them)? It’s November 1963. JFK has just been assassinated. And the number two song on Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 countdown is “Puff the Magic Dragon.”

Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea

And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Hanalei

Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff

And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff

Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail

Jackie kept a lookout perched on Puff’s gigantic tail

Noble kings and prices would bow wheneer they came

Pirate ships would lower their flag when Puff roared out his name

Oh!

That Jackie Paper. Guy must be, I don’t know, 55? 56? But he’s looks pretty good. Little heavier, but still has that innocent-looking face. He was hanging out on a boat in a little cavern with an arched entryway. I asked him what he was up to these days.

Jackie Paper just hangin'. Photo by David Lansing.

Jackie Paper just hangin'. Photo by David Lansing.

“Oh, you know. This and that. Make a few bucks giving tours of Puff’s old home, do a little surfing. That sort of thing.”

Wait a minute…Puff’s old home?

“Yeah, this is where we used to, you know, frolick and stuff.” He pointed to a cave where the rocks were coated in guano. “That’s where we used to play checkers,” he said. He gave a little laugh. “Dragon never won.”

I asked him what had happened to Puff and he just shrugged. “Hard to say, man. Dude had some serious issues.”

According to Jackie, the dragon got his nickname for smoking more than his fair share of Maui Wowie.

“That’s why I stopped coming around,” he said. “Stupid dragon was high all the time.”

Still, Jackie said, those were good times. “To be honest with you, I miss the dude,” he said. His eyes were misting up as he put on his sunglasses and started to pull away from our boat.

“Hey,” he called after us, “if you want a tour of the cave, maybe I could give you a discount. You know, for old time’s sake.”

And with that, Jackie Paper sadly slipped into his cave.

Oh!

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