May Lau volunteers to teach three sessions of mahjong each week in a room at Kīlauea District Park, a city facility next to Kaimukī Middle School.
The classes at the park’s recreation center — including ping pong, seated exercises for seniors, aerobics and line dancing — are offered free of charge mostly to elderly retirees, some of whom walk from their nearby Kaimukī homes.
“People are happy here,” Lau said when I visited one of her classes. “They come early to classes. It is a sense of fellowship, to play and get together with friends and make new friends. It is a chance for them to get out of their houses and spend three hours free from household duties. Just listen to their laughter over the click of the mahjong tiles.”…