I want to tell you some things about what it’s like to be in this part of Hawaii. I want to tell you about how there’s a big hole in the lawn out in front of this big old plantation house and how there’s a chicken wire wrapped pig lying on its back, trotters up, full of hot, hot stone. I want to tell you about the lei I made on the porch this afternoon and how it’s pretty good, actually, I did a decent job for an amateur.… continued…
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
The first time I went to Hawaii, I got crazy from the sound of the ukulele. When I returned to Seattle, I’d decided that I was going to make that sound myself. I had no idea how this was going to happen, only that it was. I shopped, listlessly, for a real uke, and I failed to buy one for about a year. One spring afternoon, I was standing on a friend’s front porch — they were getting rid of as many of possessions as they could bear to part with.… continued…
“Do you mind my asking? Are you Christian?”
“No, no, I’m Jewish.”
“Messianic? Orthodox?”
I smile and shake my head. “Ha, no, I’m a West Coast Jew. I grew up in California.” I’m not sure Norman knows what I mean by this. “I’m not practicing,” I say, by way of explanation.
“Have you been to Israel?”
“I have, I studied Hebrew, too, I used to be quite conversational. I was a kibbutz volunteer for a year and a half after high school.”
“I hope to go some day, before Jesus takes me,” Norman says, pointing up towards the breaking clouds.… continued…
“Is everyone ready?”
“Does it matter if I say NO?”
That’s the exchange I had with pilot Kyle just before the little eight seater headed down the runway. I looked at all the analog buttons and dials and the map of the island. I craned my neck to see over the nose of the little plane and I watched the white stripe down the middle. The Piper lifted up into the air, tipped its wings just a little this way and that, and the island was underneath us, red dirt and papaya, asphalt and grass.… continued…
I was getting ready to leave when the little guy dropped himself down next to me on the sand. He didn’t say anything or reach for me, he just sat down and started playing with his shovel and messing around with sticks. I couldn’t get up and walk away, he was so companionable and quiet, sitting there right next to me. We hung out for a while and then his dad, upon seeing that I’d gone to wipe the little guy’s hands with my towel, wandered over to make sure everything was cool.… continued…
