Spending such a long amount of time in Hawai`i after being away for three years has been a wonderful, grounding experience. It has reminded me of all of the things I love about the ‘āina, the people, and the sense of ‘ohana that is so dominant in this beautiful land. On Sunday we enjoyed the best picnic dinner ever – after swimming at Ko Olina, we had a Zippy’s bento box while the sun went down over the ocean – can’t beat that!
We’ve been catching up with old friends we haven’t seen in years. Inevitably, we are asked if we’re thinking of moving back to the islands. I have to admit, the prospect is intriguing. BUT – we have a few requirements for our next semi-permanent residence – it must have efficient public transportation, strong environmental support systems, and be a bike friendly city. Unfortunately Honolulu doesn’t have any of these. There are no bike lanes to speak of and like Seattle, they have been arguing about the installation of a train system for twenty years. Yes, they too have spent millions of dollars studying the prospect and have gotten exactly no where. More central to our decision, however, is the total and complete lack of environmental support. Homes do not have curbside recycling and the center at the middle school up the road only recycles paper, no mixed use or plastic items, no phone books, no food packages. We rant almost daily about the fact that we live on an island and yet they make it very hard to do the right thing.
In the first few days of our arrival, we had a jarring experience that reminded us that we are no longer in Bellevue. The neighbors who just bought the house next door and were preparing to spend their first night in their first home experienced a robbery – a break in that stripped them of their precious possessions. He and his pregnant wife are teachers and were gone when it happened at 9:30 in the morning – while we were home next door working with all of the windows open. We never heard anything and had no reason to investigate the house to make sure everything was okay. Once I got past the horror of their first experience in their new neighborhood, all I could think of is that “we’re not in Bellevue anymore”. Today they installed a home security system and I’m so glad they did, it’s just too bad it had to come to that.
After being away for so long, it’s easier to be objective about my adopted home. I see all of the good and all of the beauty and keep that close while acknowledging the parts I might wish would change. This begs the question – should I wait for someone else to make a difference or should I endeavor instead to be a part of that change?
Eyes wide open….