(No. 21, a ±03 minute read)
I'm outta here.
On Friday I filed my (enormous) story looking at Paradise, California on the fifth anniversary of the Camp Fire, and with it thirty-five pictures. This weekend I put together the list of those who the magazine will mail notices of publication to; this is the only outlet that does this—the person who handles reader engagement is remarkable. And I took care of a few loose ends for my teaching gig, I even caught a few waves at Point Panics thanks to an early South swell and a very persistent pal who appears to not want to see me become entirely useless in the water. And I packed.
We’re going to Hawai‘i! (Use that link judiciously—it’s a recording of a friend’s older brother’s hardcore band from 1987. They were so fun to see play.) I am extremely lucky to be from Honolulu, and now that I’m back even my worst days are in Hawai‘i. That is something not lost on me. So, being already here in this Pacific archipelago, playing tourist on Kauai is what my week holds. I do not expect any sympathy.
Since the fires on Maui my life has been…busy. Covering and writing about the fires, getting through the incredibly difficult and yet also just incredible Monumental episode investigating the memorializing of WWII ethnic Japanese detention here in Hawai‘i (thanks to those who I was able to interview and my producing partner Caroline Losneck, and really everyone who I was able to work with at PRX and Island Sound Studios).
Throw in more than a week reporting in Paradise and writing that huge story, time in San Francisco for APEC, my tough Red Canary Magazine essay. (Which I have now recorded my reading of, should you want to suffer it audibly—it will be forthcoming on their site and nowhere near as professional sounding as the PRX piece—well—because I did it myself. Amateur hour!) Plus an assignment to run very soon that sent me back to Maui, and a forthcoming look at O‘ahu’s longline fishery, and fleet, which included working through a night at the Honolulu Fish Auction, which is also to be published soon. Writing this list I can’t believe that this has all happened since August.
So, like so many Americans, I am going to enjoy vacationing on Kauai. It will be walking in the mountains, snorkeling and free-diving to spy on fish and I can’t wait. So, since I’m out the door, enjoy these pictures of the first Kilohana Hula Show at the Waikiki Shell. This show is a revival of the Kodak Hula Show, a spectacle paid for by Kodak to sell film, which it certainly did, and give visitors a glimpse of Hawaiian culture. Revived as part of efforts to provide visitors a perhaps more authentic look at Hawaiian Culture than Kodak may have achieved I think it a great thing. It’s free, go see it if you visit. I can tell you , it’s the real deal—stunning dancing.
Have a great week, I know I will. And here’s a little photographic aloha.
And I know I ran this last week, but it’s a favorite:
Rest even for the wicked!