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Even a working writer gets a vacation now and then, as
long as he’s willing to work on vacation. So here I sit in the
magnificent home of a friend, 1,500 feet above Hawaii’s Kona coast
with a chamber-of-commerce perfect view of the ocean and a
deadline. The chance to house-sit popped up on a Wednesday under
the condition I get here by Sunday, which was no small challenge.
But where there’s a will there’s a way and if there’s a way there’s
a column, so welcome to this aloha edition of “The Junk File.”
*****
My wife could not get away on such short notice so I am
here with my daughter, 19, who was much more willing – and able, a
blessing of youth – to rearrange her life. We have had many
father/daughter trips, if none quite this exotic, so travel well
together. She keeps up her guard though; when I spotted a small row
of coffee trees on the property, laden with beans, I told her what
they were and suggested she could make us fresh-squeezed coffee for
breakfast. This barely got an eye roll. I’m either losing my touch
or my little girl is growing up.
*****
My daughter has long been fascinated with things
Hawaiian, going so far as to name her cat “Aui’li’i,” which
supposedly means “cute and dainty.” I took a few shots at
pronouncing it before declaring “I’ll call her ‘Fluffy,’” which
nearly everyone now does. So when my daughter selected a gift for
her boyfriend with the alleged Hawaiian translation of his name, “Iukekini,”
I glanced at it and said “Fluffy.” He’ll get used to it. The cat
did.
*****
I generally drop my news addiction cold turkey while on
vacation. That means no newspapers, no magazines, no television,
and, in this case, that the radio is glued to an “island music”
station. I should have left my cell phone home too; an associate
called and mentioned the terror bombings in London, which happened
the previous day. I broke my rule and caught about an hour’s worth
of news, then turned it off. Perhaps it’s the surroundings, the
solitude, or the peace that comes from both, but I had one of those
rare moments when I realized angst alone doesn’t accomplish much.
Beyond praying England’s people and leaders won’t go wobbly (as
Margaret Thatcher used to say) like Spain’s after similar attacks, I
am for once sure the world can muddle along without me, for a few
days anyway.
*****
My first visit to Hawaii came on my honeymoon at age 19,
so I see symmetry to being back with my 19-year-old eldest child.
Adding to that, we ran into someone who was a guest at my wedding
and whom I have not seen since. Denise, who was supervising the
catering crew at the luau we attended, moved here to paradise not
long after the wedding and never went back except for short visits.
I love my home and work, but sorely wanted to ask if she needed any
extra hands on the dishwashing crew.
*****
In an odd lapse of judgment, my brother-in-law asked my
daughter to get him a Hawaiian shirt while we’re here. She did, an
explosion of color and bad taste the word “gaudy” does not begin to
describe. These two have had a battle of wits that began about the
time my daughter spoke her first word, so I’m not sure what
possessed him to trust her with something as dicey as a Hawaiian
shirt. Come to think of it, given the one I bought myself he might
have been in safer hands.
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