GOING HOME

Two weeks before our trip to Hawaii, our friend and traveling companion Don had been over in California tending to his sick step-dad Tom. Tom had cancer of the bladder and was not expected to live; the ninety two year old had other plans. He was very sick, but his spirit was strong; after all, it was just one year before that he had his driver’s license renewed. He was determined to hang in there until the last minute.

After Don had done all he could for Tom he had to turn his attentions to his aging mother. She was quite frail herself and needed help with some things she could not or would not do around the house. He fixed up all the little nuisance items, signed her up for meals-on-wheels, provided her with a Care Giver, even provided her with a med-alert signal device just in case she should fall when there was no one around to help her; of course she wouldn’t wear it, she certainly didn’t need anything like that.

Finally after doing all he could in California, he returned to Arizona where he and Virginia began readying themselves for our trip to Hawaii.

Friday morning, April ninth, we loaded our bags into the car, and at 5:00 am we head off to the Phoenix airport to begin our two week vacation in Hawaii, the land of enchantment. Just a scant nine hours later we touched down at the Kailua-Kona, Hawaii airport and begin to soak in all the beauty of the area. The airport looked as though it had been scraped out of the rough terrain of a lava field, but the flowers, the scents, and the ocean were beautiful. We took the shuttle into Kona, found the resort we would be staying at, and started to settle in.

It had been a long day, and we were exhausted from the plane ride. We had not picked up a car yet so we walked the half-mile into town for dinner, walked back, and then unpacked our bags. By this time we were ready to call it a day.

The next morning around 5:00 am, Virginia was awakened from her sleep by a feeling of great depression. For some unknown reason she was sobbing. She woke Don up to console her. They figured it was just the stress from the trip so they talked for a while and finally went back to sleep. Two hours later, around 9:00 am, Don received a call from California saying that his step-dad had passed away late Friday night.

Around the breakfast table Virginia and Don told us that Tom had died, and of the troubles that Virginia had experienced that night. “It was his spirit connecting with my spirit” she said. “Tom had lived in Kona in the early years of his life, and he wanted me to know that he was home and that everything was alright now”.

We talked about Tom for a while, finished up our breakfast and started to plan what our schedules would be; snorkeling in the ocean, hiking, and touring around the island. First thing we would have to do was to rent a car. I got on the phone and called around to the different rental agencies for a rate comparison. National car rentals had it; we could pick up the car at the airport. Hmmm. We had just spent $40 to get a shuttle from the airport to the resort, and now it looked like we would have to do the same to get back to the airport. I knew we should have made arrangements for the car before the trip. Not to fear, Virginia said she would go over to the concierge and see if they had any transport to the airport. She talked to the office asking about transportation, but they said the resort had no facilities for transportation. One of the workers volunteered to take us up to the airport after she finished her work shift, pau, at 5:00 pm. Virginia said that would be great, and asked if she had room for the four of us. “I have a truck, and if you wouldn’t mind sitting in the back, that would be fine”. Traveling in the back of a pickup is a standard mode of transportation here in the islands, but Virginia was a bit skeptical so she declined the offer. “Maybe you could talk to Louisa. She gets off work at the same time and perhaps she could take you”. So Louisa it was. Virginia talked with her and she graciously agreed to take us all to the airport when finished with her work shift.

At 4:45 pm we walked over to the office, ready for the trip to the airport. Louisa had not finished work yet, so we talked to Aunty TuTu; Aunty, a kama’aina, or long time Hawaiian resident greeting for dear friends, and TuTu, Hawaiian for grandmother. She was the official greeter for the resort; a Hawaiian lady, full of life, energy and spirit. She provided cold juice drinks for the newly arrived guests and often greeted them with Hawaiian songs as she played on her ukulele.

As we talked I told her of the death of Don’s step-father, she was very sympathetic. I told her of Virginia’s experience that morning and that we felt that his spirit had finally come home. Then I told her that we were planning to go up to the Waipi’o Valley near Waimea to blow the Conch shell and throw a flower lei into the surf in his honor. She told us that when we got up there to look for a Lindsey street. That street was named after her father who worked up in that area before he had died. Don told her that Tom, his step-father, had also worked on a ranch in that area when he was a boy. “A paniolo” replied Aunty TuTu, “at the resort party on Tuesday night we will sing a cowboy song for him”. “Where in the area did he work” she asked? “I’m not sure” replied Don, but he knew that the ranch was owned by a woman. “Anna Perry-Frisk” cried Aunty TuTu. “My arm has chicken skin,” she exclaimed. She glanced up at her husband who was standing beside her and blinking back tears. “When was he up there? I’ll bet he worked with my father” she said. The Hawaiians are very close to their deceased ancestors and revere them highly. To meet or know someone who had known their ancestors is truly an honor. They talked of the coincidence, of stories they had been told by their fathers and they hugged. “The party on Tuesday night will be a memorial to your father. And when you go up to the ranch I will go with you and blow the Conch. I will sing a Hawaiian farewell for him as you throw the lei into the surf”.

Hawaii; the paradise island, the enchanted island, that magical place where you can rediscover your life and your very soul.

Has this trip been full of coincidences? Perhaps, but it feels so right, almost as if we were connecting with a long lost friend, or perhaps a kindred spirit.

And we thought that we were the ones who had planned this trip.