In order to avoid what is a crowded affair at Pearl Harbor today, the day marking 75 years since the Japanese attack on Hawaii, we opted to go the opposite direction on sightseeing. We’ve got tickets to go to the memorial on Friday.
I headed out for a run this morning at 4 am. Still failed to find the City Hall and HW for the fictional 5-0. I’ll google map it to try and figure out if like Bugs Bunny I should’ve made that turn at Albuquerque…
Mom got a bit of a sunburn on the catamaran ride yesterday so we thought we’d do a more covered activity today. We opted for “The Fun Way To See Hawait” — the Waikiki Trolley.
With moments to spare… and I do mean moments… we boarded the Blue Line Waikiki Trolley at 8:41 AM for an 8:42 AM departure. Taking us on a two-and-a-half hour tour of the southeastern coast of Oahu, The Blue Line provided a double decker vantage of such natural wonders as Diamond Head, Halona Blow Hole, and Sandy Beach, the latter being the boyhood bodyboarding surfline for Barack Obama (and on at least one occasion for some choice waves during his presidency!).
We also stopped at Halona Cove, aka Eternity Bay, location for one of cinema’s most iconic love scenes in From Here to Eternity. We’re still not clear how one gets down to the beach there – there are plenty of warning signs discouraging tourists from crossing the safety barriers and hitting the trails that might lead downward.
One of the biggest wow moments though comes with the overlook of Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. Despite the egregious misspelling of “orientation” (kudos to Mom for spotting that!), it’s a most non-, non non-heinous spot (to borrow a bit of Bill and Ted speak). As with a lot of the days’ viewing, my main reaction was, “Well, this doesn’t suck.”
Returning to Waikiki, we grabbed lunch from one of my favorite local taco spots, Surf n Turf Tacos. The grilled fish and garlic shrimp one-two taro taco punch was as good as I remember… and I remember them being pretty darn good.
Ultimately this day though is and should be about remembering Pearl Harbor. We staked out a spot to watch the presumably bigger-than-usual parade down Kalakaua at 4 PM. The parade itself didn’t really start though until 6:45 pm. We smartly grabbed an early bird dinner at Chuck’s and then wandered out to watch the parade when it finally got under way.
Sonewhere throughout the day, I got overwhelmed with thoughts of history and time. To realize what happened then… and to draw parallels to it in my own lifetime to the horrors of September 11th … there was an emotional punch to the gut for me on this day. We’ve come far and yet not far at all as a world. Unspeakable crimes against our fellow men, women, and children…. Not to mention the devastation we wreak on our environment… it’s all left me feeling a bit maudlin and down. To think of the terrible way during WWII that we treated our own people with internment camps and suspicions… and the way hate mongering and fear has been stoked in the current political climate… I’m at times at a loss for our society and our world.
It’s an odd sensation, a contradiction in what really should be one’s feelings in this paradise island in the Pacific Ocean. I feel guilty and sad. I guess there’s pride and joy at the thought of what happens when a sleeping giant is aroused by outrages… and I try and take comfort and solace in that… but to think of the costs borne by others, both 75 years ago and now at this moment, before good people stand up to evil and say, “No more.” Such is the plight of life I suppose. Knowing when to do something that actually helps and when one’s actions are only making things worse.
Jeez. This has all gone pear shaped, no? Here – here are some lovely photos of the sunset here in Honolulu to help rally the spirits.
For each end is the beginning of another tale; when the sun arises, there is a chance to begin again, to have an opportunity to make amends, to make things better, to do something more for oneself and for others. Is this not a worthy existence then? When seeing the sun amidst the sea, how can one not hope that there is more to come, better things and brighter moments.
The world is born anew.