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What make's Hawaii
Special - to me
By
Danny
Sachs
Honolulu
Streets Magazine.
Looks like I update this side of
Honolulu Streets once a year. I apologies for that, I never really
have much to say and I usually keep most of my opinions to myself.
This year however, I’m gonna reveal something a little personal.
Several years ago I wrote an article
about what made Hawaii special to me. It was the first thing that I
ever wrote that actually got published. While my dad was reading the
article in the newspaper, it was also the first time I ever saw his
eyes well up. In these rough economic times of doom and
gloom, I thought it would be appropriate to remember what still
makes Hawaii so very special.
What's special
Oh, it could be the weather, the sound trades winds make when they
whip around the side of the house. Or the people – you know, the
aloha spirit thing.
It could even be the gentle scent of
night-blooming jasmine on a hot, still summer night.
How about while washing your car on a
sunny day, that cooling sensation you get when the sun quickly ducks
behind a passing cloud every once in a while? That would be special
to me.
What about that little jingle KGMB
plays before every news broadcast. “One of the good things about
Hawaii is won-der-ful...” Well, you know the rest. Geez that’s been
around for as long as I can remember. I wonder if they still play
that on TV.
Muggy welcome
I got it! You’re returning from a trip on an evening flight. As your
airplane approaches Honolulu you can’t help but watch how the city
lights seem to shimmer from your window. The plane touches down,
comes to a stop, then taxies to the terminal. You get up from your
seat, walk through the doorway and immediately feel the humid air
from outside rushing in through the gaps between the airplane and
terminal corridor. It’s almost an indescribable feeling of instantly
being home.
You haven’t got your luggage yet;
you’re about 20 minutes form home. Only you essentially don’t have
to be home to feel at home in Hawaii; that’s definitely what could
be special about Hawaii.
Rush hour aloha
If you really think about it, the unpleasant things could be special
too. Here’s one; rush hour traffic on H-1, especially between
Lunalilo and Vineyard. That’s as unpleasant as you can get. But
there you are, bumper to bumper and barely moving. You’ve got your
coffee in a cup holder, the morning edition neatly folded on the
passenger seat, your left-hand signal on to let everyone know you
want to get over. Turning your head, looking front to side, at this
point making any lane change is only a hope. Then someone provides
an opening, you wave thanks and receive a shaka back. Now that’s
special. Because only in Hawaii a gesture like that can truly
solidify the meaning of Aloha.
Hawaii in the heart
Simplify everything by saying it’s a way of life that makes Hawaii
special. No, I’m not going to tell you that. See, I’ve lived in
Hawaii all of my life. Because of a struggling economy, it has been
years since I’ve been home. So now the question, what makes Hawaii
special to me?
Having my past, present and future all
in one place. Being from the most beautiful place on earth and
knowing I grew up there.
Having Hawaii in my heart. It still keeps the aloha in me.
Aloha
a Hui Hou,
If it happened on the streets of Hawaii,
you just might hear it first in Honolulu Streets.
Hawaii's Hot Rod and Automotive News Magazine.
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