Today we leave the Island that has been our temporary and primary home for the last sixty-one years. It is so bittersweet. Scott went to elementary school here. I gave birth to my three oldest children and adopted Joshua here. I have two previous loves buried at Punchbowl National Cemetery.
I became an adult here. So much of… well our missed paths then combined years since 1956… so much of our history is here. We have seen the Islands go from a sleepy Island paradise to a tropical metropolitan hub.
As I put Josh’s ashes in the suitcase I lay clown carefully by him. Clown, given to him by his big brother, George, when Josh was just three years old has been with Josh through every surgery. Clown was by Josh’s side until someone made him feel he was too old to have “clown” so clown moved to a shelf where he could watch over Josh. But now, as we depart for the Mainland, clown rides along side Josh keeping his ever vigilant watch.
The first time Scott arrived in the Islands it was by ship. And when he left… it was by ship also. The next year I arrived by plane. When I arrived late the night of August 31, 1960 aboard a United Airlines Douglas DC-8 aircraft it was still a new service. It had just begun March of that same year. All you could see from the plane were runway lights. When leaving the airport we drove through sugar cane fields. So much has changed. Today, as we leave for the airport it is by freeway and the airport is surrounded by bustling businesses.
So it is with a sad heart we say, “A hui hou kakou” (Good-bye, until we meet again) to all our wonderful friends and family we are leaving behind…
And, “Aloha!” (hello with mutual regard and affection) to all our new friends, old friends and family we are moving closer to…
