(advertisement from 1963)“…and the seasons, they go ‘round and ‘round,
and the painted ponies go up and down.
We’re captured on a carousel of time…”
- Joni Mitchell
And so I have returned to Hawaii.
To Maui.
To the Ka’anapali beach where I first swam in the warm ocean, when I was 12 years old:
In 1967 I went to Hawaii with my parents.
I did not know it at the time, but my father was then terminally ill with lung cancer and had been given just months to live. I don’t know if we went to Hawaii because he wanted to be there, or he did it for my mother, or he did it for me. All I know for sure is that we were there, at the Sheraton Maui, the only hotel then on the beach, staying at a poolside cottage, and it was a magical, wonderful time.
This was in July of 1967. By November of that same year my father succumbed to his illness, at the age of 36.
I was then 13.
Since that time, 44 years ago, I have had a strong desire to return to Hawaii.
Forty-four years is a long time to think about something.
Finally I found someone I felt I could share this event with. All the stars aligned, and Phfritzie graciously traveled with me to that place I have been needing to go for so long.
We stayed at the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel which, as it turned out, is right next door to the now-refurbished Sheraton Maui Hotel. As I walked out onto the beach for the first time after we checked in, I realized that I was in damn near the exact spot I was 44 years ago with my mother and father.
As the days of our vacation went on, more and more memories came flooding back, and at some point I realized that I had gotten what I never knew I actually needed:
a thing called closure.
So the seasons, they have gone 'round and 'round.
The painted ponies, they have, in fact, gone up and down.
And the carousel of time…
I am captured, and it feels good.
6 comments:
Ditto Micky-T...
I am glad that you found what you needed.
it was my pleasure and very flattering that you wanted to share your journey back in time to such a special moment in your life...closure is so important, so we can live tomorrow more fully :]
Amen.
Turn the page.
Next?
...filled in a couple of info-gaps for me. I'm sure Mom & Dad felt you. I remember the world-class smile on Ma's face in the pic of those two on The Ship. Hope that pic survived, somewhere.
You know Sir...I love your posts, your whimsy...your outlook on life...but I think this is the best post you have ever written.
You traveled some 2,400 miles to be at my wedding, yet there is so much I do not know. I never knew you lost dad at 13...I am so thrilled phfritzie was there to allow oyu this journey.
You are a good man Sir.
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