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| Kole Kole Pass |
My Dad's birthday is today. I can't let a year go by without acknowledging it, and reminding myself (and you) how much I miss him.
Thanksgiving, as you might recall, was his favorite holiday. It's my favorite holiday, too.
Twirling the two always puts me in a bit of bittersweet headspace.
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Last week, I received a message from a stranger on Facebook. He had joined a group that I started about the elementary school I attended when I lived there. (Us military brats kind of find a way to stay networked to a certain degree, I suppose.) He reached out to me to ask when I was there, yadda yadda yadda. I kept it pretty brief, but then he replied with additional questions. As a result, I ended up sharing one of my very favorite moments of life. As I was wrapping up my response to his inquiries, a thought scampered through my mind: I should put this in a blog.
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When I was 20-ish, My Father was still active duty Army on the brink of retirement. He had just been promoted to Master Warrant 5. As a result, he was required to serve an overseas tour. The choices, as I recall, were Alaska, Belgium and Hawaii.
Daddy made his selection for Hawaii.
My Parents empty-nested at his departure. My brother had just graduated college and was off to The Real World (not of the MTV-type, although I'm sure he wishes! haha), and I was doing the same except I was sans degree since I was still in the middle of a semester as a college sophomore (and failing miserably at it).
My Parents gifted me a trip to visit them for Christmas, and I was able to stay through the new year. I was looking forward to going because when I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to do the typical adult touristy things like visit the U.S.S. Arizona, go out in the nightlife, and so forth. As a kid, though, I had THE BEST experience.
In fifth grade, the collective class saved newspapers and aluminum cans all year, and we'd earned enough money to take a class field trip to Hawaii a.k.a. the Big Island (I lived on Oahu, home of Honolulu & Waikiki Beach <~~ not double rainbows, but still pretty awesome). The point of the week-long class trip was to learn in-depth about Hawaii's history: the monarchy, how it was settled, the native dances, foods, customs and traditions, language, as well as have some outdoor adventures. We hiked across Kilauea Crater, which was dormant at the time. It was frightening for a chubby, short girl to cross over the wide gaps that were emitting steam, the firey cauldron sloshing below my not-so-confident feet. We learned about Pele, the different kinds of lava (I always thought it was fun to say a'a) and sulfur. I got to put my toes in the fine grains of a black sand beach.
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About the time of my adult visit to Hawaii, President Clinton ordered the closure of several military bases . My Dad took me to a Naval base that was shut down, except it had one gate open, and it was a manned gate. If you didn't have a military ID, you were denied access.
Daddy drove us cautiously up the mountain, the road curvy and laden with vegetation. The banana trees leaned away from the mountain, and surprisingly, prickly pear cacti protected the mountainsides. It was fairly early in the morning, rain had fallen as it did most days of my visit.The clouds were low and the air was so fresh.
Eventually, Daddy parked the car and invited me to the scenic overview. I looked at Pearl Harbor at the end of a valley. I smiled just taking in the view, certain I had died and gone to Heaven. Never had I felt so small. It was just My Dad and I standing there in the quiet wonder.
When a good amount of time had passed, he said to me, "Do you know what this place is?"
I shook my head side to side and said, "Nu-uh. What is is?"
Daddy said, "This is the valley and path where the Japanese snuck in to attack Pearl Harbor."
In an instant, my heart hardened and I was overcome with emotion. This place, so beautiful and awesome, truly awesome, then that bit of wicked U.S. history seared through the peace I just experienced, leaving me with a burning chest. The physical response I experienced was unexpected.
Daddy drove us cautiously up the mountain, the road curvy and laden with vegetation. The banana trees leaned away from the mountain, and surprisingly, prickly pear cacti protected the mountainsides. It was fairly early in the morning, rain had fallen as it did most days of my visit.The clouds were low and the air was so fresh.
Eventually, Daddy parked the car and invited me to the scenic overview. I looked at Pearl Harbor at the end of a valley. I smiled just taking in the view, certain I had died and gone to Heaven. Never had I felt so small. It was just My Dad and I standing there in the quiet wonder.
When a good amount of time had passed, he said to me, "Do you know what this place is?"
I shook my head side to side and said, "Nu-uh. What is is?"
Daddy said, "This is the valley and path where the Japanese snuck in to attack Pearl Harbor."
In an instant, my heart hardened and I was overcome with emotion. This place, so beautiful and awesome, truly awesome, then that bit of wicked U.S. history seared through the peace I just experienced, leaving me with a burning chest. The physical response I experienced was unexpected.
I was so grateful my dad had access to take me there. I am so grateful for that moment with him. I'm humbled by the visit.
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Happy birthday, Daddy. Still miss you. Still love you.
xo
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