A Stroll Down Memory Lane

Well, the day after I move into my new place Hurricane Lane decided to bless us with its presence. Four days of non-stop rain followed. I recall waking up one night because I didn’t hear the sound of the rain pounding on the roof.

Hilo is known for its rain and I have seen days where we would get 4 inches in a day. But this was a marathon run. Water was everywhere causing school to be cancelled and activities confined to the house.

Day one, I organized my room. Day two, was more of the same, but my room isn’t that big and had to purchase a few things in order to finish. So day two through four I entertained myself by cleaning and reorganizing other spaces in the house. I also followed my friend Jean’s lead and attempted to make pancakes in the shape of a hurricane.

When I woke up because of the lack of rain, I got out of bed and looked at the sky. I saw the smallest blue patch appearing as the sun rose. I couldn’t stay inside any longer. I had to take advantage of the pause.

I walked to a place on the river i used to walk past frequently. I want to go to a place that I was familiar with so I could see the difference in the amount of water. The river was pumping! The waterfalls that I would normally see weren’t there. The rock island in the middle of the river - totally covered.

Walking downtown, I saw the flooded areas and whitewater rapids in places where they shouldn’t be. But then, the sun broke through the clouds. For the first time in days, I saw my shadow. It seems like a crazy thing to admit, but I stopped and waved at it like it was a long lost friend.

As you would expect it took a few days for all of it to dry up. Debris is still stacked in piles here and there and the ocean is higher than normal. As I went out today to enjoy the beautiful clear skies, I decided to go to one of my favorite beaches to see how it fared. New logs and other drift would now line the shore with coconuts bobbing in and out of the water. But with all of the turning waters other things were kicked up as well that I didn’t expect. I love to look at the sand of this beach as it has some many interesting shells and large pieces of sea glass. But today, I found a treasure of a shell that I have seen many times fashioned into jewelry: a snake-head cowrie shell. My first found on the shores of Hawaii. An unexpected effect of Hurricane Lane; however, I will gladly consider it as a token of the past week as I felt like I was surrounded by water and feel beauty of the land round me once me.

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