Sunday, November 28, 2021

The Journey of Old Journals: 1978-1980

 As another winter begins, I am recommitting to the "never moving all the journals again" project. The premise is simple. I'll take a photo and add a few memories, recollections, reflections, and observations from those old words on the page. Hopefully, moving through at least the 2000s this winter. One step at a time. Letting go of objects, staying in tune with memories. 

The Maui Sunset Folder: 1978, Thanksgiving Trip to Hawai'i 

A few sheets of stationary depict a family trip to Hawaii in 1978. Big Island, Maui, Kauai, Oahu.  Black sand, waterfalls near Kona, huge ranches, swimming like a fish when snorkeling, graffiti spelled out in white rocks, a "smoke Hawaiian" t-shirt, my first exposure to the pedicab, and Klonk shoes. Showing up at a fancy restaurant on Thanksgiving without a reservation. 

 What I remember most is one of our last evenings on Waikiki Beach. A young man, "just sitting in the dark,"  asked Barb and me if we wanted to get high.  We used a matchbook crutch and he was apparently, quite silent. We just sat on the beach and spoked pot. I wrote about worrying about carrying the conversation. I remembered Barb not being entirely confident about this plan. I wrote of grief in leaving Hawai'i. 

The folder. 

The letter.

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