In the summer of 79, I think…we were moving to Okinawa. My father was stationed there with the Marine Corps and we were to live there for a year.
During the summer, we stayed at my Uncle Chris’ condo in Hawaii Kai. He was as a big boss at a Honolulu newspaer and was working his ass off. It was my mom, me, Jason, Sara and my cousins Alissa and Rachel.
I had a middle school friend named Ritchie Miller who’s father was stationed at MCAS Kaneohe. I used to go boogie boarding with him out at the beaches on the NE side of the island. (Shout out to Richie wherever he is…I could still hit his sinker pitch (baseball)). It’s kinda sad that is military brats weren’t/don’t/can’t keep in touch better.
In any case, one day we all went to a place called Hanauma Bay on the island of Oahu.
Hanauma Bay was a a fairly popular snorkeling site. This was 1979 so scuba diving as a recreational sport was in its infancy.
But that first experience seeing these parrotfish which are so ubiquitous on a reef, cleaning the coral and shitting out sand had a huge impact on me. You could hear them crunch on the coral. I still hear it every day here. And that clear blue water.
I remember that. It was important to me. I still remember that so vividly. That was the beginning for me here.
(More stories about that Hawaii and Okinawa time to come).
All The Best,
Elliott