Garden of Thought

One last trip to Maui, comin' right up... My dad's internment is this Friday, with the parade following on Saturday morning so my 'farewell' trip has started. Thankfully, I'm not alone - my brother will be on the island most of the time and I have a travel companion, a sweet lady from church who has never been which is a helpful distraction. Better to play tour guide and go parasailing than to mope, sez I.

I'm reading some of my dad's poetry at his internment, couldn't think of anything better than his own words.

( Here's a rather nice article in the Maui News about the stick horse race, now in his memory: )

I'm the 'daughter' referred to, by my maiden name - I get to present a fancy prize to little kids and thus finally prove that I am not Don Ho's daughter, lol...

As to the store, we couldn't find a buyer in time and had to do a rapid, interesting liquidation of the inventory that is thankfully over with now - but we still have the business name, logo, client list, etc. so some dribble may yet come in...and believe it or not, someone came and pulled out that blasted huge hot-tub on the last day and hauled it off in his truck, hoorah! Sorry if any of you were planning on showing up this week to claim it. ;-)

I'm back, sort of! Just crawled in very late last night from Maui, my head feels half stuffed with cotton like a Pooh-bear from the time changes and multitude of details still going. Spent a week dealing with people in shock - my dad was a BIG part of his community and everyone knew him, even when I would call up the utilities to get them disconnected or changed, the people on the line would all be "What? He died! But...but..." Always followed by some crazy story about him. Everyone, but everyone had a story. Two guys gathering notes, talk of putting together a book.

They did a couple different articles in the paper for him - my brother called and said a third one just came out, though I can't find that one online yet. ( Various snapshots in my head )

It's been really wild and very, very surreal, no connection to real life, and very tiring. I spent hours and hours on the phone trying to sort out his papers and get stuff for his business taken care of, trying to figure out the handwritten system he had going in assortments of crates, deciphering scrawls on boxes and trying to find whomever it is so they can get their stuff. My brother is still over there for a few more days and I may have to go back again if the legal stuff gets tangled up. We're trying to sell the business - anyone want to run a bbq/woodstove/hot-sauce business in Makawao, HI? Call me. We have a broker, and he (what else?) knew him.

I thought about you guys - had almost no comp access or extra brain cells to spare while there, but hope all has been well here. Seems like it's been forever to me - hard to believe its only been a little over a week!

A couple brief articles online, if anyone is interested:

http://www.mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=29496

Another I liked - can't find the online link right now - though I must say this reporter got a few of the facts a little scrambled, I met him at the memorial and he was an extremely nice man and really missing his friend -
( Maui Nei for Gary )


I'm going back in July, we're putting him in the Veteran's memorial with flag, guns and all right before launching the 4th of July parade he started up. I know I'll miss him - thanks for sharing this time with me.

Just found out that my father was watching a polo game on Sunday and had a heart-attack.... it wasn't his first... he's gone.... He has not been a daily presence in my life since I was a kid, but we always wrote, emailed and exchanged gifts as distant friends might - my brother and I are making what arrangements we can now to find out what is happening with his dog, his store, his friends. Police tracked info to my ex-step-mom, who gave them my info as next of kin. Not much mourning yet, just trying to deal with all the details.

Looks like tomorrow I may have my second shot at being a witness in court, then may be going to Maui to help my brother tend to my father's estate - both of us are somewhat clueless. What a spring! I am just so thankful that we managed to get over to Maui to visit him this past September, that he had a chance to meet his grandchildren and they met him before he was gone.

Anyone with advice on how to deal with an estate when it was someone who you hardly knew the private life of living far away from you, do pipe up.

This must be the year for folks to go to Hawaii - first solodancer, then our dear Tinidril will be getting to go to Oahu, and now my own family has a chance to go to Maui in September.

This is a complete unknown to my kids, but I can smell the salt, the eucalyptus, the harbor, the smoke of the burning cane...( so long ago... )

What is it about nostalgia for childhood homes, I wonder? We can never truly go back to them, but there they are in our memories. I want to share it with my children, as if I want them to get to meet me as a child. Maybe we can play together that way.