Hawaii arrival stories

[Bard]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

Well, what gets me is that, on an average of two years later, the majority of those who had this magical "calling" are hauling butt back to the mainland. Disgruntled, disillusioned, disenchanted. That, IMHO, is not a true "religious calling."

Hah, I can't really argue with you on that last point. How many of those people go back though, vs how many go, ones you don't even know about? Those "locals" who weren't born there had to come from somewhere. There's a little more to it than that too, depending on what your philosophical bent is. Maybe that person really needed to go to Hawai'i to get a spoonful of humility, and if they left totally disgruntled they probably didn't get it. I dunno. Could also be (I think this is what you're saying) that feeling was just their mind applying some fun confirmation bias.

If you believe that anyone can be "called" anywhere, for any purpose, though, it stands to reason they could be called to Hawai'i too. Just sayin'.

I am most certainly NOT "laughing at someone's Gods." Definitely not the Gods of Hawaii. I most certainly do NOT think of the true spiritual aspects of Hawaii as "fluff." But (sorry if it offends you) I don't see the claim by some that "the aloha spirit is calling me" as an example of being called into religious service. Not even close.

Heh, as usual, nothing personal meant. I'm not laughing at the Gods of Hawai'i either nor do I mean to imply that you are. My friend was talking about me. I was talking with him about believing in experiences people say they have.

But what's a "true" spiritual aspect of Hawai'i anyway? The traditional religion is one way you could define that. Feeling God (in the Christian sense) is another. You say tomato, I say potato. There are folks like TimKona who seem to think it's all total hooey (from reading his posts earlier), and I can respect that belief. I just don't think you can apply it selectively because maybe some of them really do feel something. There are active religions now where the land itself is a sentient actor in the world. More than one probably. However you look at it though:

But please, if it doesn't work out, just say "hey, it didn't work out."

Definitely can't argue with you there. =D

Sorry for going off topic on your thread Glen. =)

[dana934]

Re: Hawai`i arrival stories

1stwahine--Mahalo nui. Most things i tried to do in Hawai`i were pretty frustrating, to an enormously lesser degree. I tried to start a Sudbury Valley kind of elementary school, but the Sudbury-style school already chartered in Hawai`i wouldn't share any of its information about its proposal. I offered each woman in the Big Island Substance Abuse Coalition program, as soon as she was released, the use of up to one acre of my land to grow either her own food or a cash crop (um...one that wouldn't get the land confiscated by the government) or to just get away from it all, but the woman in charge of the BISAC expedition wouldn't allow her prisoners to speak to me or accept my card. I had to be hospitalized once, when a doctor gave me too big a dose of sedative for a procedure, and when i got out, the hospital staff had stolen my 7 then-new gold colored dollars, my watch and some other things that were in their safe.
That last is another example of the babyishness i'm talking about. Probably someone didn't steal my things to be mean--it's just that it would have taken normal adult human self-restraint to keep his hands off anything that happened to catch his fancy. Likewise, i doubt the guy who ripped me off did it maliciously--it's just that when the truck he rented me broke down, he didn't have the normal adult sense of responsibility to use the rental money to fix it, or to refund my money, so i could neither salvage nor buy building materials and the cats and i were still living in a tent when the 2000 storm hit, so i couldn't keep them inside and Malkin ran from the thunder. The guy who wouldn't let Malkin come home, and who didn't get her the support she needed to minimize the pain as her kidneys failed, i'm sure didn't grab Malkin after the storm and say, "This little cat will never see her family again-- WHAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!" He just didn't act like an adult and phone the number on her tag when he found her, and by the time he finally noticed one of my dozens of fliers, probably he had a child who'd become attached to her, and he wasn't adult enough to be a good father and say, "I'm sorry, i ought to have called when we first found her. Now we need to let her go home. Maybe her human friend will let us visit her." About him, though, i still have to say: What kind of sludge could get himself to do such a thing to someone?
Glen--Right, my late adoptive sisters, who were cats, as distinct from my living birth sister, who is--no surprise--human.
Leo--Again, mahalo nui. True; the infantile men in the nearby environment were only the small fry--the reason i couldn't afford decent housing for my family just because some punk ripped me off for $250 is poverty. It's really poverty that murdered my cat sisters, and for that i'm going to kill the *#%!
I've made the first priority for the rest of my life ending poverty; as a minor example, my checks are now printed with the message: Read Sachs's The End of Poverty. Then write your US Senators & Representatives.

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

How many of those people go back though, vs how many go, ones you don't even know about? Those "locals" who weren't born there had to come from somewhere.

If you believe that anyone can be "called" anywhere, for any purpose, though, it stands to reason they could be called to Hawai'i too. Just sayin'.

Of course I don't know why every single person who comes here and subsequently leaves does what they do. That would be ridiculous. And of course people stay.

But the fact remains that most people who DO come here end up not staying. And many people who come here do so claiming reasons that are far more esoteric and ethereal than those who may move to, say, Chicago.

And yes, when you see it over and over and over again one may be tempted to say upon the departure of the disillusioned "don't let the revolving door hit you in the butt on the way out." It just gets tiresome, sometimes.

Are there those who truly feel a bond with Hawaii and will come here, do well, and stay here until they die? Of course.

So when are you heading over?

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

Nothing I said was meant as an attack to her or anything like that.

No need to explain myself. I stand by what I said. End of conversation.

Mahalo.

Well. Harrrrumph to you too.

And lookie---seems Dana has returned to post again. :-D

[1stwahine]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

dana934, Mahalo for coming back and telling more. I believe everyone has a story to tell and I love to read. I uderstand your frustration about setting something up for the woman. I am going through something similiar with a Website fro Recovering Drug Addicts myself.

Although it is FREE and would be an asset to the Recovering Agencies in State...I am being met with unopen arms. I guess when anything is New...especially, FREE dey tink something is crooked. Dey don't know me.

Therefore, I'm taking it to the Recovering Drug Addicts themselves at AA and NA Meetings State Wide. Nothing is gonna stop me. I am a fighter.

I am truly sorry what happened to you in Hawai'i.

God Bless you Dear and Good Luck.

Auntie Lynn

[Bard]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

But the fact remains that most people who DO come here end up not staying. And many people who come here do so claiming reasons that are far more esoteric and ethereal than those who may move to, say, Chicago.

I'd be interested to see some real statistics on that but probably no one's done the right surveys to gather them. I know a lot do move and then leave in a year or two, enough to make for some great garage sale bargains for everyone else.

I've heard more than a few about Portland too. They had an article about it in one of the papers here once. People doing crazy things like moving to Portland, buying a "cheap" $300-400K condo, then commuting to California! As in buying plane tickets to San Fran and staying in their new condo on weekends. Because they felt the vibe and just had to be here. Kinda funny. (It was probably cheaper still!) I can understand though, despite all of the problems here it's a fun place to live. Hawai'i seems to attract more than most places though.

So when are you heading over?

TBD, maybe some time next year. I'll probably have some stories for this thread then. I'm looking forward to meeting who I can from here. If I get there and it just doesn't work out for me one way or another, I'm planning to say cool, didn't work out, I had an experience. You guys can hold me to that if you want!

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

I'd be interested to see some real statistics on that but probably no one's done the right surveys to gather them. I know a lot do move and then leave in a year or two, enough to make for some great garage sale bargains for everyone else.

I've heard more than a few about Portland too. They had an article about it in one of the papers here once. People doing crazy things like moving to Portland, buying a "cheap" $300-400K condo, then commuting to California! As in buying plane tickets to San Fran and staying in their new condo on weekends. Because they felt the vibe and just had to be here. Kinda funny. (It was probably cheaper still!) I can understand though, despite all of the problems here it's a fun place to live. Hawai'i seems to attract more than most places though.

TBD, maybe some time next year. I'll probably have some stories for this thread then. I'm looking forward to meeting who I can from here. If I get there and it just doesn't work out for me one way or another, I'm planning to say cool, didn't work out, I had an experience. You guys can hold me to that if you want!

Like I said, you'll never know if you don't give it a try.

There's another thread about quotes. Here's a nice one that you might like, from Mark Twain (who also loved Hawaii):

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Addendum to quote: Keep enough money in the bank to bail if you have to.

[damontucker]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

Being born and raised in Hawaii, and never having seriously considered living (permanently) anywhere else, I am always curious about the stories behind people who have made the decision to move to Hawaii from elsewhere. What made you decide to move? Why did you pick Hawaii? Once you got here, what did you find out about the islands, good or bad, that you hadn't expected? And why did you decide to stay, when so many other would-be migrants have turned tail and headed back home?

I never saw this thread until recently. I will answer the questions as asked.

1. I decided to follow my mom to Hawaii when I was given an opportunity to go back to college after living on the mainlnad. My grandpa was a doctor that moved to the Big Island for a time in the 60's...
2. My mom just wanted to return to where she grew up for a majority of her life... (I just wanted to stay close to my mom.... know matter where she chose to live)
3. I found out that everyone thought I looked local until I opened my mouth and sounded like I was from the Mainland. What I found out about the islands.... is that mosquitos loved me.
4. I stayed because I met my beautiful "local" wife and I have already discussed with her that there is no job paying no matter how much that would make us leave Hawaii.

[tutusue]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

[...]"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."[...]

I love this quote! It reminds me of my daughter who, as I type, is beginning her ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. When I asked her why she would choose such an adventure (she's my 5 star hotel kid!) she said, "It's so far out of my comfort zone I figured why not."!! I give her so much credit for sailing away from her safe harbor.

[tikiyaki]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

My haole-ness and NY-ness are fodder for humor, sometimes, but I laugh along with it. I really don't think it is done with a mean spirit. Trust me---I would know. And the jokes are on EVERYONE---many ethnic groups are represented where I work, and we all get hit at one time or another.

I can't tell you how many times I get the "Hey are you from NY ?" question from people here in LA, or even worse, "are you from Jersey?", and then some folks who try to do a NY accent. I never take offense to it. As a matter of fact, I use it to be humorous.

Cos' if you're not from NY, you CAN'T fake a NY accent, and sound silly trying....same as faking Pidgin I suppose.
Still, turning it on thick has made me much more of a funny guy out here in Cali than I ever was in NY...I use it to make people laugh, and it works....especially my godawful Robert DiNiro impersonations...always get a laugh.

I say use it if it helps make people laugh. People can always use a good laugh, and they can't really hurt you if you are making fun of yourself.


BTW...that Mark Twain quote is beautiful.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

What I found out about the islands.... is that mosquitos loved me.

I'm with you there, Manoa. I swear, when I'm in Kane`ohe, I can hear their buzzing as saying "Yes! Fresh white meat, just in from the mainland!" before their feast begins.

[sinjin]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

"Cat sisters"?

Living in a tent with her "cat sisters". Has to be Puna.

[dana934]

Although it is FREE and would be an asset to the Recovering Agencies in State...I am being met with unopen arms. I guess when anything is New...especially, FREE dey tink something is crooked. Dey don't know me.

What a pity they won't just meet you and get a sense of your genuine compassion. And i wonder whether some of them are projecting--maybe they'd never give anything away, including their time. If you're on the Big Island, you could sure talk to Global HOPE, Global Hawai`i Organization for Peace and the Environment, at UHH. They're don't focus specifically on recovery, but they do understand that the war on the poor includes, e.g., cracking (to use an apt expression) down on pakalolo so people wind up using much more addictive drugs; there are some terrific people in that group.

In case you're interested, i'll tell you more about how a middle-aged womon with an IQ of 160 and a Texas A&M education comes to be living
in poverty. (And if you're not interested, you can always just scroll past the rest of this entry.) I've lived all my adult life on a non-taxable income because i don't want to go to prison and i WON'T give the Pentagon a dime. Yes, i know there are people who have had a decent income for many years without paying taxes on it and haven't gotten busted, but MOST pacifist tax resisters leave money in a bank account for the IRS to pillage so they don't get locked up. I absolutely won't give anyone anything to use to buy bombs, guns, tanks, &c., to chew up soldiers & civie men, womyn and little bitty keiki, so if the IRS ever came after me, i'd make my financial assets unavailable and end up in the hoosegow. Sometimes when i tell people about my years of hell in Hawai`i, they say, "So i bet now you're ready to go get a straight job and let the IRS take their blood money out of your check, just to be able to live in greater safety." To which i say, "Yeah, right." Now that i know first-hand exactly how it feels to have one's beloved dependents die untimely, i'm--if possible--even more determined not to put someone else through this kind of anguish. Lockheed, Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics, &c., can and have used poverty to wreck my back, starve me and kill my family; if i tried to make more money and still not pay taxes, they could have me put in a federal penitentiary; if the ol' doggie-doo ever really hits the fan politically here, they might kill me; but if they think they can intimidate me into giving them the money to murder hundreds of thousands of innocent people, they can all line up and kiss my little pink `okole. And my thanks to Ehren Watada for reminding me that `aloha is alive and well in Hawai`i.

I have this completely half-baked hypothesis that the reason American men are more nearly reasonable toward womyn is the influence of the way Euro-American expansion into the western states took place. Here i'm talking not about the genocide but about the very long period of gender imbalance. When whites first started moving past the Mississippi, almost only men could get away from their parents to brave deserts, grizzlies and some enraged survivors of the mass murders whites had carried out against them. Extremely few womyn moved west for a long time--just the handful whose lives had had some complete disaster, whose parents were dead or would let them go and who would dare to live in a camp all of whose other residents were men. So if a man wanted to marry, he had lots of competition, and i think white men in the American New West had to learn to behave somewhat better toward womyn than their ancestors had in millenia, to have any chance at all. Womyn in Hawai`i could consciously construct that kind of situation by getting together and agreeing among themselves which signs of normal adult psycho-social development to call for first from men.

I have a somewhat firmer basis for believing that it was the Holocaust perpetrated on the Hawaiian people by the first several waves of Europeans to arrive there that started the trend to puerility among men in Hawai`i. When one or more particular age group in a society is killed, the society is disrupted much worse than if the same number of deaths is even distributed among ages, and disease heavily targets the elderly and the very young. And (something the first-contact Hawaiians couldn't have known) sailors of that era were the very sweepings of European society. If a young man couldn't get along with anyone well enough to run a farm or a business, he had to "shape up or ship out." So the first many Europeans the early Hawaiians met were the dregs of Europe and accordingly brought with them the very worst social attitudes and behaviors from their homelands. I've read a journal entry by one of Cook's crew in which the sailor brags about having given syphillis to a young Hawaiian womon--along the lines of, "Serves her right, the slut."

No wonder Hawaiians figured whites had no souls--we're just lucky Hawaiian didn't have a word for demon.

Living in a tent with her "cat sisters". Has to be Puna.

Yep, you pegged it.

[timkona]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

I guess when anything is New...especially, FREE dey tink something is crooked.

That speaks directly to the xenophobia that is a pillar of the modern culture in Hawaii. New ideas, or better ideas, are frowned upon heavily in Hawaii. Of course, this is a modern development in the culture of the Islands, cuz everybody knows that Kamehameha was eager to learn about cannons, and tall ships, and many other items of "modern worldly knowledge" in the late 1700's.

I been here 14 years. I came on the recommendation of a good friend who knew how much I love ocean sports. It's rather cold in the SF Bay Area when fishing, diving, sailing, or surfing. Out of the 4 of us who came, I'm the only one who stayed. Employment was easy, even in 93, when the economy was tanked. All you had to do was arrive on time, everyday, sober, and do what you say you gonna do, and you stand out instantly.

I've said it before. It's the ocean for me.

[Whitepoint3rchum]

Re: Hawaii arrival stories

Gotta agree with you on the other stuff though. Ain't nowhere in the world a total paradise

Absolutely there is, you just gotta be in the right state of mind.