THE 'GREEN FLASH' CALABASH
Pre-Pandemic Kaua`i Chronicles
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On a recent, sunny afternoon, a friend and I enjoyed a “whale walk” along The Path heading north from Kealia Beach. Within ten minutes she spotted the first spout toward the horizon. Then, a half mile from shore, we watched the emerging curve of a humpback whale as it breached. We could imagine ourselves closer, feeling the great slap as tons of cavorting male whale hit the water and displaced it, a mini-tsunami in all directions. You don’t have to be a female whale to feel, see, hear and/or imagine the exciting whoosh, the giant rolling eye, the booming percussion of blubber and bone and flukes slapping back to ocean surface. We perched on vines and grasses growing along The Path’s edge to scan the inky blue Pacific off Kauai’s East side shores. Bike riders pedaled by us, and serious joggers on a fast track. Families strolled along, chatting. Take-it-easy walkers such as ourselves passed intermittently. Almost everyone was watching for signs of winter’s returning whales. When rewarded with the sight of a spout or two here, then there, ours weren’t the only “oohs” and “aahs” to be heard. The whale play continued in spurts up and down the coast, from Anahola past Wailua toward Ahukini Bay. I attributed the good fortune of the afternoon to my friend’s ability to attract and connect with the sea and it’s creatures. With a laugh and a toss of her curls, she deflected my praise. The down-to-sea facts are that it’s Makahiki time in Hawai`i, the time when whales who have left their chilling environment to travel south for some r&r, leviathan style, have arrived. Any self-respecting whale over the age of seven (who isn’t a new, lactating mother) comes to our tropical waters to relax and take a break from serious eating to concentrate on mating. With good fortune, the next pod of calves will be born back in our warm, tropical waters after the 11-1/2 month gestation cycle within their migrating mothers. My friend and I have walked that same area, Kealia to Donkey Beach and beyond, many times. Back when it was a rutted, plantation road, we were several times almost muscled over the edge by equipment drivers who seemed to take pleasure in careening at maximum speed and bullying anyone who decided to chance the walk for the views. Before the advent of The Path and the seaside clean-up that accompanied it, some coves immediately north of Kealia were strewn with rusting metal I thought was dumped farm or army equipment. Now, the junk has been removed (mahalo! thank you!) and the view is devoid of such eyesores. After we parted, I thought, How lucky we are–first of all “to live Kaua`i,” and secondly, to have The Path as it is presently developed. My husband and I, when we travel, explore all manner of public paths besides lakes and oceans. With the ongoing development of our island’s seaside Path, and because of some public dissension within our community, we’ve particularly noticed details as we photographed, from Colorado to Croatia, Venice to Queenstown. These popular waterside ways give residents and visitors of all ages a chance to refresh and renew while exercising in earnest, strolling with a sweetheart or a babe, sipping a coffee or vin at a modest stand set back from the view, or just muddling along, breathing in the fresh wind and humidity, enjoying every detail of the view as the way unfolds. You cannot put a dollar value on such experiences. We humans, it seems, are drawn to water and its amazing creatures. Returning home to Kaua`i and seeing its natural beauty anew each time, we offer our gratitude to all the miracles of life and all the opportunities afforded us, such as on my most recent whale walk.
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About the Book
This book comes as your ticket to a virtual vacation, inviting you to dive into the heart of the tropical island of Kaua`i, Hawai`i, U.S.A. Please come, especially if you are a “capital ‘T’ Traveler” who digs deeper than surface pleasures of a new place, connects with people of the land, and celebrates differences as well as similarities. You may explore from front to back, vice-versa, or spot-read whatever pages fall open to your touch. All will be right. By accepting the author’s invitation, you’re assured of eventual enjoyment of thought-provoking segments categorized as “Outdoor Discoveries,” “Island Celebrations,” “Eyes to Sky, & Sea,” “Umbilical Ties” and more, including a drink from “The Water of Life.” Kaua`i island could be considered your adventure to “Anyplace, World.” Aside from particularities of discoverers and settlement, the foundational needs and desires of all peoples of the world hold true: A homeland–a place of freedom and peace; a place to work and sustain a healthy life, to play and recreate; a safe place to raise and educate children; a place to protect, preserve, love and pass forward to coming generations. The time span covered draws from the onset of swift modern development and increased tourism that threatens a cherished lifestyle to the threshold of COVID-19. The Afterword deals with the isolation the life-threatening pandemic imposes, and the economic and emotional challenges that stem from an isolation severely underlined when an island home already lies as a far speck within the wide Pacific Ocean. The guiding mantra throughout–”Believe in the Unexpected!”–from the author’s “Green Flash” experience shared with her “Dear Readers,” holds truer than true as we move with hope and courage into our globally-connected future.
About the Author
Dawn Fraser Kawahara during her years leading and instructing travelers to Hawai`i and island nations of the Pacific Rim, developed a pleasant, chatty way of imparting good and thoughtful information, definitely not “canned” tourist talks. These proved successful, and she continued that style while writing for and to her “Dear Readers” during her six years of bi-weekly “Green Flash” columns for The Garden Island, the newspaper of the island of Kaua`i. Any reader of her newly-collected “Green Flash” Calabash of columns is bound to be enriched by the author’s “talkstory” charm and subtle teaching style, her unique viewpoints. Kawahara’s informal essays were planned to be “think pieces” of people, places and events related to “her” beloved island of Kaua`i. Just so, they echo the love of travel and discovery set forth by such as Isabella Bird and Mark Twain in their sojourns in “The Sandwich Islands,” and a hint of reaching for a Utopian idyll a la Huxley’s landmark novel, Island. A love of green and growing things and nature such as expressed by May Sarton sounds an echo in these writings, as well as a whiff of Don Blanding’s romantic poems. The sometimes subtly humorous package is grounded and tidied up by the author’s practiced journalism and feature writing, with attention paid to the “Who, What, When, Where & How” rule to level interesting, unexpected leaps into memory and imagination. As all Kawahara’s readers find, a great deal of heart and vivid description comes through, as in the author’s compelling life stories: Jackals’ Wedding, A Memoir of a Childhood in British India; its sequel, Burma Banyan, A Daughter’s Odyssey; and her volume of modern chants and cultural information, “Behold Kaua`i ~ Modern Days, Ancient Ways,” all under the AuthorHouse/TropicBird Press imprint; Kawahara enjoyed her past assignment as Poet-in-the-Schools (Kaua`i). She currently hosts and guides the monthly meetings of the Kaua`i Live Poets’ Society, a follow-up to the Garden Island Arts’ Council “Poetry Fests” she created and curated. The author has focused her supportive interests within the Kaua`i community since the early 1980s. She has contributed as a long-term board director of the Hawaiian culture organization Ka `Imi Na`auao o Hawai`i Nei Institute and now serves as president. She was honored as an “Outstanding Older American–2019” by the Mayor and Council of the County of Kaua`i and the Governor and State Legislature of Hawai`i. She and her husband, a retired biology teacher, are blessed with six grown children and five grandchildren. They share a passion for books and travel. Kawahara’s books are available through Amazon and other outlets. You may write to her via the contact page of her “booklovers’ website,” dawnkawahara.com, or email tropicbirdpress@gmail.com