August 17, 2023 A Million Points of View

Nui nā ola i pōʻino, ā ʻo ka nui a nā pohō o nā waiwai i pōʻino

Many lives lost, and much loss of property through devastation

The mind is awhir, not knowing where to land or where to rest.  We seem to be in the Anger stage of grief.  

"The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. There’s no order to them and they serve as a reference instead of a guide on how to grieve." [psychcentral.com]

The ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi sentence above revealed itself as I wandered through the Pukui and Elbert (P/E) Hawaiian Dictionary.  Talk about a perfectly perfect summary.  I was attempting to understand the definition of "Lahaina".  Others, for no apparent reason other than itʻs the older (original?) pronunciation, use Lāhainā.

And note, dear readers, that the last sentence, bolded above, is wrong.  "Lele" does not, and has never meant, "relentless sun".  And tis a pity that it was apparently published in the Maui News.  So many errors by journalists.

And then, from Cody Pueo Pata, of Maui:

I apologize for the poor reproduction.  Itʻs from his book 

ʻohuʻohu nā mauna o ʻeʻeka, place names of maui komohana

"Komohana" is west, and Mānaleo are Native born, native speakers of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.  Two other scholars, both fluent speakers, and importantly, of Lahaina, agree with CPP, that Lahaina is correct.

And yet again, journalists and copy editors, unfamiliar wit, and ignorant of, language resources, choose to perpetuate errors.  Lele and Lāhainā.  No.  Except a little mayhaps:  Maybe particular families have perpetuated "Lāhainā".  Perhaps...

A good friend, perceptive, and an excellent observer and writer who lives in California, noted that most news coverage features malihini haole whoʻve lived on Maui XX years, lamenting the losses.  He has not seen Native Hawaiians being interviewed, and wondered Why?  I suggested that they NoLaik.  After many many decades of being ignored or exploited, they nolaik.  They are not inclined to talk with haole media who are clueless about the plight of Native Hawaiians.  NHs have no time to hold seminars regarding their cultural losses, and the fact that wealthy haole buy houses and property at inflated prices and NHs NoCan.  Native Hawaiians, many of them, call Lahaina home.  It is their one (oh-neh) hānau, the sand of their birth.  They live crowded into hot termite-infested houses on backstreets, multi-generations packed in.  They may work selling trinkets, or cleaning rooms at fancy houses, empty most of the year, or in any number of low-paying service industry jobs.  Or they move to the Continent, heartbroken and sickened, missing their homeland.

I really hope that the link below works.  Itʻs an excellent piece.

former Warriors Head Coach Don Nelson

And PLEASE can we please stop referring to Hawaiʻi Nei as "Paradise"?  Please.  Stop.  Whose paradise is it?  Retired haole who maitai at sunset on the beach till they tire of the ritual and move elsewhere?  Those who made obscene fortunes in Silicon Valley and elsewhere who come here and buy a beach house, and a mountain house, or a $20M+ place at the shore thatʻs empty for 50 weeks of the year?  And weʻre expected to smile and bow, or worse, remain unseen while time-controlled draperies reveal sunrises or sunsets?   Please stop with the "Paradise" and remember those who make your paradise possible.  Those who toil at two or three jobs, at their quotidian tasks trying to piece together enough money to pay the bills, to buy food, to buy gas, to buy... 

I know...kinda hard to see.  Maybe go GoogleEarth and Nānā ʻĀina.  Digitally, of course.  Look at and assess the land.  Fancy houses, green green lawns on a sere landscape.  At the foot of the mauna, Maui Komohana, high enough to be cool, great ocean views, etc.  Lahaina is just to the left of the screenshot.

All those oval-ish features, and the ghostly roads... The ovals are piles of pōhaku, gathered from adjacent former sugar cane fields as they were cleared for cultivation, and the roads are canehaul roads, formerly used to take cane to Pioneer Mill in Lahaina.  To cruise at leisure, in GoogleEarth search for Launiupoko.

Here on the Island of Hawaiʻi, another leeward landscape in Waikoloa...Many are fond of calling Waikoloa Village the "biggest cul-de-sac" in the State.  One (thatʻs right, 1, as in one) paved road in and out.  Thousands of people live there surrounded by Two Hundred Thousand Acres (200,000 acres) of alien, invasive, highly flammable fountaingrass.

about Fountaingrass

At the bottom left are Kaunaʻoa Bay, site of the Maunakea Beach Hotel, and Hapuna Beach.  The Hilton Waikoloa (actually in ʻAnaehoʻomalu) is at lower right, fronting Waiulua Bay, where huge tiger cowries used to be found, and where a number of anchialine pools were directed to be filled by Chris Hemmeter when the then Hyatt Waikoloa was built, completed in 1988.  The filling, a dastardly act, was accomplished during a 24 hour lapse in permitting.

Today I queried all councilmembers about building a road connecting Waikoloa with Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway, 2 miles makai.  I received a reply from an aide to Councilmember Evans:

"I spoke to Councilmember Evans about your message, and she would like to share that she has been in contact with Mayor Roth and Public Works Director Steve Pause.  They are aware of this problem and are working on a proposed solution for a second road.  Her concern is that the solution will take time and we need to act immediately. 

 

It is her hope to have discussions with the community and this administration soon and produce mitigation measures and short-term solutions on how to improve our rapid response and evacuation protocols.

 

In the meantime, thank you for writing, and if you wish to set up an appointment to discuss this issue, please let me know. "

It was the only reply so far.  Seems that "not my District, not my problem".  Evans is right to be concerned about the need to act immediately.  The middle paragraph, probably well-intentioned, reads like typical bureaucratic BS.  And no, no appointments for me.  Thanks.

The seemingly random disconnects of this post is because too much info is banging around in my head. Too many thoughts, too much frustration and anger, too much seething as a writer acquaintance put it.  

Just too damn much.

More to follow.

Be well.  Share this as you will.

Aloha, always aloha,

BobbyC

maniniowali@gmail.com