Maui Morning, Installment 7

I think Mike has a bit of OCD. I like it. I got up around 6:30 a.m. this morning and padded out to watch the light arrive over the pacific. The moon was setting right over the sea and I took some pictures with both Ingi's camera and mine. I have a feeling neither camera will be able to capture the beauty of the scene, yet I tried. Mike, the condo caretaker, was quietly and efficiently vacuuming the pool in the dawn. Then he hosed the deck area, lined up the lounges just so, and squeegied off each chair, first swiping with the rubber blade and then wiping them dry with a cloth. He moves gracefully, almost meditatively. No humming, no missteps. He must be over 60 or maybe even close to 70, but he reminds me a bit of an adolescent puppy -- big feet and lanky limbs. His presence and his carefulness with the property is somehow comforting and soothing to me. I hope he's not anxious inside and it's not fear that drives his precision. I hope its just an appreciation of order that makes him so clever in his daily tasks. Entropy drives his day and night. Replacing chaos with neatness each and every day. Could be a satisfying endeavor if it wasn't mind numbing repitition. Hope it is for him. Satifyfing, that is. As with all things, what ends up mattering is one's choices around personal perspective, yes?

Yesterday Ingi and I went out once more with the Pacific Whale Foundation, this time on a three hour tour (are you humming Gilligan's Island with me?) in the later morning (9 to noon) to chase dolphins this time. We were not lucky in our dolphin pursuit, but spotted bunches more whales, and got to observe a whole checklist of whale behaviors. We happened on a couple of juveniles who were practicing their pec slaps and their breaching, getting ready to enter the world of the male adult who will eventually compete to become a female's escort. We also found a mama and her calf -- very sweet. The baby was clumsy in his imitation of her tail slaps and breaches, and a joy to watch. It made our whole boat laugh and clap. Mom is the size of a big yellow school bus and baby, an SUV. No small creatures, these. All throughout the horizon you could see blow spouts from whales, whales breaching, showing their humpbacks, waving their pectoral fins. What a show it must be underwater!

I'm sure I'm not the first one to feel this, and it's almost dangerous, yet I know I would not succomb to the strong urge to throw myself off the boat and into the water to be with "my tribe" -- even tho the longing lives in my core. I know these are wild animals and a different species from me, yet I feel so drawn to them. I don't know if it's just my tendency to anthropromorphosize or the influence of my culture of if I was born with some DNA coding, but I love whales. I love their song, I love their look, I love their migrations. I'm curious about their thoughts (do they have them?) and their feelings (do they have them?). I tried, perhaps for the first time, to listen clearly to Ingi about his perspective on these magnificient animals. As a native Icelander, he saw many whales in his ocean as he was growing up. They were hunted and eaten, and this fact has been so anathema to me since I've met him that I've figuratively and sometimes literally placed my hands over my ears and hummed "nananananananana" whenever the subject has come up before. But somehow this time I felt desirous of learning about his cultural perspective. "It's just what we did," he said. He remembers going to a processing plant once for whale meat and whale blubber, remarking that the smell was overwhelming. He remembers being on cargo and passenger ships in the Atlantic, seeing whales swim and breach all over the place and not thinking much of it. He says whale meat tastes a bit like pork. He's learned not to tease me about this, and it's actually been decades since he tasted whale. I've introduced him on a deeper level to the animal world in general in our last 8 1/2 years together, and he has opened his heart to our cat and dog family. I told him that eating whale would be, to me, like eating our golden retriever, Sailor. Or, even more intensely, like carving out Ingi-ka-bobs or roasting up an Ingi chop. He hears me when I make these comparisons, but I'm not sure this is a cultural chasm we will ever fully build a bridge across. He did say yesterday that he is opposed to Iceland's continuing to whale, especially since there is no real economic or cultural need to do so any longer. And he does, of course, think that whales are awesome animals. I think this clarifies our differences -- he thinks of them as animals and I think of them as family.

After the sun and the motion of our morning boat ride (it was choppy and rolly and I LOVED it), we came home to nap. I have been looking all over the island for quilt stuff -- authentic Hawaiian quilts, materials, patterns, fabrics, and I found an advertizing for a quilt shop that is in the Ka'anapali Hyatt. We headed that way in the later afternoon and found, happily, the free self parking. The grounds of the Hyatt are stunning, and I was glad I was wearing my fancier flip flops as the attire of much of the folks there was a couple of notches up from island casual. We found the shops with no problem, and I lost myself for half an hour in the small but very beautiful collection of hand made Hawaiian quilts. They are stunning and stunningly expensive. The king size one I'd like in my home was well over $3,000. Instead, I bought a book entitled "The Hawaiian Quilt: A Spiritual Experience". The early missionary women taught the Hawaiians to quilt, and the Hawaiian women took elements from their own religion and legend and island beauty and turned them into fabric art for their own edification. Poakalani (the author) writes: "As their culture and traditions were being stripped away and replaced with Western lfestyles, these (Hawaiian) women sat in sewing circles and stitched the fabric of their history into the delicate patterns of the Hawaiian quilt." Interesting beliefs related to Hawaiian quilting are peppered throughout the book -- "Never design or make a quilt with human figures. It was believed that the figures would walk at night." And, "After completing your quilt, sleep with it for one night and then present it to the one you made it for. This will bind your spirit and love into the quilt." And, "Different varieties of flowers or foliage on one design was unacceptable because God and nature never intended two different species to grow out of the same root." And, "To give someone an original Hawaiian quilt pattern was considered a sign of friendship; but, to actually give that person a completed quilt made by yourself is the greatest symbol of love." I now feel sufficiently informed and inspired to begin the process of making a Hawaiian quilt of my own. I suspect I'll start with small blocks to make pillows and eventually graduate to lap size and larger. I wonder if there are any quilting groups in the TriCities with any Hawaiian quilters in them? Stranger things have happened.....

We had interesting encounters with the Hyatt sales people, specifically two sales ladies. The Hawaiian quilt store woman is white, older, and, at first was not at all welcoming or friendly. She was sitting at a round table in the shop, eating her microwave dinner when we entered. Ingi joined her at the table to read a newspaper as I wandered around the store. I had to pry information out of her about where things were in the store or what the prices were of items. She was curt in her replies, and then kind of brash, not eminating much love or even interest in her job. As I lingered and Ingi also chimed in to engage her a bit in conversation, she warmed up a bit and suggested we try the Hyatt restaurant "Sonz" down the hall for dinner. We took our meager purchases and her recommendation and scored a table at the restaurant right on the waterfall of the huge water feature. Ingi had delicious opakapaka fish and I had shrimp cocktail and a very savory chopped salad (with avocado and smaller shrimps and hearts of palm and organic tomatoes and Maui onion -- are you salivating yet?). It was a tasty (albeit expensive) evening, and served as the one spendy dinner out that we allotted ourselves. During dinner, cranky quilt store woman showed up at our table with my shawl in her hands -- I'd left it in her store and when she discovered it she sought us out to return it to me with a smile. Go figure. Then, after dinner, I stopped in another store to ask a different woman for her suggestion about where to find a particular charm I've been hunting for all vacation. She barely looked at me and barked out, "Try Maui Hands down the aisle" and looked so sour I thought she'd just eaten a lemon. I did try Maui Hands, and they DID have what I was looking for, so on our way out to the yeppi, I stopped by her store again to thank her for her direction. This time, only maybe 10 minutes later, she broke out into a broad smile, said she was very glad for me, and actually waved, yes waved, at us. These two encounters with these women could have gone down in my memory banks as unfortunate and negative Hyatt experiences, yet they were transformed by simple kindnesses and additional contact. Hmmmmmm. Hope I can remember the lessons.

It's been unusually hot here this winter. It was 88 yesterday. I have felt the heat. I prefer 70's and low 80's. Our other winter trips to other islands have been cooler, especially Kauai. I hope my body can adjust back to northwest winter temps. I'll look at my pictures to warm my hands and my soul as I move through January to May in Portland and the TriCities.

Happy New Year's Eve. I love spending this particular holiday season in the tropics. The bulk of my childhood and adolescence holiday time was spent in primarily cold climates and primarily steeped in family dysfunction. Although I've washed most of the trauma and drama of this from my bones, I still find it lovely and cleansing to be in this place that feels so different from my history yet feels more like my natural home. I will look up at the full moon tonite from my Hawaiian island and wish all good things for all my family and friends, for all nations, all peoples, all living things. Maybe I'll run outside at midnite and stick my head in the water to hear what the whales are singing. For me, this is bliss. I wish you yours.