Dear Lorien,

It was stormy upcountry today, with gusty winds bending trees and stiffening flags. As we drove downvalley after dropping Pono and Kulani off at their respective schools, the local newscaster on Hawaii Public Radio told of flash-flood warnings for the county, and a high-wind watch atop Haleakala Volcano.

On the way to work, we stopped here at Paukukalo, a seaside settlement off of Kahului town. It has a fierce surf break popular with locals. Today, no one was out on the ocean as the waves were choppy, and really there wasn’t any rideable surf.

So, we just took pictures. In the photo above, I am standing by a memorial to someone named David, who was born on February of 1958, and who passed away on January of 1993; a young man, still. I’m guessing he might have drowned at this surf spot. All over the islands, one can find memorials like these, to surfers who lost their lives in the ocean, doing what they loved best. (Click on the photo to the right to see David’s cross up close—as you can see, a lot of friends and family have recently left offerings of leis for him, likely because it’s the holiday season.)

If you want to know more about people like David, click on this link: Eddie would go. It’s an extraordinary story about an amazing Hawaiian man.

In the distance, you can see the wharf at Kahului Harbor. It’s where big container cargo ships dock to bring supplies in to the island. Also where cruise ships are moored, bringing tourists. I suppose I am one of them, at the moment. And it has been an amazing journey thus far—thanks for sending me here!

your friend,
Flat Stanley