Aloha!
In Maui, with the sameness of the weather, day after day, you find that after a while you
just take it all for granted. But we had a whopping storm night before last, courtesy of the Philipine typhoon, and everything suddenly came to life.

It poured all night long. We woke up to sunshine, clear skies, and vast puddles everywhere. I was also awakened at 2 AM by my niece, who is staying with us. She’d gotten an “alert” on her cell phone saying “Flash Flood Warning” which put her on edge, thinking we were going to be washed away. I sleepily explained that this was only for flood-prone regions, such as the road to Hana, or anywhere near a rising stream.

But hoo-boy, do I miss the way it used to be here. Currently we have been under drought conditions, and the county pleads with us to save 20 to 30% of water daily. And as I’ve shared before, the VOG rolled in and 2008, and has never let up for five straight winters now.

But yesterday was a gift. It rained again, all day! Like it used to rain, the skies were clear like they used to be, it was brisk and bracing and I found myself full of plans and good cheer… as opposed to the Maui sluggishness which seems to infect us all after 10 or so unending months of very high heat and humidity.

Even a HOT shower felt good today. It made me want to act like Joel McCrea in his shower scene in my favorite classic Film, “The More the Merrier”, where he makes sea lion noises and slaps his body bracingly in the shower, as his startled roommates listen from the hallway.

If only this would just keep up, like in the old days, maybe we could even wash our cars if we felt like it. And take a good deep breath not filled with VOG.

Happy Veteran’s Day…and THANK YOU to the men and women who serve, or have served, unstintingly.

A hui hou! Mahalo for stopping by. If you’d like to subscribe to this blog, please click the “Follow” button on the Homepage.

Aloha, Jamaica