Aloha lanai

Mar 18, 2005

Comes word from my dad in Honolulu that he’s being evicted from the Makiki apartment he’s lived in for nearly 13 years to make way for the returning condo owner. He and Dot are looking for another place to live, but the rental market in the city seems to be quite tight – just one listing in his immediate neighborhood.

I moved into the apartment just a week or so after dad did in the fall of 1992 (my plane ticket to Hawaii was my college graduation gift from him). The place was bare, filled with brilliant sunshine and presented with a fantastic view of the Pacific blue. Dad and I slowly filled the place with furniture, and then visitors (my friend Bridget McGuinness was our first guest, I believe, and Erin spent a glorious two weeks right after Christmas). My brothers circulated in and out, going to schools nearby and learning to surf with me.

Lots of memories from there, and some life-changing moments. I remember one night when a car alarm whooped and whooped, the noise echoing in the canyons between the condo buildings until a tow truck took it away. As the alarm receded into the silence, I could hear people clapping all around.

I stayed for 20 months (read this for the story of why I returned to Cleveland), and have been back there twice. As with the loss of Ravens Roost, I’m saddened that I won’t have this refuge to point my zooker compass to.

Anton Zuiker ☄