Hawaii Journal, 7/7/91 Big Island, Hawaii, eclipse madness

7/7/91 I’ve been in Hawaii a week and I have no real writing to speak up. On the Big Island, at my cousin Ed’s place, I feel at home at last. I fall asleep for a few-hour nap after lunch. Island salmon grilled in the yard. Divine. Maybe it was the rum punch at noon.

Later, we went down the hill to Kona and sat in a bar overlooking the bay, the open air is redolent with moisture, an incoming storm. Rain, and eclipse countdown. I try not to get too excited, it might be overcast. I admire ripe mangoes against green miniature suns, and listen to the Japanese doves cooing, their quiet call has become a signature backdrop sound of the islands.

At Ed’s place in Napoopoo, we are miles above the sea. It’s been five years since I’ve been to Ed’s place, and everything seems so familiar, as if I had never left. The geckos chirping, trying to lay their eggs on the ceiling again. We can’t explain the properties of gravity to them. Little eggshells on the coffee table. I read that Jack London wrote 1000 words a day. How did he ever do it here? I’m positively narcoleptic.

Evidence of eclipse frenzy everywhere. From Tshirts to designer cookies. The camera crews arrive on our same flight, looking as disoriented as us. Do you to a late airport shuttle pick up, we barely caught our flights at all. All Aloha air flights were booked solid and they added 60% more flights said my cousin Ed, landing and taking off every 10 minutes. It’s a zoo here. The buzz in the air is palpable. Eclipse madness.