Keeping Hawaii Home

This past New Year's Eve, as I stood outdoors at midnight, I experienced a strange awareness.  What had normally been a driveway filled with loved ones and neighbors was now reduced to a family of six.  We had our champagne toast, exchanged wishes and then it was down to a party of one, just me.  I stood there alone and reminisced.  Yes, many family members have passed on and this in itself brings change.  But, the real change was that a large amount of our family members have relocated to the mainland in search of a better economy and a more comfortable lifestyle.  I stood there with melancholy and took a trip back in time.

 

We lived in an era of Hawaii where neighbors became family and most days were spent from sunrise to sunset at joyful play in the streets.  These memories left such deep imprints that these friendships exist until today.  I close my eyes and taste the bologna and tuna sandwiches, orange exchange juice, cone sushi, fresh mangoes off a tree, the ice cream truck chiming by and the manapua man yelling of his goods in the street.  Our cherished neighbors were of Japanese, Chinese, Samoan, haole, and Portuguese cultures all on one block.  We shared each other's foods and felt at home in each other's homes.  We ran home bragging about the "Mexican hamburger" we ate next door.  We later learned this was a taco.  Many of our parents were renters then and we were tenants of wise landlords who made their living by providing us our homes.

 

I never dreamed that I would have the privilege to sell homes in Hawaii as a Real Estate Agent today.  It is understood why "Hawaiians" move away.  Homes are much larger, land sizes  are more spacious and prices are much more attractive in many states. This is an attractive lure which draws Hawaii's families to relocate.  One positive view is the hope that these families are spreading the "aloha" culture throughout.  I have come to realize, however, that there ARE ways for Hawaii families to achieve and enjoy home ownership in "their" islands.  With financial goals and help from existing programs, It IS attainable. We can work for more programs with voices joined.  Houses may be smaller, land size may be less, but this may be outweighed by the joy of Hawaiian living.  My daughter has answered to this calling from abroad and enjoys a beautiful life in Minnesota.  However, on days of negative zero weather and snow covering half of her home, she dreams of sunny days and beaches, a bowl of saimin, shorts, rubber slippers, Zippy's Restaurant, Rainbow Drive In, "Hawaiian time" and a hug of aloha.  Many will agree with her, Hawaii's call remains in the heart of all of Hawaii's children.  It prompts them to return.  Follow me to aspire to make it possible for these children to "Keep Hawaii Home".