Saturday, March 5, 2011

1938 Ala Wai Canal Re-lived


My fourth day in Hawaii and I was stuck on the lounge chair on the balcony, I mean, the lanai, with my foot elevated and iced. The condo's lanai looked out over Ala Wai Canal, a canal built from 1921-28 to channel the runoff and keep what is now Waikiki dry.

My sister happened to e-mail just then with this photo. It's of my father and his older brother fishing off Ala Wai Canal in 1938. My grandfather worked for Matson Cruise Lines on the San Francisco to Honolulu route and the family lived in Honolulu at that time.

I looked out to the canal and tried to imagine my dad as a little kid sitting on the edge of the very same canal I saw. 1938 to 2011.

Maybe coming to Hawaii is a homecoming of sorts for me?