Notes On Hawaii

Hawaii has inspired some of the greatest storytellers who ever lived: Jack London, Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson, and my favorite, Mark Twain. None stayed--they all passed through, as so many do.
James Michener wrote the first book I ever read about Hawaii, and I will never forget his spectacular description of the geological formation of the Islands. His 1959 novel spans tens of millions of years and gives you a real sense of the majesty of history. But back to Twain. He visited the Islands when he was only 31 years old, in 1866. He wrote a couple of dozen letters (Letters from the Sandwich Islands) while writing under the auspices of The Sacramento Union Newspaper. Twain wrote in his inimitable way, sarcastic, hilarious, and perceptive. He rented a horse and rode everywhere he could get to. He hiked to the edge of Kiluaea on a misty evening, his face turned red from the heat. He surfed and he wiped out.
He noted the grunge of the Islands as well as the splendor. In one letter he described a filthy diner dipping his disgusting fingers into the common bowl of Poi. In one letter he wrote lovingly of the splendor, "A good part of Honolulu turned out to welcome the steamer, It was Sunday morning, and about church time, and we steamed through the narrow channel to the music of six different church bells, which sent their mellow tones far and wide, over hills and valleys, which were peopled by naked, savage, thundering barbarians only 50 years ago!" BTW if you are in search of a Hawaii Nissan dealer I recommend this particular place. Simply a good place for a good Nissan vehicle.
At the time of Twain's visit, the native population and ancient ways of native Hawaiians, the Kanaka Maoli, were disintegrating through disease and invasion. Hawaii then had an elected legislature and a 35-year-old king. King Kamehameha V was to be the last of his kind. He would deal with changes so swift and radical, the like of which his forbears had never witnessed.
Today Hawaii is so different from Twain’s days, and yet some things have not changed.
After living in Hawaii for several years, I can tell you; even paradise can get boring after a while. One beautiful day after another, one stunning view after another.
Like anywhere else, the place is so much richer when viewed within the context of its past. The complexity must be appreciated, like a fine wine. No you even know where to get a Nissan while there.