Haena State Park, Kauai"Old growth" TK says as we hike on our search for a heiau. How the Hala can grow large, opening to the sky. How much I miss this already only five days ago. Green has been on my mind as I live in concrete suburbia of a planned community. I yearn for the unrestraint of Kauai. The smell of old growth. The sweet salt of clean ocean.
I hold these memories as I finish two books from the reading list for the VONA workshop I am attending. Incognegro and The Kite Runner. Incognegro was a fast read as it is a graphic novel, a mystery of the 40s sort. Disturbing as it rehashes lynchings in the American South and one man's quest to expose the murderous racism. The Kite Runner is a movie I did not watch and got on Netflix. I could not bear to watch it knowing that it would be sad. There was something to the starkness of Afghanistan I didn't want to see, for I am sure it would remind me of the occupation of Iraq and the conflict in the Middle East. That week, I didn't want to think about it as my sadness can feel overbearing remembering our family's loss. Reading the story inspires me to write and I am glad for the example of what a writer can do with personal memories. What do we do with our experiences as writers? Isn't that the point of writing? Old Growth. Memories, smells, our experiences are part of my Old Growth. I should not shy away from walking in that place and loving it as I love Haena.
