




It’s day 60+…a man just asked me for road directions to Haleakala Crater so it may appear that I look like I know Maui well.
Maybe I do (it’s a small island after all). Wherever I go, I see people I know, or hear someone yell my name from across the road.
So after exchanging hellos/hugs, I find a quiet place on a beach, spread out my blanket, dig my toes into the sand, and put a t-shirt over my face…and let my hardworking (knee) bones soak up the sun…
People seem to still have a healthy interest in my broken patella/near body experience…particularly my elderly clients…and so there’s plenty of deep verbal consideration for how to “up” our quality-of-lifes…this life and the afterlife. Words cannot explain how much these exchanges mean to me, how they enrich my Hawaii life. Tearing up (usually on their side)…is the norm with these sessions (I sometimes tear up after they leave, behind the front desk, staring a second too long at the rubber therabands in their plexiglass case.)
(Before I arrived to Hawaii, I considered volunteering in hospice as another Near Death Experienced friend of a friend does here on Maui…but it seems that I get the luxury of helping remarkably healthier older clients who also are charitable, and take direction easily/learn quickly. They have amazing stories and maybe I’ll share some here one day.)
On the music side of things, I’m learning a song in Hawaiian…all the phonetic nuances where a “w” sounds like a “v” and a “k” sounds like a “t”…Both Auka and Lisa (and others in the households) have been kind enough to answer my random pronunciation questions, not to mention hear me warbling and strumming (and sometimes laughing…at myself) the same song countless times into the indigo night.
And in terms of music here on Maui, I sometimes unintentionally busk… like yesterday in front of Paia’s 76 gas station (I was waiting for Lisa to pick me up there)…a woman asked me to play a few songs and then after complimenting me she palmed me a few dollars and drove off. (Not sure if “soliciting” was kosher, I went inside the station and gave the attendant some change for their temporary concert venue.) Either way, spontaneously performing for all types of people (gym clients, tourists, the homeless, grocery store customers/employees, etc.) has been a lot of fun that always hones my mental/heart music skills.
Ok, off to the gym to torture — I mean workout — a nice young man needing to gain strength for his Hawaii tourist job…
xo,
Hbb
P.S. Thank you to Chris A. for creating the FTP link to reflect the HTTPS-ness of this website while I was busy working at the gym. (This site’s always been secure…just needed a little more TLC in the site’s background…) As always, thanks to everyone for their purchases and kind feedback…