Page 2 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Nov 9, 2022

2 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK NOVEMBER 9, 2022
Has Broom, Will Travel
“Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” — Samuel Ullman
by on the way to an errand, honking her horn with a wave and a smile. Her greeting speaks volumes, as in “Happy to see you again, still out on the road.” Few of us can keep pace unless, perhaps, we let ourselves be brushed by her enthusiasm as she sweeps by — just like that tree in her yard. It’s 25 feet high now and sprouting coconuts by the day, with no signs of quitting anytime soon.
John Simonds, a retired former daily newspaper edi- tor, has lived with his family in ‘Āina Haina for 46 years.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
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with John Simonds
You could call our family member who turned 80 on Hal- loween Eve an “Octoberge- narian,” though you’ d have to move quickly to give her birthday wishes. Maybe you could text her on her way to work or reach her in an air- port lounge boarding a flight to a distant land.
The broom aptly symbol- izes this woman of Hallow- een birth, but the witches and black cats her office colleagues may put on her cake are no match for their high-flying boss on the move. She worked in her office most pandemic days, joining online sessions, often in time zones from Europe to the Pacific Islands. With eased travel restrictions, she’s back in the air — for East Coast meetings, a stop in the Southwest to help a family member, cell phoning West Coast grandkids, link- ing with family and friends
She projects at work, pep talks her family into getting stuff done, guides reunions and holiday parties, always eager to use a busy broom on her home.
I keep channeling her whacking her backyard O‘ahu coconut tree with a broom. Lore from native roots has taught her this
“When I retire, I’m going to fix this place,” she prom- ises, but the due date on that keeps shifting. Two of her mottos clash like sparks on a Halloween night: “We could all be gone tomorrow” and “I’ m planning to live forev- er.” Like opposing battery posts, they seem to power her roving scope on life’s big and little matters.
makes palms more produc- tive. “Regeneration” we might call it, but for her it’s a way to spur nature.
on O‘ahu and Maui, racing home to pack for a meeting in Asia.
Some days as I walk my workout route, she drives
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