HONOLULU--In
the week that the Pacific Telecommunications
Council held its 24th annual meeting
here, more than 7,000 officers and
crewmen of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft
carrier group set foot on American
shores for the first time in almost
six months. And they discovered that
the America they left behind had
changed forever since Sept. 11. On
that day last year they were sailing
the Arabian Sea when news bulletins
on the television screens situated
throughout the ships of fleet showed
the destruction wrought by hijacked
planes on the World Trade Center
towers in New York and the Pentagon
in Washington. As those scenes etched
permanently into the memories of
a nation and the whole world, the
fleet received orders not to sail
home but to move immediately into
action. It became the first aircraft
carrier to launch strikes on targets
in Afghanistan.
But
as the days and weeks wore on,
life on board the ship hardly changed.
Officers and crew, working in shifts,
awoke and went to their battle
stations or the mess rooms amidst
a constant chorus of planes roaring
on and off the decks and the din
of the machinery driving the giant
engines. There was little time
for much thought of home. On the
streets of Waikiki, downtown Honolulu's
flashy palm-fringed beach and shopping
precinct, sailors were spontaneously
welcomed by members of the public.
One of the, sailors, Ken Blair,
told the Honolulu Advertiser: "They
just want to say thanks for doing
your job. You definitely see a
lot more patriotism these days
in America." Another sailor,
Lt. Justin Long, a tactical action
officer aboard the USS Ingraham,
a Tomahawk missile frigate, said: "You
could say we saw the beginning
of the war, fought the war, and
saw the end of the war, and then
we came home. It's been a real
eye-opener to see how America has
changed."
But some things never change,
and that is what the beauty and
mystique of the Hawaiian islands
is all about: The unique calls
of the small gray-and-white Hawaiian
turtle doves; the luminescent orange
hues of the koki'o, a native hibiscus;
the red-headed honeycreeper birds
feeding on purple koli flowers;
and the soft burbling of the mountain
waterfalls. Oh, not to forget the
beaches, the reefs and the places
beyond where the waves break perfectly,
making Hawaii arguably the best
surfing spot in the world. Surfers
carrying boards stroll the streets
of Waikiki in wet swim shorts alongside
sailors in uniform and young women
daubed in full war paint but very
little else.
Besides
the make-up and trendy clothes
on sale everywhere, much
ink is being spilt over two big
local controversies: the introduction
of traffic cameras and whether
or not Hawaii should get gambling
casinos. "Twenty years ago,
the average Hawaii person traveling
to Las Vegas lost $3,000. Why not
keep the money in Hawaii?" asked
Rodney Akiyama in a letter to the
Advertiser. "Senator Daniel
Inouye is against gaming in Hawaii,
but he did not have an alternative
job creation to gaming--are you
folks going to keep the Hawaii
economy down for another 10 years?" In
another letter, Anita Carmichael
responded: "As one of the
hundreds of Hawaii residents who
travel to Las Vegas several times
a year to gamble, eat and have
fun, I must admit I am opposed
to having Waikiki look like the
Strip."
Why
eat in Las Vegas when back at
home in Honolulu a place like
Duke's on the waterfront will served
freshly smoked ahi (tuna) or beautifully
steamed moonfish caught just a
few hours earlier in some of the
least polluted waters anywhere
in the world? "Sometimes we
get a bit of island fever," said
a young lady on a park bench near
the DeRussy naval chapel, rubbing
suntan lotion into her legs. "My
dad comes from the mainland, but
my mom's from here and I've grown
up here. I like to come and check
the surfers and sailors out. We
do have some of the most gorgeous
guys around these parts. It's the
best place around for man-hunting.
But still you need a break sometime."
The atmosphere here is so laid
back that a visitor can be forgiven
for thinking that almost everyone
is having a break. People here
stroll--they don't walk--except
for the joggers who are everywhere,
training for the annual Honolulu
marathon one of the better known,
and certainly the most beautiful,
in all the world.
The
non-running pedestrians stop
at "don't walk" signs
and wait for the "walk"--a
phenomena strange to people from
some of the bigger cities on mainland
America and elsewhere. People in
Hawaii cruise in their cars; they
don't drive. They don't break the
speed limit. Even taxi drivers
mind the 35 mph sign, leaving visitors
wondering whether there is a cop
on every corner. People in Hawaii
make out on the beach; they don't
bother much with the dancing.
And friendly. Mostly friendly,
the lei--the flower garlands worn
around the neck--given to newcomers
really does represent the warmth
that visitors receive. Tourism
is the biggest industry on the
island, but that is not why the
people are friendly to strangers.
And no strangers are more welcome
these days than those in uniform.
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