Posts Tagged ‘Kapoho’
A Reminder: Basically Books in Hilo: Saturday: Nov 9th at 11:30.
Posted in Basically Books, Kapoho, Memoirs, Uncategorized, Watermark Publishing, tagged Basically Books, Kapoho, Watermark Publishing on October 29, 2019| Leave a Comment »
A Kapoho Christmas
Posted in Kapoho, Memoirs, Pahoa eruption, Sacramento Poetry Center, Uncategorized, tagged Kapoho on June 14, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Our house lot is now under lava and with it, a Christmas Memory in summer.
A Kapoho Christmas
It was Christmas without lights.
It was Christmas without indoor plumbing.
It was Christmas without carolers at the window
Muffed and warm under falling snow.
But there was Christmas.
A Christmas program at school
Where the Holy Night reenacted:
White tissue paper glued on spines of coconut fronds
Shaped as angel wings and halos.
Long white robes, over bare feet.
Santa Claus with bagfuls of hard mixed candies
Ho ho hoed by the plantation manager,
His yearly holiday role in the village where he reigned.
Fathers in Sunday best
After a hard day’s work in sugar cane fields.
Children in home-sewn dresses and shirts.
A fir branch from the hills,
Needles not lasting 24 hours.
Chains from construction paper,
Origami balls, strands of tin-foiled tinsel.
Kerosene and gas lamps
Moving shadows on the walls.
It was not the Christmas of my dreams.
No carolers at the window,
Singing O Holy Night.
No large presents under a Douglas Fir
No fireplaces and rooftop chimneys.
No blue-eyed boy handing me hot chocolate.
For 18 years, the true Christmas
Lived in my head until Madame Pele
Came to my rescue
And buried our kerosene lamps.
“Finally,” I said,
Running out fast —
My bare feet over pebbled, unpaved roads
To the Christmas of my dreams.
Frances Kakugawa
Free homes built for Evacuees
Posted in Humanities, Kapoho, Legacy of Humanity, The Homeless, Uncategorized, tagged Kapoho on June 10, 2018| 3 Comments »
Please check this site for two reasons:
- It takes Hawaii residents, local style, to build 20 homes in a week for the evacuees. It takes a man called Gilbert to donate his property and his humanity to make this happen.
- Gilbert has a history with me. When he was born to immigrant parents, his father Alberto told me, “My son, he come lawyer someday.” I told him, “He can be anyone, Alberto, but be sure to raise a good man. A man who will return back to his people because our country has been good to us.”
When Gilbert was in middle school he told me he wants a shade job when he grows up. He has been working in his parents’ papaya fields since he could walk. He has his own electricity company today.
I will write up his story in more detail later, hopefull, for the press.
So Mr. Trump, what do you think of children of immigrant parents now?
Below is the site, where you can see the live coverage. I will also print out the story below the site.
While many opted to stay with friends, family or in a county-provided shelter, less-than optimal conditions have led residents to begin worrying about long term solutions to an ongoing problem.
Last Friday, a group of Big Island volunteers teamed up to begin prep work on a project to build 20 tiny homes that will give evacuees a private place to plan their next steps. And on Saturday, the group is nearly complete.
By the afternoon, volunteer workers, which included several men and women with construction backgrounds, already had roofs on the tops of micro shelters, which measure 10-feet by 12-feet with about 120 square feet of floor space.
The effort was made possible due to an emergency proclamation issued by Big Island Mayor Harry Kim.
“Some of us here have been directly affected by the lava, so we’re happy to be here and give back to the community,” said Dean Au, with Hawaii Carpenters Union.
The 20 micro shelters will fill an 8-acre plot of land behind Sacred Heart Church off Pahoa Village Road. Several community groups and businesses pitched in time, supplies and manpower, including Big Island Electrical Services, HPM Building Supply, and HOPE Services Hawaii, among others.
“(There is) a wide assortment of occupations from the national guard, the carpenters union, businesses and community volunteers, all of the contractors, it’s just incredible,” said Darryl Olivera, safety officer for HPM Building Supply.
Gilbert Aguinaldo, owner of Big Island Electrical Services, said that he has no doubt that all 20 micro shelters will be completed this weekend.
“I promise you, there is no excuse, we are going to put all these houses up today,” Aguinaldo said. “And when I say we’re gonna get it done today, we’re gonna get it done It today.”
Copyright 2018 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Once There Was a Kapoho
Posted in Kapoho, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii, Poetry, Sacramento Poetry Center, Uncategorized, tagged Kapoho, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii on June 6, 2018| 6 Comments »
Our old house lot in Kapoho was covered with lava a few days ago. The poem below describes the original Kapoho of my childhood, not the current Kapoho:
Once There Was a Kapoho
Once there was a Kapoho
Where children played barefooted
Until the evening sun disappeared
And kerosene lamps and gas lamps
Beckoned each child home.
Once there was a Kapoho
Where outhouses and water tanks
Prominently stood as sentinels
And ohi’a firewood sent signals
Above rooftops, announcing
A hot furo* for the tired and the toiled.
Once there was a Kapoho
Where mothers pumping sewing machines
Marked the end of summer.
Homemade clothes and one-strapped schoolbags
For the first of September.
Once there was a Kapoho
Without television,
But battery-run radios,
Crackling “The Romance of Helen Trent,”
Dr. Malone and Arthur Godfrey.
Once there was a Kapoho
Without washing machines
But wooden washboards
Against concrete tubs
Slippery, muddy denims
Boiled in Saloon Pilot cans.
Once there was a place
Without shopping malls and Macy’s,
But catalogs from Sears and Montgomery Ward,
Dream-makers, before Charmin or MD.
Once there was Christmas without lights.
Yes, once there was a place
So simple and free
Where children swam in Warm Springs
And fished in Green Lake,
Played marbles and Ojame
And Steal Steal Stone.
Once there was a place
Where life went on without question.
Sons went off to war,
Teachers taught the 3 Rs
Parents were the PTA
And children pledged allegiance.
Yes, once there was such a place
Until Madam Pele** said, “No more!”
And scattered all the children
Like stars in the universe,
Echoing Thomas Wolfe,
“You can’t go home again.”
From Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii
* furo: bath
**Kapoho was destroyed by lava flows. Madame Pele, fire goddess in Hawai’ian lore, is believed to be the creator of eruptions.
Kapoho Eruption
Posted in Hawaii, Hawaii's Volcanoes, Kapoho, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii, Uncategorized, tagged Hawaii's lava flows, Kapoho on May 23, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Thank you for asking about my Kapoho book: Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii.
I was 18 when our town was covered by the same Kilauea Volcano who has returned to the same area. Book is available on Amazon, Watermark Publishers , Barnes & Noble, and other local bookshops. The cover shows the main part of Kapoho: The pool hall, the Nakamura store, and the theater which used generators to show films. My grandmother’s house was one of the first to be totally covered by lava.
Kapoho, Hawaii: A Modern Pompeii
Posted in Kapoho, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii, My Books, Uncategorized, tagged Hawaii Eruption, Kapoho on May 13, 2018| Leave a Comment »
The on-going eruption in Hawaii brings back memories of how our village Kapoho was demolished by Kilauea Volcano. We evacuated to Pahoa which became our second home, and now Pahoa and it’s neighboring areas are being destroyed or threatened. Thank you, readers, for asking about my memoir about Kapoho: Yes, Kapoho is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Watermark Publishing. My heart goes out to all the people in the Puna area. The book cover below shows the main part of our village. What was inspiring was how the villagers turned into philosophers and said, as my father did, that if Pele wants our house, she can have it. I hear this from some of the current evacuees. A stronger bond grew among the people as each reached out to others. Kapoho still exists in the lives of its residents although Pele scattered us all over the country.
A Kapoho Christmas
Posted in Kapoho, Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii, Memoirs, Poetry, Sacramento Poetry Center, Uncategorized, tagged Christmas memory, Kapoho, Poetry on December 17, 2017| 2 Comments »
A Kapoho Christmas
It was Christmas without lights.
It was Christmas without indoor plumbing.
It was Christmas without carolers at the window
Muffed and warm under falling snow.
But there was Christmas.
A Christmas program at school
Where the Holy Night reenacted:
White tissue paper glued on spines of coconut fronds
Shaped as angel wings and halos.
Long white robes, over bare feet.
Santa Claus with bagfuls of hard mixed candies
Ho ho hoed by the plantation manager,
His yearly holiday role in the village where he reigned.
Fathers in Sunday best
After a hard day’s work in sugar cane fields.
Children in home-sewn dresses and shirts.
A fir tree from the hills,
Needles not lasting 24 hours.
Chains from construction paper,
Origami balls and strands of tin-foiled tinsel.
Kerosene and gas lamps
Moving shadows on the walls.
It was not the Christmas of my dreams.
No carolers at the window,
Singing Silent Night, Holy Night.
No large presents under a real Christmas tree
No fireplaces and rooftop chimneys.
No blue-eyed boy handing me hot chocolate.
For 18 years, the true Christmas
Lived in my head until Madame Pele*
Came to my rescue
And buried our kerosene lamps.
Finally, I said, running out fast
On unpaved roads
To the Christmas of my dreams.
* Fire of Goddess of Kilauea Volcanic Crater
I can go home again, Mr. Wolf
Posted in Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii, Pahoa High School, Kapoho,, Uncategorized, tagged Kapoho, Pahoa High School on May 31, 2017| 2 Comments »
It was an honor to give the commencement address at my Alma Mater: Pahoa High School graduation in Hilo, Hawaii last week. Class of 2017, thank you for bringing me home again. I once again wish the graduates a fun and meaningful life. The Hawai’i Herald will carry my entire address in their next issue.
I also took a field trip to my home village Kapoho with Prof Allan Anderson of Hawai’i Community and a few of his students. Prof Anderson, thank you for adding my Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii book to your college curriculum. The site of our old house is buried under foliage.