How are you dealing with this?

[punafish]

I’m in the crosshairs of the flow here in Hawaiian Shores. I know how I’m dealing with it (doing okay thank you very much), but wondering how others are coping.

I’m particularly interested in cross-cultural comparisons, because it struck me that Hawaiians I’ve spoken with, heard or read about seem to be taking things in stride, with good cheer. (Not painting Hawaiians with a single brush, just my limited observations.) Upon reflection it makes sense to me that Hawaiian culture would better equip its people to deal with the realities of life on an active volcano—lava flows a big one—than your average mainlander transplant.

Acknowledging that each of us is different and unique, does anyone else see a cultural pattern here? And what might transplants learn from local culture during the tough times ahead?

[Kapohocat]

We are not in the crosshairs but do live on the south lower puna side.

My culture (Mexican) - the culture of hispanic panic - makes me prepare for a long haul with out services or accessibility to stores. It is not "panic" in the traditional sense. it is the "p"reparing part of "p"anic.

Also because I have a aviation brother - i use this motto - "put your own oxygen mask on first and then assist others with theirs" meaning once I got my stuff ready, I am free to help others with out stressing (too much) which we have been doing.

[Rob Tucker]

It is what it is until it isn't.

[opihikao]

Aloha, punafish. Positive thoughts and prayers for you, and all of our ohana. Mr. Tucker summed it up very well. Finding a sense of peace with this situation is critical to moving forward, no matter what happens.

Perhaps this is time for change, which has brought forth the best in our communities. All eyes are on Puna again, and lots of kokua is coming, and will come, from all over Hawai'i nei.

Lots of prayers are being said, for sure. FYI: (*Snipped - More at link)

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/break...=275970951

Pahoa, Hawaii >> It's been said that prayer has the ability to move mountains, so why not lava?

That was the message Sunday evening where more than 100 people gathered behind the Pahoa Community Center to send their prayers and blessings to all those who may soon have their lives turned upside down by the so-called June 27 lava flow.

Smoke from the lava heading toward the small town of about 900 people was visible in the sky while pastors from several different area churches led individual prayers for attendees.


For our ohana, we are making sure we're ready with our "cocoa and craka", (evaporated milk with hot water, "war food" at it's best![])
especially for kupuna and keiki. As we wait, and wait, and wait for Tutu Pele to "do her thing", reflection of how our kupuna handled the experience comes to the forefront of my mind.

Never did we panic, we always made sure everyone who needed help got it. The trips to see the flow up close (the old days neva have barrier; we could walk right up to see the flow pass by you a couple feet away!) with Tutu and Papa are forever engrained in my mind.

Tutu Pele will be merciful. We mahalo her for her presence, and honor her as our kupuna. Just no fool around and make "any kine" (ie. no chanting if you don't know what you're doing, no tease, no be disrespectful to nobody, etc.[])

Aloha kekahi I kekahi. Love one another.

We will all be fine.


Mahalo Ke Akua, e na Aumakua, e na Kupuna.

JMO.

[punafish]

Mahalo Opihikao for sharing that.

Even though I am a transplant from the mainland, I've lived overseas for a big chunk of my life, so perhaps my outlook is different than others. What I can truly relate to with Hawaiian culture, is the idea of focusing not on what we can't control (nature), but on what we can: helping each other through the strength of community.

But man, what a bizarre mix of feelings right now. The Japanese have an expression “mono no a-wa-re,” translated loosely as “the pathos of it all.” Mono no a-wa-re acknowledges the transience of all things, and by doing so evokes a kind of reflective sadness. Beneath all that sadness is the essence of Japanese aesthetics and perception of beauty: only by acknowledging the ephemeral nature of reality can you bear witness to the beauty within.

I've known about and studied "mono no a-wa-re" for many years. But for the first time in my life I'm actually feeling it. Puna is looking a lot more beautiful these days, but it might just be me.

Oddly enough, even though I'm as capable of being a worry-wart as the next guy, the lava flow is so far out of my control (um, that would be zero) that I truly am at peace, embracing the uncertainty, and focusing on being ready for the worst-case scenario (which thankfully, if we all play our cards right, should avoid any loss of life). Whether the flow hits my neighborhood or not, it doesn't change how I feel. It's so sad that so many lives and lifestyles will be uprooted. But it has also kindled a greater appreciation for what I have, and a very strange sense of excitement for things to come.

[pander75]

Mahalo Opihikao for your perspective. It helps to read those words!

When I moved here 15 years ago I always knew this could happen. We all did, just like we all knew in California where I grew up that a major earthquake could happen. The thing that keeps striking me about this situation is that at least we have TIME to deal with this situation. As many people have said, this is a slow disaster - not like the millions that would instantly affected if there was an earthquake in L.A.

So, I am grateful for Pele that she is so slow, and is giving us all time and notice. She is doing a long slow stroll down the hill, letting us know the whole time that she is coming. Some people are moving their whole houses already! Just read some of the other stories about volcano eruptions from all over the world and you will see just how lucky we are!

I just did a quick Google search and come up with the statistic that about 1 billion people or 20% of the Earth's population live directly in active volcano danger zones.

So... I guess trying to feel grateful as possible is the way that I'm dealing with this. And stocking up on beer. ;-)

[Frankie Stapleton]

I've lived in the top portion of Nanawale Estates, not far from the highway, for the past 35 years. So I was here during Kalapana and had several coworkers who lived in Kalapana. It took nearly 7 years for Kalapana to be inundated. But people had to go to work every day, send their kids to school, maintain their homes and pets because they weren't in the economic class that could walk away from their homes, jobs, et al, and re-establish themselves elsewhere. Sure, a boss could be sympathetic and let you stay home if there was a lava flow at the edge of your yard looking like it was gonna take out your home. But then it would stop and nothing would happen. So you'd go back to work the next day, all relieved, but then 3 weeks later the lava looked like it was gonna come in your back door. Another day off and maybe your house would be still standing, or not. But bosses have just so much patience with such a drawn-out disaster...and you need your job at this point more than ever.

This went on for more than 6 and a half years! The last time was between April and August of 1990. That's when a glacier-sized buildup of lava swooped down, taking out the village itself. They moved one church in May just steps ahead of the road cutoff. The other church burned to the ground that night.

It's been really sad to see the state of mind so many people are in. Yes, I'm lucky as I have no young children to worry about and I don't have a job I have to go to. But all of us on the south side of this flow are in a similar predicament ... and I try to caution my friends to look at the reality. No developed property has yet been torched and NOBODY knows what the flow is going to do from day to day. Not Jim K., not the mayor, not CD...no one. These online prognostications based on which way the arrow points today are exercises in frustration....because you'll be jumping this way and that from one day to the next. That's the nature of the beast and you won't know any more than just by checking the CD site daily and going to the weekly updates.

Obviously, we all need to plan, based on our individual circumstances. But most of us can't walk away from our homes and pay living expenses elsewhere...or we would probably have already done so!

So after settling on your plan for the worst-case scenario (which hasn't happened to anyone yet, even in Kaohe Homesteads) practice doing what you need to day by day, and don't project disaster. You'll have plenty of notice from Pele. The topography where this flow is headed is so much more wide-spread; the experts expect it to slow down after crossing the highway and we don't even know where that's going to happen!

When Kalapana was first being threatened by lava, I was the only reporter down there. There were no cells phones, etc. In fact, part of the lure of Kalapana was it was completely cut off from TV, radio, etc.

This 24/7 news cycle feeds an anxiety level that is counterproductive in some ways. Obviously, the authorities had to notify us of the threat. Just to let you know, the level of governmental support being established during this threat is awesome, compared to what the people of Kalapana got. There was no Dept. of Ed counseling, no meetings with various gov't agencies represented, Helco, H20, phone or internet people to answer questions.

Civil Defense has promised to go house-to-house in any area imminently threatened and they did exactly that in Kaohe. Now Kaohe is spared but that's just for the time being because there is a whole lot of lava uprift. So Kaohe residents are just starting the cycle that I truly expect will take months if not years. I think it's very unlikely to reach the ocean, at least in surface flows, this year. And I'm grateful the powers that be are being so proactive in establishing alternate roads....after all, we've been agitating for decades to get them done.

I suggested to a friend yesterday who was all upset because so many of her clients are in Hilo and she's going to the University this semester. So I suggested she break the big pic down into bite-size pieces. Her UHH semester is over in mid-December. No threat to her getting to her classes yet.... The DOE is making arrangements for students and teachers to do their schooling on whichever side of the flow they live....she can do the same thing. Get the DOE to give her clients on this side of the flow and her Hilo clients get someone over there.

She loves her home which she has completely paid off and has no insurance as she got ripped off by an insurance company previously. Someone told me about a man down here who just bought a lot in Paradise Park and plans to move his house there. Several homes in Kalapana were moved as was an entire termite-riddled church! Her home is on post and pier so she can move it, if so inclined.

Unfortunately, my home is on a slab. But I really don't feel threatened, being on the upper tilt of the rift zone, unless the flow goes for many years. My Hawaiian neighbors have decided to move but I understand why. Their family home (of untold generations) was one of nine in Kapa'ahu destroyed over Thanksgiving weekend in 1986. The following month, homes in Kalapana Gardens as well as Royal Gardens were consumed, at one point 10 homes went up in 100 minutes. And then the flow into Kalapana itself stopped....for 3 years!

Dear friends and neighbors, I can't emphasize enough how stressful, how destructive in so many ways (economically, socially, emotionally, etc.), this particular kind of natural disaster is....more so than anything else you can think of.

I grew up in hurricane country...I knew Iselle wasn't a hurricane (tropical storm, yes; hurricane no; tornado tails, yes...that's why the trees when down the way they did). I never experienced earthquakes until I came to Hawaii. But the haphazard structure of most homes in Hawaii when I first got here actually rode out EQs pretty well.

So I urge you all to yes, look at the the big picture and develop a realistic plan. Then go about your life handling the bite-sized pieces day by day. Enjoy your home and lifestyle for today and don't project disasters that cannot yet be predicted. Even the govt guys have had to deal w/this practically overnight....how can they tell us plans for things down the road when they don't even know where the road will be cut, how wide, which part of Pahoa will be consumed, etc.?

EVERYone is stressed; how many domestics do you hear these days?I wasn't trying to be flippant when I suggested elsewhere on PW to practice your zen; I meant it seriously as that is the one mode I've seen help people get through this experience in the past. I don't mean you need to be Buddhist; the Hawaiians who practice leading their lives day by day, cleaning up their homes and kuleana in anticipation of a guest, they're doing the same thing. Not projecting disaster but dealing with what comes to you day by day. And appreciating the good that comes to you day by day. I hope this helps some of you out there. Malama pono, Frankie

[Andrew]

Frankie thank you for that.

___________________________

Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times".

[4antares]

Thank you Frankie for the most rational, reasonable post yet on this subject.

life is short. enjoy it

[shay]

frankie,

your post was pure 'food for thought', bite sized and nourishing. i gut-felt your words; a sign of a brilliant and accomplished writer, IMO.
thank you so much sharing your insights.