"..Those who left Puna "- your comments

[chris]

http://punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?whichpage=0.8&TOPIC_ID=10542#93917

I said in the other thread that I don't want to discuss my son's situation.
But just letting you know that I am a concerned but not a meddling parent.I let my kids live their lives.I just want my son to read the real stories and make his own informed decision.

[PaulW]

Read the real stories? By restricting that thread to "why-I-left-Puna" he'll only hear half the story, or maybe even one-tenth of the real story.

[David M]

Thanks for the Comment thread Chris. Along with the thought provoking stories of
the original thread, some civilly applied comments can make it even better.

Edit to correct
David

Ninole Resident

[Guest]

There's a line from an old Jimmy Buffet song, "In the tropics, they come and they go." This always stuck with me as I have seen many come and go. There's a romantic lure to a place like Hawaii and Hawaii in particular. Hawaiian musicians sing about the beauty of Hawaii. It is a special place. But the culture here is very, very different from any European or Asian-based culture we may be familiar with. It isn't really that long ago that Kamehameha the Great united the Islands and did away with the Kapu system towards the end of his life. In many ways the culture was brutal and in many ways gentle. In all ways unfamiliar to the Westerner. Only a few of the original haoles who came decided to stay. i think only two of Captain Cook's men made a good life here. It's not for everybody but the lure is undeniable. There's no place else in the US that is so foreign. I think it's a very big mistake to come without substantial money reserves and I never understood uprooting a family to bring them here although I know some are quite successful. But it's not a place for young people. I was talking with Pong at Royal Siam in Hilo (great coconut tofu soup). He was 18 when he came from Thailand and was miserable. Nothing to do for a young man. Now he wouldn't live anywhere else. Lower Puna for a young person I think would be quite boring. It can be a 20 minute drive just to get to the highway and then what do you have? Pahoa. With some notable exceptions the music scene is pretty bleak compared with the Mainland and the club scene almost non-existent. Put your kids in public school and they will have many problems with the local kids unless they are quite exceptional. Private school is very expensive and the best one is pretty far away in Waimea. The islands were literally stolen and there is still plenty of anger left towards the haoles. I haven't been to Honolulu in about 25 years, but I think that would be a better gateway to life here rather than jumping in with both feet in Puna. Even Kailua would be a better choice.
However, if you are of the proper temperament, there is no place on Earth which can compare. Walk in Volcano late at night and I don't think you can tell me there's not something mystical going on here. There's a creative energy which is very hard to describe but very real. Remember that no matter where you go, there you are. Whatever baggage you had on the Mainland will come along with you. The REAL story is the one your son is writing now. Let him write it his way. Even if he is not successful here, he will most likely be better for the experience. There's 175,000 stories here and I can tell you some are quite wonderful. I could go on and on even more about my favorite subject, the island of Hawaii.

[chris]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mauka

I think it's a very big mistake to come without substantial money reserves

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My point exactly.

[Rob Tucker]

That's kinda true most anywhere you go is it not? Maybe more true for New York City than Hawaii.

I left my hometown at 18 and moved to London with $600. Came back four years later shipping a car back from England. I almost stayed there. My parents had no idea or grasp of what I was doing. Fact was, neither did I. I'm very glad I did my coming up in a foreign country without support.

My little brother tried the same thing ten years later and fell flat on his face.

The opportunities in life are varied. One person goes to a place and finds true love and happiness. Another goes to the same place and gets mugged. It comes down to following your heart and being willing to make mistakes.

[csgray]

I think the whole "financial reserves" thing is very relative. What seems like the bare bones at 45 is luxury for a 20 year old. If you don't have all that much to start with you also don't have much to lose, and much to gain in experience just by going outside of the box.

I once sold everything I owned that didn't fit in a backpack, and moved across the country to drastically change my lifestyle. I am so grateful that instead of trying to gather evidence of why I was going to fail, or shouldn't even try, my parents had enough faith in me that they gave me a one way ticket for Christmas and kissed me goodbye at the airport. I had virtually no "financial reserves" when I started, but I built a life for myself there that grew to encompass successfully raising 2 daughters in a happy marriage, owning a home outright before I turned 30, starting a business with less than $100 that I ran profitably for over 20 years, and getting an education that resulted in two degrees, BA and Masters. I am a stronger, wiser, and more confident person for having put it all on the line, and succeeding through hard work and perseverance. The best gift my parents ever gave me was the chance to fly or fall flat on my face.

We again liquidated everything (a much more complicated process this time)and came here over 4 years ago. Again, the best thing I could have ever done was putting it all on the line to drastically change my life. This was not an easy place to find a toe hold, but neither was Oregon in the depths of the early 80s recession/depression.

Carol

[Guest]

Chris - you take my comment out of context. My fault. As far as financial reserves, I was talking about those who come with their families and school age children. For a young single person, even failure can be an enriching experience. Ask yourself, what's the absolute worst that can happen to him. Remember that there is less violent crime here than most places on the mainland. So he fails. So what? And there is equal likelihood that he will succeed. Either way he enriches his life. There's more going on here. I think you miss him or feel abandonded by him as he moved so far away. Let him separate from you and live his own life. Let me go to bed :-)

[chris]

Mauka (and others),
If you are assuming about my son (age,family,etc.) it's understandable.
But please use the word "if" (if [] possible ).

[StillHope]

I had 2 cousins (one of them died).
One - you can leave him on another planet and he'd make it back home.
The other one -well..The opposite.
A great motivation (big love) can sometimes empower a weak person to do unexpected.
But in general a good parent pretty much can tell.





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