Aloha Oi'

" Aloha Oi' " means Goodbye, until we meet again...

The last few days in Hawaii have been pleasant and rewarding. I have had time to myself to visit favourite sites, visit with friends and reflect on my time here and the future to come.

Yesterday, I went down to the beach to watch the sunrise, Kailua Beach is simply fabulous. The trade winds were blowing easily off the water and the waves were gently crumbling onto the powder fine sand.

At work, my co-workers organized a lunch at a local restaurant. It was so nice to see everybody together. A few people were actually leaving the island the same time as me... I guess that's the Army for you. My client boss (Clark) is sitting next to me on my left and my first client boss (Molly) is sitting next to him. Both are great friends and leaders.

Surprisingly, I was presented a couple of awards and plaques and several leis. Totally unexpected! I am a contractor and my time has always been intended to be temporary, so it's gratifying to be treated so warmly. It is a testament to their openness, friendliness and (I hope) the friendship we've managed to forge this past 18 months.

The guy I've worked most closely with has been Clark. I've not seen a guy that works harder or has a clearer vision than Clark. He's made my job challenging, yet easy and rewarding. He encouraged me to develop and test some new ideas that are now being applied at US Army Pacific and will also form new material for my future work with other clients called Capability Management. It was so meaningful to me that he presented me with a special picture of the motto "One Team" at historic Palm Circle.

After the lunch and after work, I drove home for the last time. When I arrived, I put on my swim suit and headed for the beach. There, I put on my beautiful leis and swam out into the deep water. I submerged and let the leis float over my head, then swam back to shore. It seemed like a nice way to honor Hawaiian custom rather than throw them away! I watched the leis from the beach for a while before heading back to the house and then taking an evening walk through the neighborhood.

So I will be returning home to Virginia and to DeAnna. I will start a new job at a new place with new people. It makes me a little bit nervous, but mostly excited. I will miss the beautiful beaches that are so easy to access. I suspected that I was a beach person at heart and this time has done well to confirm that.

I got to where I liked the weather that hardly ever changes, but I am looking forward to a good severe thunderstorm! I am now fully acclimated to the warm weather at 21 degrees latitude, so I'll be something of a weeny when it comes to winter, but I look forward to the change of seasons again. This shouldn't be a problem since I will have all summer to experience the hot, muggy weather of the mainland before the leaves turn and start to fall.

I think I've been here long enough to cast off my tourist orientation and see the side of Hawaii that residents experience. The distance and isolation can be overwhelming. There are darker elements on Oahu, but when everyone is on a tiny island, we have all managed to respect differences without too many issues. I have certainly learned of so many differences while I have been here. The Asian culture(s) really were foreign to me, but now I am a sushi eater - or maybe more like I'm not a sushi hater...

I was an Army brat growing up. I expected that many things would feel vaguely familiar. I did not expect to see how hard people work nor how much bureauacracy our soldiers must endure. From PFCs to Lt Generals, all fight a far more insidious enemy than the man with the gun. Truly, these people would rather be in battle than spending 6 weeks to get approval for new computers only to take 3 more months to actually procure them! The slow torture of aging infrastructure, pedantic protocol and burdensome processes that hinder progress will steal the life from your very soul. I met more than a few who retired out of sheer frustration with the inability to get something done.

Still, I have never had so much respect for the men and women in green! They are honorable, smart and energetic. I have no question about their ability to protect America's future or my own life. Their families and the life they lead is selfless and hard but, for the most part, everyone has a "can-do" attitude and wants to make things better. I expected command and control, but found competence and dedication. If my work does anything to make their life easier or better, then that is my reward. I hope to continue to work for the Army.

Would I come back? Sure, but I'd need to do a little more traveling back to see family and friends. It has been hard to stay so far away without any opportunity to visit. Remember, it is a small island in the middle of a really big ocean. I was even starting to get antsy to find new dive sites!

Would I live here permanently? I don't know. I think I'd have to be able to do this kind of work all the time because it is useful and necessary and ultimately rewarding. Of course, things would be different. We never really committed much to Oahu because we literally were never sure how much longer we were going to stay.

Am I excited about leaving Hawaii? Not really, but I am excited about going home to Virginia and starting another assignment! When you're in my world, you tend to see change as good - something I have appreciated as far back as 9th grade.

What will I miss when I get home? I'll miss the ocean and the weather for sure. The ethereal power and majesty of the Pacific Ocean can fascinate me for hours.I'll have to work harder at going scuba diving (I hear the visibility in the Potomac is pretty bad) but that will just mean coordinating with Kevin and Bo to take cool trips to the Carribean! I'll miss just driving around the island and seeing long, beautiful beaches with huge family gatherings every weekend. I'll miss the incredible mountain trails and rugged lava coastline for hiking. I'll miss having the windows open with a cool trade wind breeze 24x7 and the lovely fragrant flowers blooming all year long.

What will I miss the most? Of course, I'll miss the people. I'd list them, but there are so many and they know who they are. They all befriended me and invested time and concern for me and, dare I say, love. Fortunately, I have most of their e-mail addresses!

I am now at the airport waiting for my flight home to Washington Reagan Airport. The evening sky is blue, the setting sun casts a warm glow across the lush green mountains that are crowned with white clouds. The ocean is still and the indescribable blue water seems deeper than normal. It's all good. It's time to move on.

So I leave you with this last picture from Hawaii. You might think of it as the sunset of my stay, but the picture is actually of a sunrise!
. ...always looking ahead.


Aloha Oi' Hawaii....
Aloha Oi'.