After the long darkness that was 'Iniki, the sun rose again
By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist
I find my thoughts turning to Hurricane 'Iniki lately. In trying to pull meaning out of the tragedy of Sept. 11, my only point of reference is what happened on Kaua'i on Sept. 11 nine years ago.
Of course, there is no comparison. A storm that claimed six lives cannot be measured against an attack that killed thousands. A natural disaster is a very different thing to deal with, in the mind and in the soul, than a willful, evil plot of mass murder. I know this, yet my mind goes back to 'Iniki, that day, the weeks and months that followed, in a search for some measure of solace.
We told ourselves if we could make it through 'Iniki, we could make it through anything. We breathed sighs of relief as we picked up broken houses and broken lives, because we carried this hopeful delusion that 'Iniki would be the worst we'd ever have to go through. Standing amidst the rubble, it was impossible to imagine anything could be worse.
On that count, we were very wrong.
In the days and weeks that followed, every strong gust of wind was a reminder. Every storm brewing out in the Pacific was a threat. There was no reprieve from the devastation. It was everywhere you looked, everywhere you went, outside every window, inside every house.
You couldn't turn off your TV to hide from the images of damage. You couldn't turn on your TV to find brief moments of escape. There was no television, no power and, in some houses, no water.
In some houses, no house.
Not even sleep brought escape. The smell of broken things hung in the air and stuck in your throat with every breath.
'Iniki was hard to deal with for so many people because there was no one to blame, no villain to beat down in retaliation. Sure, there was fingerpointing at government officials and tenuous insinuations about this guy and that guy, but that didn't offer much satisfaction to lives so disrupted and hearts so scarred.
Moreover, there was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again. As houses were rebuilt and roofs were repaired, each hurricane tie and metal clip carried a prayer that Kaua'i would never be tested again.
My mind goes back to those days on Kaua'i because we did get through them. We got through the storm, we got through the cleanup, we got through the waves of secondary and tertiary depression that sneaked up months after the storm. Lives were reformed, babies were born, people made plans — all with the lingering threat hanging over our heads, all with the sobering knowledge than nothing in this world is every really guaranteed.
Kaua'i people got through 'Iniki by banding together, by talking together, by crying together and even by laughing together. We got through with the help and caring of people around the state and around the country. We got through by repeating dumb cliches about the sun is gonna rise again tomorrow and when life gives you lemons make lemonade and any little small scrap of something that carried us through the darkest moments.
We got through by believing the best while preparing for the worst. We got through on sheer will. We got through and we grew strong.
There is no comparison between the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 11, 1992. The only similarity is in the steadfast hearts of people determined to set the world right again, determined to rise up and create lives full of meaning. Once again, the sun will rise tomorrow, and we will rebuild. More than that, we will thrive.
Lee Cataluna's column runs on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8172.
