FAMILY MATTERS
Student steps back in time with Pearl project

By Ka'ohua Lucas

Three weeks ago, my 10-year-old walked into the house, dropped his backpack on the floor and yanked a paper out of his portfolio.

"Can you read this, Mom?" he said, shoulders slumped.

I scanned the assignment sheet. He was to read a book set in a historical time period, then create a scrapbook chronicling main events in the story. He was to imagine he was right alongside the main character experiencing the adventure.

"An awesome project!" I said. "What book have you chosen?"

"I'm going to read a book about the bombing of Pearl Harbor, I guess," he said.

I'd hoped he'd select a piece that would describe Pu'uloa before it was known as Pearl Harbor. More than 36 loko i'a (fish ponds and fish traps) dotted Pu'uloa at one time, although they have since been destroyed or filled in to pave the way for subdivisions. Queen Emma's pond, Loko Waiaho, covered 32 acres. The ancient name for Ford Island, which sits in the middle of Pu'uloa, is Moku 'Ume 'Ume (island of attraction). According to "Sites of O'ahu," this is where the sport of 'ume was played. A ritual took place where a master of ceremonies would scramble the participants.

"No virgin or unmarried person was permitted to take part (in the ceremony) for it was only for the married who were not blessed with offspring," it says. "He would touch a man here and a woman there and the two would go elsewhere by themselves. The husband was not permitted to be jealous of his wife when she was with another, nor the wife of her husband."

Should a child be conceived as a result of the 'ume, the offspring would be the husband's.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any historical fiction books designed for 10-year-olds about Pu'uloa. My son's fascination is with battleships and weaponry. It's probably the images he sees on the nightly news portraying war-ravaged cities. For me, it's devastating; for my son, it's mesmerizing.

I felt it was important that I support him in his choice of book and to expand on what he had read. I could see frustration build as he plotted the design of the scrapbook.

"Mommy, I'm tired of doing this," he complained.

Enough said. It was time for him to experience it.

"OK, family, we're going on a field trip!" I announced.

"Where to?" the 13-year-old said.

"We're going to play tourist and check out the Arizona Memorial!"

"Yes, this is a day that will live in infamy in our family," my husband said.

When we arrived, there were a sea of rental cars. We rode the boat out to the memorial. My 10-year-old was in awe.

"I can't believe so many people died, Mommy," he said.

We visited the USS Bowfin, a submarine built in 1941. He could see the cramped living quarters. We explored the Mighty Mo, walking the 300-yard length of the battleship and squeezing into one of the auxiliary firing stations.

My son was so jazzed about his experience that when we returned home, he immediately began writing in his scrapbook diary.

"So what did you think about your day at Pearl Harbor?" I asked.

"It was great, Mom!" he said. "Good thing I didn't do a historical fiction on the Civil War, yeah? That would have been really expensive!"