COMMENTARY
Why this couple will miss Hawai'i as tour of duty comes to an end

This letter was sent to Advertiser columnist Lee Cataluna.

By Mike and Agnes Allen

Hello, Lee.

You may wonder why I'm sending this to you. Since I've been reading the paper, I've found that your candid look at the Islands and people of Hawai'i lends itself to your being somewhat disarming. That's why you're the recipient of this. My wife and I thoroughly enjoy your column. You are so in touch with the land and people that support and feed us, and we enjoy it more through your insight.

Mike and Agnes Allen

I was assigned to Hawai'i from 1990 to 1995, then left for Maryland for a three-year tour. I felt as if I were on an extended temporary duty, being away from Hawai'i for just a while, until I could get back to live there again. An odd feeling that I know friends of mine have also felt, but all the same.

Fortunately, after my bride and I got married, fate smiled upon us, and I was able to score another tour here in 1998.

Well, 2004 has arrived all too quickly. Sadly, it's time to leave.

The last few years have not been kind to our enjoyment of the Islands. Since Sept. 11, 2001, I've been off the island more than I've been on, and have now become more of a tourist than I want to be. ...

We have always lived on base, and maybe haven't experienced Hawai'i as others would have, but it is OK for us. It does give me peace of mind when my wife is by herself for up to 90 days at a stretch. She likes it that way, with her circle of friends nearby.

I'll miss Diamond crackers. The plover migration always starts in August, and they leave in May. The wonderful personality of the brazen mynah couples walking around. The bright red cardinal that my wife has befriended.

The street names that, each and every one, have meaning, feeling and history behind them, as opposed to the ones on the Mainland that have no personality. What the heck does Rough-n-Ready Drive mean, anyway? Or Chelsea Boulevard, some name that has faded into history?

They're not like 'A'ala or Kuhio. These names instill pride, provide history and contribute to our 'ohana, and make us feel like we're really part of a larger being rather than just an existence.

The Islands have done this to us, and we feel as if when we leave, we're leaving a very large part of ourselves behind, and we can't say that about any other place we've been.

The state library book sale at McKinley High School each July is another item we'll miss, and the friendliness of all those involved. Driving on H-3 any time of day and seeing that spectacular view upon exiting the tunnel on the Windward side — I just cannot believe we'll be leaving this behind for the dullness and unspectacular environs of the Mainland. To take this view for granted is nearly a crime, and yet we get to see it nearly every day.

These Islands' spectacular beauty is very much a gift of God. How we will miss the majesty of this.

The celebrities who, although we never see them, belong to the community as much as we do and are known all over the Islands — it feels like they are ours to share, but only amongst ourselves so that no one else can participate.

People such as Lee Cataluna, or Joe Moore, or Jim Nabors, or Michelle Wie, or Michael W. Perry, or Kelly Hu or Don Ho. I seriously wonder if folks on the Mainland feel this way, like these folks are really our neighbors, since being on an island sort of makes us one big family, and the Mainland doesn't lend itself to this sort of environment, because you can distance yourself so easily in our wood-and-vinyl boxes we call home. The Islands just feel like home.

That "big family" extends statewide.

Coldly, I don't think I would have much compassion for someone or their family who dies on a highway in St. Louis if I were living on the other side of Missouri in Kansas City. But when someone meets an untimely end on Farrington Highway in Makaha, our hearts go out to them, because we feel like we are their neighbors. It's too close to home.

The weather. It goes without saying that Hawai'i is a mecca for lovers of the outdoors, or indoors with the jalousies open if you prefer. I have been all over this fine planet of ours, and nowhere is there a finer climate.

We will not enjoy getting shocked every time we reach for the car door handle in the cold, dry weather on the Mainland. The little things like this really do matter. We regret not going to the beach more often, but my wife doesn't worship the sun, so I try to stay close to her. I suppose most people pay big bucks to jump in the Pacific, and as residents, it's nearly at our doorsteps, so I think I'm probably not the only one who takes it for granted, not going as often as I'd like to.

I'll miss falling asleep on the "long" drive from Pearlridge mall back to the house while she drives, and wonder how I'll ever survive those 10-hour drives that Mainland folks do oh-so-many holiday weekends.

I'll miss being able to wake up Christmas morning, put on shorts and a T-shirt, and wash my car or just towel it off if it rained the night before. I'll miss the simple fact that I can drive my 34-year-old car with my windows rolled down on the same day, and do woodworking in my garage in the dead of winter, because winter usually means big waves, not cold temperatures.

Look at the season the UH Wahine just had. I didn't really know how well they were doing until I read about it in the paper. I guess it was in October that I started to follow them much more closely. Those girls were champions all around, on and off the court. I especially admired Lily Kahumoku for taking the time off to see what direction she really wanted to go in life; very brave. (Strong words, but true.)

Decidedly so, the historical significance of Pearl Harbor and the undeniable importance of the role Hawai'i played in the entry into and the outcome of World War II cannot be overlooked.

These Islands made contributions that we are still sorting out even to this day. How many people know that there was a Japanese plane that crashed on Ni'ihau, and that its pilot threatened the people, but was eventually overcome through death?

Or that Doris Miller did not survive the war?

After volunteering aboard the USS Missouri in 2001, I was never able to fulfill that ambition because I just spent too much time off the island, and I will always regret not being able to help. That's one of the many things that I'll look back on not being able to do while assigned here.

One of my wife's favorite things to do is hike Diamond Head. She took many of her family and friends there, and all were surprised by the view. She enjoys being a guide, I think.

Where else can you see so many different people from so many different places? Tourism abounds, and is there any place where one can enjoy so much for so little? A substantial reason for anyone to visit Hawai'i.

We vacationed on most of the Neighbor Islands, and found we didn't like going to them because it was so hard to leave! Their peacefulness was what we went there for in the first place, away from the relative hustle of O'ahu and the drudgery of work.

I'm not usually prone to emotion as much as my wife is, but there will come the day this month when we will have to leave. As sure as I'm writing this, my eyes will not be dry when that inevitable day comes, not because we're leaving friends behind but because we're leaving home.

Will we return? Probably, but as paying tourists, seeing the island through a windshield or tour guides' eyes. But maybe not, for

I don't know if we could appreciate the changes over the years to come, and to see what we remembered while we were younger, and to reflect on the Islands' growth, and the changes in infrastructure that inevitably occur that are labeled as progress.

We will certainly miss it.

Mike and Agnes Allen have lived at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i for years and are moving to Florida today.