Dear Friends,
I missed my scheduled flight to Hawaii. No real fault of my own, except I didn’t obey the two hour before departure rule. I don’t like that rule. I like Casablanca. You know, standing on the tarmac with the doll, and the pilot is in the cockpit smoking a Camel, waiting for you. “Are you ready Mr. Allison, Sir?” the lovely stewardess asks. “Sure, darling, as soon as I’m done saying something cheesy to the broad.” Those were the good old days. I’m sure Humphrey Bogart had a piece in his shoulder harness. Maybe a Glock with a silencer. And a flask of whiskey . . . a Moroccan hookah and a pound of hashish . . . and oh my god . . . a six ounce tube of toothpaste! Remember when we didn’t know how to blow up flights from Seattle to Honolulu with only eight ounces of water? Anyway, after refusing to pay the $150 late fee, she rebooked me for the same time the next day - for free. I promised to be a good boy and arrive on time.
So what happens when you’re supposed to be there and you’re here? Is it a day out of time? A free day! “Wow, what kind of magic will happen where I’m not supposed to be where I am?” I wondered. I got on the fancy new tram heading to downtown Seattle. You know on the iPad when you touch the screen and move your finger right to left? The page flips. Suddenly time flipped like that for me. There was an alien sitting in front of me.
I’m thinking, “I’m sure I can take her out with my eight ounce tube of Tom’s toothpaste - if suddenly her eyes bug out of her head and her neck becomes a slinky, shooting her face right at me.” Beyond the human illusion I saw four inch fangs and nine inch nails, twelve inch red leather stilettos. Flat chested of questionable gender. A Michael Jackson Thriller clone ready to pounce. I frantically rummaged for Tom.
Before I get carried away . . . lost in the fantasy of a flipped page surreal day out of time, I did wake up the next morning and it was almost deja vu but not quite Groundhog day. The plane took off and landed and I am in Kauai.
The land I’m living on
Back to the day out of time . . . I went back home and lightened my load, rested, then met with a nerd at the Apple Store, which I couldn’t have done on Kauai. I shared a five o’clock beer with my son Aaron, and talked about things we hadn’t talked about in real time. Then I had a most wonderful dining experience at a Lebanese restaurant overlooking Puget Sound in Aliki, with my other son Alan and our friend Scott, hosted by the beautiful woman who owns it and served by her movie star beautiful daughter -- on her 33rd birthday night. We sat at the counter and the birthday girl brought us the best wine and unbelievably delicious food, we didn’t have to order a thing. Stories and laughter and flirting . . . and I came that close to dancing on the table, marrying the mother and moving to her 100,000 acre farm in Lebanon. What do you do when you’re where you’re not supposed to be - in a day out of time? Have fun! And dance with the Mother.
The last month in Kauai was crazy for me. I had to move out of my huge fully furnished house I been living in for three years, move a 700 square foot pottery studio, train the gal who bought my business, drive 45 minutes to Kilauea many times to build a 20 x 20 foot platform, put up two 10 x 20 foot tents with a gutter in-between, arrange all my tools there, set up a bedroom, sitting area and kitchen, and basically make a home on my friend’s eleven ideal acres, while continuing to pack 20 years of stuff, and clean 3000 sq. ft. of house and move 100 potted plants and my organic garden and on and on and on - until I wasn’t even quite done before I had to rush off to catch my flight - all before driving 8433 miles around the United States. And here I am again. On Kauai.
When I arrived back in Kilauea I realized, almost surprised, that I had a home here. I sort of forgot. Forgot that I had a place to live in paradise and it would be all set up and ready for my return. I come home and go to bed. That easy. The crazy month of doing this while I was doing that, was well worth it. Sure, there is no electricity or indoor plumbing, it’s a bit musty and leaks, the nearest neighbors are at least 1/2 mile away, except Richard and Robert who live on the land . . . but I’ll tell you . . . the stars in the sky at night . . . ummmummmum. For the time being, or the rest of my life if I were to so choose, it is my home, and this is good.
I started the morning at the Coffee Bean, where I could sit and write this blog. It seems like its been such a long time since I left Kauai - so much has happened - and to the girls here it was just another day - where Dakan walked in like he walked in yesterday (three months ago) and they knew my name and drink. Another illusion of time.
I have many stories yet to tell, but for now I have work to do and old friends to visit.
With love and blessings,
David Dakan Allison
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