A SNIPPET FROM WAIKIKI

[schlomo]

 While I was taking a walk yesterday on a warm muggy day, a woman tightly wrapped in a coat and weighed down with a back pack approached me. Immediately, she babbled about much she loved feeling the refreshing gust of wind that had just begun to drape itself over us. I agreed with her—I too have always welcomed and celebrated the delectable breezes on the Island, especially the trade winds. As I started to walk past her, the woman kept pace with me, obsessively riffing about how much she appreciated windy days in Waikiki. I again chimed in as before. Once again, I tried to continue my walk. This time as I strode along, I outdistanced the eccentric woman. Although she was a bit annoying, I am thankful that she reminded me how gratifying it is to luxuriate in the omnipresent breezes throughout Oahu. It shouldn’t matter that to me the Kona winds aren’t as invigorating as the trade winds. All I have to do is recall how excited the woman was when a wave of wind enveloped her. One of the meditative mantras of the 19th century British romantic poet William Wordsworth is “emotion recollected in tranquility.” That’s how I feel about my encounter with the woman whose child-like wonder is a blessing to her and to me.