A LOVE LETTER
It is easy to forget about tragedies that happened weeks or even months ago because each day there seems to be another crisis that makes headlines.
But for Lucy of LucyandClaudia.com, the tragedy of Lahaina will forever be in her heart. Please take a moment to read what she shares:
“I lived and worked on Maui for more than 10 years and my home was “upcountry” in the town of Kula, 3000 feet above sea level on the slopes of Haleakala. The wildfires that destroyed so much of Lahaina town also burned through more than1000 acres and unconfirmed numbers of homes in my community.
Hawaii is the geographic and cultural midpoint between the East and the West, strategically in the middle of the Pacific Rim and the farthest distance from any other landmass in the world. America’s 50th state, native Hawaiians still value their unique culture and history.
Maui was where my older daughter spent four years of her high school at Seabury Hall and my younger daughter first touched American soil.
It is forever a part of our history as a family. It changed each of us. We learned new words, new feelings, new respect for all things living on the land and in the sea, and new traditions. When my daughter married, Alisa Tongg, a friend from her high school, performed the ceremony.
Living on an island has its own special magic – and we learned early that resources are precious and finite. Maui is only 735 square miles – 48 miles long and 26 miles wide. We spent a lot of time in Lahaina. To answer the question I am most asked, “Did you ever get antsy to leave the island?” the answer is and was always no. I only wish I had another lifetime to live here.
Lahaina attracts more tourists than any other part of the island but for us locals it was still a place we would go, especially when we had visitors.
From its harbor, we visited the neighboring islands of Lanai and Molokini to snorkel and to catch sight of the whales dancing around our boat. We sat under the famous ancient Banyan tree – now charred but clinging to life, a symbol of hope – and talked to the parrots.
We talked to artists along Front Street and cheered when mainland colleges came each Thanksgiving to play in the Maui Classic basketball tournament in the gym above Lahaina.
What the world has learned is that Maui is much more than glitzy hotels. Lahaina was the original capitol. Four museums and thousands of artifacts, including the original flag of the Hawaiian kingdom last flown on August 12, 1898 were destroyed. A ray of hope for native Hawaiians is that there is an oral tradition of “talking story” but that will never replace the magnitude of culture and history that was lost forever.
Our hearts are broken and the process of rebuilding will be a complex maze of government planning, big private money and local disputes that could go on for years.
Our friends survived although many lost their businesses in Lahaina and now the lack of tourism will challenge their security and their future.
If you wish to donate:
MauiHumaneSociety.org ( many animals suffered during the fires)
HawaiiCommunityFoundation.org
Maui Strong Fund
Please visit. Maui needs you.”
Aloha.