On Any Given Day
Jim Kunstler of Clusterfuck Nation was on Maui last week to give a talk. I missed it. He posted his impression of Maui on his blog. I have not read enough of his work to state what he is all about, but my limited impression of him is that he thinks the combination of the burgeoning human population and dwindling resources are going to cause some very unpleasant major reorganizations of how humans go about living on this planet.
He was talking about Maui so I had to leave a comment on his blog.
As a resident of Maui for the last twenty years and someone who has witnessed the growth and changes, I would say Jim's assessment of Maui is very accurate. We have been Kalifornicated.
Sorry I couldn't read all 191 comments. I am in the process of filling out applications, writing a resume and cover letter to get a job on the mainland in an undisclosed location. Not that keeping it a secret matters because the same thing that happened to Maui is happening where I am headed.
Why am I leaving? Because I will never be able to own a home or buy land here without making money a primary focus of my life. Not gonna happen. They are packing us in like sardines on the little bits of land open to development and while that makes some sense for city planning and land preservation that isn’t why it is being done. I need more elbow room. A gardener needs land.
If you would like to see some of the beauty of Maui, visit my blog. http://tropicalembellishments.blogspot.com/
In a way it has been a year long goodbye.
It seems my comment worked some cold bitter person's nerves in Connecticut and with a little detective work he was able to e-mail me his impression of me.
Hello, sir. I read your comments on the Kunstler blog and I find you to be endowed with a sense of entitlement. Sure, Maui is super expensive and you don't want to be immersed in the ratrace of making money anymore. I understand.
Maui has tried to seek some balance, forgive the pun, to accomodate visitors and still try to maintain some semblance of paradise based beauty. Sure, you can moan and whine about the Kaanapali strip. Hotels like vertical abortions. Lousy architecture, etc. However, hotels are trying to make themselves affordable to a maximum number of visitors, hence the absence of fine architecture, sorry about the pun.
I've visited many times from northeast Connecticut. I even like Honolulu. Lots there to like, perhaps not by snobs seeking virginal conditions that they can fuck up. However, I like the ambiance and it sure beats the Northeast in winter. You've become a candy ass in your 20 years there. I can also whine about heavy population growth in my hometown in Connecticut, for for what? What do I accomplish?
Maui has reached some sort of equilibrium. It cannot remain uninhabited or foreign and nasty to haoles. The very huge majority of visitors love the place. If you no longer love the place, please move. It beats a zillion other places in the country, ever been to Fargo, ND in winter?
It's regrettable that it no longer satisfies you in your utter contempt of visitors, beer cans, traffic jams in Lahaina. Some things are not pleasant, but a traffic jam in Lahaina beats the hell out of the Northeast in a snowstorm where people can't get to where they want.
I'd go back to Maui tomorrow if I could. However, I'm in my own ratrace for survival here. I can't afford Maui every year, but often enough. If Maui does not suit you anymore, I'm sorry. We all have things forced upon us that suck.
Out of much of Maui, I find Kihei the least attractive. That area is pretty bleak. But, it's nice and warm.
My visits to Maui have left me with a great love for Napili Beach, the Makena golf courses, the views out in toward Molokini. Real fine eye candy.
I have nothing against you, I can understand your angst. Sadly, you seem to yearn for the 1800's with a virginal and untouched country. Ain't gonna happen again.
I was a little taken aback. Offer someone a window on the beauty of Maui and they piss on you.
I know you are not supposed to feed the trolls (note to self: heed your own advice) but I replied to his e-mail.
You have projected an incredible number of thoughts into the mind of someone you know nothing about from a single comment on a blog and spending a little time looking at my blog.
You don't know me or what I think. It isn't wise to think you know what is going on in other people's heads.
And he responded to that with:
spoken like a true champion
Now I am not really sure what that means? Is it good or bad? Whatever!
Let me assure you Bitter in Connecticut that no amount of development or growth can blind me to the beauty and charms of the place where I live.
I have been blessed with the heart and soul of a gardener. I have a strong connection with the aina. I walk through beauty on any given day where ever I am because I am able to see it.
There isn't much I can do about the growth and changes that are occurring planet wide and leaving here isn't going to get me away from it. I can recognize that I am part of the problem. I can control a little how I interact with the earth within the confines of the technological consumer culture I live in. I can also choose not to turn a blind eye to the changes that are going on.
Much to the shock of many refugees moving here from the mainland with fantasy visions of paradise, this is Maui. This is not Mars. We are on the same planet and subjected to the same rules and forces as the rest of you. Maui is not exempt from anything. There are plenty bugs here.
I have had the spirit, gumption and good fortune to live in many beautiful places in my life. My life on Maui is not something I cast aside in contempt and disgust. I will leave here filled with gratitude and buoyed by the love of many friends and family. The universe has told me a beautiful new garden awaits me and it is time to move on.
So Bitter in Connecticut a space is opening up on Maui. You may have it. If you aren't a trust fund baby be prepared to work two jobs or have tons of roommates. Don't forget to stop and smell the Plumeria.
