Dawn Fraser Kawahara

The 'Green Flash' Calabash Dawn Fraser Kawahara

This book comes as your ticket to a virtual vacation, inviting you to dive into the heart of the tropical island of Kaua`i, Hawai`i, U. S. A. Please come, especially if you are a "capital 'T' Traveler" who digs deeper than surface pleasures of a new place, connects with people of the land, and celebrates differences as well as similarities. You may explore from front to back, vice-versa, or spot-read whatever pages fall open to your touch. All will be right. By accepting the author's invitation, you're assured of eventual enjoyment of thought-provoking segments categorized as "Outdoor Discoveries," "Island Celebrations," "Eyes to Sky, & Sea," "Umbilical Ties" and more, including a drink from "The Water of Life." Kaua`i island could be considered your adventure to "Anyplace, World." Aside from particularities of discoverers and settlement, the foundational needs and desires of all peoples of the world hold true: A homeland-a place of freedom and peace; a place to work and sustain a healthy life, to play and recreate; a safe place to raise and educate children; a place to protect, preserve, love and pass forward to coming generations. The time span covered draws from the onset of swift modern development and increased tourism that threatens a cherished lifestyle to the threshold of COVID-19. The Afterword deals with the isolation the life-threatening pandemic imposes, and the economic and emotional challenges that stem from an isolation severely underlined when an island home already lies as a far speck within the wide Pacific Ocean. The guiding mantra throughout-"Believe in the Unexpected!"-from the author's "Green Flash" experience shared with her "Dear Readers," holds truer than true as we move with hope and courage into our globally-connected future.