President Richard Nixon was a part of my army brat life when he visited Hawaii on his way to China for a pivotal strategic trip. Dad took this photo at a military parade on February 20, 1972. He was a Command Sargent Major whose job entailed facilitating VIP’s. I was in a unique position to view history in the making because of my dad’s position. Nixon’s goal for this trip was to improve relations with communist China.
While driving along Palm Circle on Fort Shafter, I was brought back to another time. It was here I experienced Hawaiian life first in 1969 as an army brat. This base was named after General William R. Shafter who liberated Cuba in 1898. It is also the oldest military base on the island.
Many of my Alabama family and friends will appreciate the hound’s tooth dress my mother made and wore on a beautiful hawaiian day when dad received honors for his army career on the island. Over a quarter of a century before this photo was taken, Fort Shafter was hit by Japanese bombers who targeted its artillery. It is on the field above where you see the young service men and women raising our flag that we sustained casualities. The famous movies Pearl Harbor and Tora, Tora, Tora were filmed on location here.
Above you will see the second post I lived on. This base is the largest outside the continental United States called Scholfield Barracks. I captured in this photo buildings that you can see if you were to watch the classic film From Here To Eternity.
Mother always dressed my sister and I up in clothes she made for us while living on the Hawaiian bases. Who would have ever thought a little over 25 years before this photo was taken Japanese pilots would warm up their guns above us before bombing our Army Air Corps pilots’ home base Wheeler Army Airfield?
Perhaps Hawaii’s most famous scenic picture I took is of Pearl Harbor itself. It is underneath this structure you can see the remains eerily of the sunken Battleship Arizona. It is this tourist spot visited by millions that led to the United States entering WWII.
I hope you enjoyed learning alittle history not only about your blogger, but about the Hawaiian Islands. It is good for us to understand why we are comfortable today as I titled this post, but also to keep in mind that our defense needs to stay our priority if we want to continue to stay that way.
I was known for tomboy antics, but with a price. NOTE the knee bandage!
“No. I’m not.” running as fast as I could from my friend.
“Yes. You are!”
“You can’t catch me. Can you?”
I stopped. I put my hands on my hips and stuck out my tongue.
Carrie looked at me with her piercing eyes and oh those buck teeth and proclaimed, “do you want to know how many boyfriends you are gonna have?”
Incredibly ‘her tomboy’ friend gladly said, “sure!”
While sitting down in a field of beautifully comfortable grass, Carrie explains to me how I was going to find out the truth of my long line of boyfriends.
It did not occur to me in that moment that maybe I could be a tomboy while looking at my knee bandaged all up.
“Do this and the more they crack the more boyfriends you are gonna have.” I watched in complete awe as Carrie popped every finger on her two hands!
“Go ahead and do it.” Carrie said with great anticipation.
So I began to push, pull, and tug my fingers like Carrie was doing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. And than I heard it! “CRACK!” and then I heard only one more pop!
“That’s it for you Alesia. You ain’t gonna have many.” I stared at my friend and did not say a word.
“Hey let’s go play some tether ball.” She said.
We both got up and ran like crazy to the playing field. I beat Carrie in that too!
I probably never beat her in boyfriends though. The two cracks were enough for me.
I am a 70’s girl stuck in 2014. How do I learn to belong? Can you pick me out?
“Alesia, put something on your feet if you are going out to play!” Living in Hawaii–who cares, right.
“Ok, mom,” As I run out with flip-flops in my hands and no socks. The flip-flops never made it to my feet usually.
It was 1971 and who gave a you know what about shoes. We lived in Hawaii and we just wanted to have fun and playing with the other kids without shoes on was the norm.
Those were the days. No one held this girl down. No shoes for sure did. Being on your own time and really no time source to tell me different made me feel like nothing could go wrong. Reminiscing of the days of old, I still realize how I loved those old days. Backing up in my mind, everything was going my way. I could do whatever I wanted to do.
“Damn.” I said to myself realizing I was not going to turn around for my shoes just because I was going to the dentist. You could call it crazy, but I called it freedom and memory freezing even if just for the 15 minute drive. The sun was beaming down on my car hood and it was just a beautiful day. Who cares if I have any shoes? I sure did not. After all I am just an American woman wanting to mess with your mind and show up barefoot.
Oh..That’s where those flip-flops ended?
“Alesia, time for supper. Come in before your food gets cold!” Man, moms know how to mess up a good tether ball tournament going on with my friends on the Barracks we lived in. All the children I played with hovered around that ball and string.
“Ok, mom!” I shouted. My friends were so kind. They crowned me the champion for the evening tether ball match. I took that championship home with me with a big smile on my face. Walking into the house, my mom looks at my dirty 9-year-old feet. OOPS!!!! No flip-flops on.
Walking into the dentist office and then sitting into the chair, my dental hygienist does not even notice I am barefooted.
She starts talking about some old man’s world book series where men would turn into young men and become super heroes.
Geez, I felt like a super hero just then. I got caught outside without my shoes on and no one cared!
Honolulu 1971. Ahhh! The life.
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