As you all know, I was born in Honolulu but raised in Kailua on the Windward side of Oahu. I walked this beach almost every day with family or friends. I surfed in its turquoise waters.
Most of my early memories of Hawaii were formed at this beach. Here I learned how to swim. I learned how to ride the waves. I bought my first surfboard for $5.00. Its nose was nothing but shattered fiberglass but I didn't care. I spent countless days in the surf, certain the beach would always be waiting. Since then, every visit has been special.
I returned with my wife and then with my children. I walked beneath the same moon and stars I had known in my childhood. The beach remained unchanged -- the sand, the salt air, the waves, the sky, the islands offshore. Nothing I once loved here is entirely gone. The years pass, but Kailua will always be part of earth's landscape that I carry within me. I walk on -- grateful for what lies ahead, and for the enduring sense that what once defined me is still with me.
