Since I just recently became a full-time Kaua‘i resident, much of the island’s splendor is still a novelty to me. My daily drive from Kilauea to Lihue provides plenty of visual stimuli. There’s Sleeping Giant and the other mountainous areas
Since I just recently became a full-time Kaua‘i resident, much of the island’s splendor is still a novelty to me.
My daily drive from Kilauea to Lihue provides plenty of visual stimuli. There’s Sleeping Giant and the other mountainous areas on the right and Kealia and plenty of waves on the left.
Each day I try to take in as much as I can, while staying alert enough to keep within the solid yellow lines. When I leave the office each night, usually not before 10 p.m. or so, it’s too dark to see anything and I’m pretty anxious to just get home.
But the one thing I look forward to each night is pulling into the driveway, getting out of the car and staring up at the sky for a good five minutes. Every night I get that “wow” feeling.
(By “wow” I actually mean something I can’t print.)
Coming from the New York metropolitan area, a clear sky with thousands of visible stars is not a rare occurrence, it’s an impossible one. Yes, the New York skyline is beautiful and awesome and a symbol of American ingenuity, but the general haziness and constant light surrounding the area makes a starry night almost mythical.
My hope is that the longer I live here won’t take away from that amazement I encounter.
I have a feeling it won’t.
As you probably could have guessed by my job, I equate pretty much everything to sports. So that feeling I get when I look up at the sky at night and something in my guts is telling me to be amazed is the same feeling I get when I watch a superstar athlete do something a normal human being really shouldn’t be able to.
Thankfully, that feeling hasn’t escaped me yet.
I’ll watch LeBron James cross over his defender, take the ball baseline and sky over two 7-footers for a one-handed tomahawk jam.
My cell phone will immediately ring. It’s one of my buddies.
“Did you see that?!?!”
He sounds out of breath, like a little kid trying to explain what all his toys can do.
Did I see that?
Of course I saw it, doesn’t he know who he’s talking to?
I’m probably also a little winded from leaping to my feet and jumping around the living room one or eight times.
We’ll start to dissect the play and rattle off half a dozen “how did he…” questions, as if we’ve never witnessed anything like it. Of course we have, but the satisfaction it gives us is still just too good to be overlooked.
These plays, these individual moments that get us off the couch with excitement will never get old. I can’t imagine anyone living in Cleveland thinking to themselves, “I’m getting a little tired of watching LeBron embarrass defenders every night,” or “I wish he’d just lay the ball in once in a while.”
It’s not just the individual moments that are special, either. I get goosebumps when I see a shortstop-second base duo pulling off an absurd double play.
Or an offensive lineman pulling on the snap, leading his running back down the sideline while smashing down defensive players.
Or a tennis player getting back two overhead smashes to stay in the point and following them up with a backhand passing shot down the line.
Or a team running a perfect three-pass fast break where the ball never touches the floor.
Sure they’ve all happened countless times before, yet the feelings I get when I am privileged enough to witness greatness are not diminished.
So I have a feeling the stars will still hold my attention down the road.
• David Simon, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or dsimon@kauaipubco.com
