February 11, 2013
The hospital shortly after it was built by the navy in 1948. Photo by Dr. Jim Harris.
A thrilling game had broken out at a neighbor’s house, a family who was lucky enough to have already received their coveted household goods. The lid of the packing crate their furniture had been shipped in was leaning up against the side of the house and children lined up to take turns running up the slanted board and leaping off the top just before slamming into the wall. Lack of organized sports had fostered a certain creativity when it came to entertaining themselves.
Carolyn was in her element, running faster, jumping higher and leading the pack in scoring when her flip-flop got caught on the edge of the board and her trajectory suddenly changed from up to straight down. She hit the ground hard and lay there stunned, pretty sure she had just forfeited her gold medal.
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February 7, 2013
Carolyn demonstrates the distance between the beds.
Chrissie ran across the hot sand, barely aware of the tiny shells that crunched beneath her bare heels. Her feet had toughened up to the point that shoes had started to feel like a real nuisance. She hated that they had to wear them in school and wondered how anyone could be expected to concentrate with all these rules.
She had managed to get out of the house without Karen seeing her and the freedom from siblings felt glorious as she ran past the former skeletons of Tafuna houses that were now complete. The house she stopped at had a palm tree in front that was taller than she was and Liz was waiting for her on the front porch. Their family had two very old dachshunds that they had brought to the island with them, and Gus and Gretchen seemed annoyed at her visit.
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February 4, 2013
Random palm tree that has nothing to do with post.
Back in Detroit, a lifetime and a few time zones ago, the family had packed up their belongings and waved goodbye to the big wooden crate with a childlike belief that the government would deliver it to their new home in a few months. Maybe it would even be waiting for them when they got to the island! That was a bit unrealistic, but as the days, weeks and then months went by, they realized grimly that they were winning a contest that no one wanted to even participate in: Most Time Elapsed While Waiting for Your Stuff.
Some people had gotten lucky and had their household goods delivered within 60 days; the longest wait recorded so far had been just under six months, which was actually one-fourth of the contract to live on the island. It was a long time to depend upon the kindness of strangers, especially if you were washing your kid’s ant-filled underwear in their washing machine.
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The Samoan Letters 