Page 2 - MidWeek - May 31, 2023

2 MIDWEEK MAY 31, 2023
Lessons From Noah’s Garden
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” — Audrey Hepburn
WLong-winded
Noah’s Garden, a small patch of par- adise in a peaceful corner of Honolulu, has be- come a modest pilgrimage site. Keiki, adults and kūpuna regularly visit this spot in a community garden, some- times leaving gifts of grati- tude that won’t perish in the sun or rain.
e’ve been lucky. You know it; I know it. As we enter hurricane season this week, we must always remain vigilant and prepare
created more than a garden during the pandemic. A once bare patch of earth has been transformed into an inviting, multicultural, and timeless space of innocence, resil- ience, faith and friendship. Long ago, Noah’s ark pre- served life during a flood. For those who have experi- enced hardship these past few years, the enduring beauty of Noah’s Garden provides so- lace, optimism and hope for the future.
Rüdiger Herzing Rück- mann is a Plain Quaker, poet, and high school director and lead teacher at the Honolulu Waldorf School.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Lynne Johnson and Robin Stephens Rohr.
accordingly, even during the doldrums. Because, as anyone who’s been to Vegas knows, luck can change (except for those few we all know who simply insist that they win every time after they come back ... amazing, or untrue?).
When my family and I moved to Mānoa two years ago, we sought places where we could move around safe- ly during the pandemic. After discovering the vast district park guarded by the Koʻolau Range and graced by Mānoa Stream, our social bubble ex- panded as we met other visi- tors who welcomed us to the garden community.
According to the Weather Co., August is the peak month for hurricanes in the central Pacific region, with many more events over the past 50-plus years (74 total) than in the second most active month (July, with 45). September ranks third over the same period with 37 tropical cyclones.
A garden in Honolulu named after a little boy offers gardeners and visitors alike hope for the future.
wanted him to actually feel grass and soil, to see butter- flies and flowers. After his family received a plot near se- nior housing, Noah embraced gardening and soon discov- ered unexpected rewards that have taken root and helped him flourish. Kūpuna adopt- ed him as a grandson, showed him how to grow Mānoa let- tuce, and even planted in his young mind seeds of new lan-
SPEED BUMP by Dave Coverly
If you look at our region’s hurricane tracking map over the past 30 years, you’ll realize just how lucky we really have been, as storm systems swerving like way- ward drivers mostly missed our shores (and interiors). El Niño weather patterns affect water temperature, which affects the severity and direction of storms heading (or not heading) our way. It was an El Niño effect that blast- ed us with the costliest hurricane in Hawaiian history — Iniki, back in 1992. And Hurricane Iwa (also El Niño- ed) caused great damage and havoc 10 years earlier.
guages — Chinese, German and Japanese.
While we’ve had our fair share of swings and misses over the past few decades, it’s likely just a matter of time, energy and ocean factors before we’re inundated with the next “perfect storm,” though any hurricane de- bacle would be far from perfect. We’ve had our share of near misses, tropical storms and distant hurricanes dump plenty of water, knock down trees and result in flooding, but we’ve been lucky (there’s that word again) that we’ve not taken a profound, direct hit in decades.
Nature and Noah have
Stock up now on basic supplies and stay attuned to local weather reports, your first line of defense. And don’t take our lucky past as any sort of guarantee. The next one just may be on-target, intense and devastating.
Think about it.
One weekend we saw a boy and his mother tending plants in their small space. Month by month, our friendship with
My family and I now regu- larly exchange greetings with other Noah’s Garden fans.
them blossomed as we talked story. Noah and his parents live in the heart of Honolulu. When he was 2, his mother
“Did you see anything dif- ferent? I love the colors,” an auntie called to us during our recent weekend tour.
New Century Schoolbook bold (scaled H 73.6)
“Be sure to check out the butterflies today!” another visitor exclaimed.
with Rüdiger Herzing Rückmann
Hurricane season in Hawai‘i runs through Nov. 30. Last year, we saw just one tropical cyclone in our region — a below average number. Hurricane Iwa visited us in late November 1982. Hurricane Douglas missed us in July 2020. Erick, Barbara, Olivia, Norman, Lane, Fernanda — they all dropped by (as tropical storms) or managed to stay away over the past six years. These are not invited guests. But they will come.
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com