Remembering Kapoho Before The Lava Covered Every Burning Thing

It was our family home, it’s twenty meters under lava

Photo by Marc Szeglat on Unsplash

Very Unpopular Strong Opinions Blog by Christyl Rivers

I dream, sometimes, of Champagne ponds in Kapoho

Imagine the above solid wall of burning rock, fire, steam, and sharp glass slowly moving down your street. Your whole neighborhood.

You can’t be there in person, of course, you have to wait for the helicopter photos to come on the news.

This was the case for all residents of Lei Lani estates, almost every home in Kapoho, and many in the surrounding areas.

That was 2018.

So many other panics have come and gone: pandemics, Putins, paralysis, and pandemonium. After all, according to many (including me sometimes), it is the end of the world. Climate crisis roars at the door, and the end of reasonable democracy seems to be some sort of gibbering, side-kick scout.

When my parents bought the Kapoho place it was affordable, then. It was the secret part of Hawaii with the perfect balance of tropical sun, clean ocean breezes, and gardens of every variety and delight.