The 1980's were a lot of things to a lot of people.
I lived the majority of that particular decade in Hawaii - where, despite the heat, we wore leg warmers with our leotards at exercise classes - shoulder pads were in all women's business suits - computers were just beginning to really come into regular use - we all tried to solve the Rubiks' cube in under five minutes.
We listened to the Culture Club, we drank Shasta soda, and we imitated Valley Girl talk - we played Pac-Man on our computers (and wow, was THAT hi-tech at the time!).
But for six years of this decade, I lived on Oahu - on a hillside with bananas growing in my backyard, a view of Honolulu all the way from Diamond Head to Pearl Harbor. My kids were in one of the better school systems in the state (schools overall in Hawaii were poor), and we lived in a small enough military neighborhood that the children had free run for about half a mile.
And I ended up with on of the most satisfying jobs in my life - working for the American Heart Association in the school and workplace heart education programs. Our affiliate was one of the top per capita fund raisers, so we had a lot of money and programs to share throughout the state - and boy, was that fun!
So what does the title of this post have to do with anything? Labyrinth, for those of you who remember or have seen it on television, was a 1986 movie with David Bowie and an incredibly young Jennifer Connelly in a nice fantasy full of Jim Hensen's Muppets. In fact, I think it may have been Jim Hensen's last movie - he died in 1990.
And watching this on television this past week, I could not shake the memories of the evening breeze wafting through our always-open louvered windows. Dave Gardner, our friend, sound asleep in my rocking chair while his wife Janice and I chatted and watched this movie. My three kids entertaining their toddler, Christopher, underneath the full-size grand piano that took up 3/4ths of our living room.
I realize this 'memory' is probably a combination of many different evenings, but in my mind it is incredibly realistic and is many ways extremely reassuring. I discovered a lot of strengths and talents I didn't know I had while we lived in Hawaii - I think a significant amount of my growth as an adult occurred while there.
So Goblin King, you just rock.
At least for me.
We listened to the Culture Club, we drank Shasta soda, and we imitated Valley Girl talk - we played Pac-Man on our computers (and wow, was THAT hi-tech at the time!).
But for six years of this decade, I lived on Oahu - on a hillside with bananas growing in my backyard, a view of Honolulu all the way from Diamond Head to Pearl Harbor. My kids were in one of the better school systems in the state (schools overall in Hawaii were poor), and we lived in a small enough military neighborhood that the children had free run for about half a mile.And I ended up with on of the most satisfying jobs in my life - working for the American Heart Association in the school and workplace heart education programs. Our affiliate was one of the top per capita fund raisers, so we had a lot of money and programs to share throughout the state - and boy, was that fun!
So what does the title of this post have to do with anything? Labyrinth, for those of you who remember or have seen it on television, was a 1986 movie with David Bowie and an incredibly young Jennifer Connelly in a nice fantasy full of Jim Hensen's Muppets. In fact, I think it may have been Jim Hensen's last movie - he died in 1990.
And watching this on television this past week, I could not shake the memories of the evening breeze wafting through our always-open louvered windows. Dave Gardner, our friend, sound asleep in my rocking chair while his wife Janice and I chatted and watched this movie. My three kids entertaining their toddler, Christopher, underneath the full-size grand piano that took up 3/4ths of our living room.
I realize this 'memory' is probably a combination of many different evenings, but in my mind it is incredibly realistic and is many ways extremely reassuring. I discovered a lot of strengths and talents I didn't know I had while we lived in Hawaii - I think a significant amount of my growth as an adult occurred while there.
So Goblin King, you just rock.At least for me.
1 comment:
I LOOOOOOVE LABYRINTH!!! David Bowie was awesome!!! I always joke with Gian I want to be him for Halloween and have our child be the "baby" and have Gian be a puppet.
I agree about the school systems in Hawai'i! Not the best neither is the health care. I don't really get it... but it's just a cultural thing. I bet you love Oahu even more because you felt like you grew the most there.
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