Outside the Box

I want to share a fun story about my rather amazing life as keiki (child)! As you'll soon read, the stage was set early on for my penchant for high adventure. which began when I was barely 2 years old.

Our ex-home, 2 ½ blocks from Kailua Bay. (Current-day photo)

We...the parents, two older brothers, sister, and I, were living in a newly-built, concrete block home, 2 ½ blocks from Kailua Bay, on Oahu's northeastern shore.

One paradisal 75-degree morning, I waddled out the back door, per usual, down the concrete steps, from the kitchen to the backyard.

Then I see it....a shiney fence around the perimeter of the yard that was not, I repeat, NOT, there the day before.

It looked just like that wooden play pen(itentiary) I was put in every goddam day, with the jail bars so the parentals didn't have to "keep an eye on me.". What does that even mean??

I’ve tried a million times (well…maybe 20) to climb out of that play pen, instinctively craving the free reign I knew was my birthright.

Looking up, the fence loomed tall as a skyscraper, which strengthened my resolve to get up and over it, to conquer it. 

Lower jaw clenched, keiki teeth bared, head lowered, I toddled toward it full bore.

Sticking my bare foot into one of the crisscross holes...ahhh..and then my other foot, thus began my vertical ascent, as I zig- zagged up and up and up.

Reaching the top, I grappled over it like a spider in the night. Silent. My left foot hit pay dirt on the other side, then my right. I was on solid ground! Sweet freedom!!

Standing there planted between my house and the neighbor’s, I calculated my next move and hung a left, heading toward the street, my determination ironclad.

Upon reaching the sidewalk, I turned left again, head held high, confident, eyes scanning to catch every bit of the technicolor world around me.

You see, this was my first foray alone in the big wide world. I was digging every second of it.

The front door of the neighbor’s house three doors down from ours was open, common in Hawaii due to the warm weather.

Inside the door I could see a box with lit-up moving pictures on it.

My curiosity consuming me, I marched up the walkway, up the steps and into their living room, climbed onto the sofa and sat down. I was transfixed.

Eyes glued to the moving pictures on the box, a lady walked in and exclaimed, "Oh my! Where do you live?!!" I ain’t telling. My lips were zipped.

My worried dad soon appeared at the open front door, the lady visibly relieved. Dad walked in, apologizing, gathering me in his arms, saying, "I'm so glad you're safe, sweetie."

There I was, having the best day of my life and I’m thinking, “What’s all the fuss about??"

Dad grabbed my hand and we walked home. I heard him say to mom that he found me at the neighors, watching their television.

Then something about how the "cyclone" fence (meant to withstand gale force winds!! What the...????), was installed in the backyard for the sheer purpose of containing my wanderings.

Plotting my next move!

And, how were they going to handle this new development of my escape artistry?

The good news was ~ I didn’t get into trouble, this time. They were just happy I was alive and not kidnapped or dead.

This was just one of my many escapades, where I sought adventures that were ‘outside-the-box’. The fence being the box, in this case.

And, an apt metaphor for my life ahead!

I was a free spirit from the age of 2 and I could not, would not be contained.

And wow, do I have some fun stories to tell, so stay tuned!

**Important update* It's August 2024 and I JUST shared this story with my older brother, Pat. He remembered this vividly and that my parents ended up buying a tv set specifically to curb my wanderings. Hahaha!!

Whoa my God, I was, and AM powerful!! YESSS!!!!