Out of Control

I’m going to relate a story from childhood, as it seems as if it is an allegory of the future times we are living now.

I grew up in the Nuuanu Valley in Honolulu, Hawaii. We lived on Henry Street on the side of a steep mountain which offered lots of mountain climbing and exploring in the woods. I had 3 brothers and our best friend Craig-ee who lived next door.

I believe it was one summer day when I was about 10 and my brother was 7 and Craig-ee was 8. We had a radio flyer red wagon, it was well worn, but still an excellent mode of transportation. So we were looking for the perfect place ride it. We had two hills on our street, but they weren’t that steep, and we had long become bored by them. We needed new excitement.

There was a really long steep hill just a block away on Klebahn Pl, but that was way to fast and long to ride the wagon on. But I knew of a hill, that could be the perfect place, but it was a long way from our house.

I would see it everyday on the bus ride home from school. Thanks to Yahoo! Maps I have been able to find the street. It is Akamu Pl and you get it right off the Pali Highway. According to Yahoo! it was eight tenths of a mile from our house, but to little kids it was a major trek, and I doubt we told our mother where we were off to.

This street was fairly steep, and as was the custom in Hawaii for steep hills, it was paved in concrete and heavily textured to provide maximum traction in pouring rain. Had the hill been any longer it would have been too difficult to navigate in a wagon, it was just the right length for getting up to a thrilling speed.

The trick was the ending. At the bottom of the hill the street ended in a T, with two short dead ends, one right and one left. After surveying the hill, we decided that turning right provided the safest path as the street was clear of parked cars and you could take the turn wide enough to avoid tipping the wagon over. Turning to the left was not possible, the required turn was too sharp for the speed the wagon was traveling.

Craig-ee and I took turns piloting the wagon and my younger brother would often ride shotgun behind the driver. We were rather enjoying the thrilling ride down and didn’t seem to tire from having to haul the wagon back up the hill each time.

Craig-ee was holding on to the wagon, I had my hand on the wagon handle, and my brother was sitting behind me. Just as Craig-ee let us go for our next thrill ride, a car came around the corner from the dead end on the right. It stopped when it saw us coming down the hill, but it was blocking my way to the right.

I could try and maneuver between it and curb, but the passage was to too tight and didn’t allow for a gentle turn any way. My only choice was the dreaded left turn. I took a bead on it as best I could, in hopes that I could safely navigate the turn.

By now we were going full speed and I knew how unstable the wagon was at high speeds while trying to turn. I’d like to say I safely piloted the wagon around the turn, but it was not to be. My brother and I spilled out onto the rough concrete and finished the ride sliding on the street. We were bodying surfing on the roughed up concrete, while acquiring painful and major skin abrasions on our arms and legs

Needless to say that ended our thrill riding for the day. We had a long way to walk back home and I think we spent most of it crying in pain. Craig-ee hauled the wagon back and my brother and I ran as much as we could with our arms held out away from our body to avoid any unnecessary painful movement.

It was very painful sleeping the next couple of nights, but eventually it all healed with very little scaring. I guess we could be considered lucky, considering what could have happened.

Sorry this got a little long, but now to get back to my original point for telling the story. It sometimes feels like to me that the world is careening down a steep hill with no means to stop or slow down. Just up ahead an obstacle prevents us from making what might be considered a better choice, but alas it appears we are destined to crash and burn. Is anyone paying attention?