I watched the talking heads at the press conference on TV trying to explain what happened, what might have happened, what could happen and what will happen. Then I switched over to social media and saw people in boats unloading supplies in the waters off Lahaina and points above, with others setting up camps and tarps and booths in their backyards, carports and parks, providing all manner of aid.
Back to the TV I saw those in uniform, many of whom had no connection to the tragedy, ordering about those who did, who were trying to reach the devastation.
I was reminded of a quote in a short story by Ernest Hemingway when he was driving an ambulance on the Western Front in World War I in 1915: “We’re in this by ourselves.”
Meanwhile, the finger-pointing and excuses and promises have begun.
Where is the humanity, I ask?
It’s certainly not in the talking heads.
It’s in the people of Lahaina, the people of Maui.
Lahaina no ka oi! Maui no ka oi!
Chip Davey
Downtown Honolulu
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