page 5: waimano home road
to be honest, i don’t remember most details from this day. but from what i can recall, i spent the morning at the aloha stadium swap meet with one of my best friends eduard. it was some day over christmas break, and we walked around, got matching friendship bracelets and trucker hats that said “suck em up hawaii” over a beer mug.
at the time, ed lived at his parents house in pearl city on waimano home road. there was hike at the end of the street he’d been wanting to check out for a while, so when i went home for christmas break in 2011, we trekked it. i don’t think we made it far past the steep hill of roots and soil before we got high enough to see over the tree tops and over to some mountain range in the distance. i can’t remember why we didn’t finish the trail to go down to the pond (and we never did) but i think he eventually did years later.
for whatever it’s worth, ed’s one of those friends i’ve known almost my entire lifetime. we get along pretty well…similar music interests, bad dumb humor, and a soft spot for goodwill. it’s surprising how far those 3 things can take you. we’ve kept in touch despite me moving away, the kind of person i can hang out and enjoy a conversation with even if i haven’t seen or talked to him for long periods of time. i’ve always sort of liked and loathed that aspect of our friendship.
ed’s talented, loves music and making music like nobody else i know. i remember one time he got really upset with me because i lied about listening to a deerhoof album he burned for me. i still feel bad about it today. in the summer and winter breaks i was home for college, we spent lots of time together hanging around chinatown or kaimuki, biking all around kalihi, chinatown/downtown, waikiki, and kaimuki, driving late night to vantage points and beaches on the island, cruising around walmart to pass the night. when i first got my holga, we took a bunch of funny double exposed shots like this one…
i think my fondest memory with ed is from our junior high talent show - ed played guitar while i sang no doubt, don’t speak. and the mixed cd’s and letters he sent me while i was in college! when i was in the third grade, i had a harmless crush on eduard…so i asked him for his school photo. he didn’t write a note on the back, so i wrote one on it, in case my mom found it so she wouldn’t think it was weird. it said “hi kathleen. here you go. from, eduard”
for a very very short time in high school, ed and i were in pseudo garage band with our other friend tyler. we were called parlor family and made songs about ed staying out past his curfew (999), going to starbucks (coffee), the days tyler accidentally became his neighborhood’s pick-up (1985 re deux) [not sure where the year came from since we were born in ‘91], and rabbits on wheels (whererabbit). tyler shouted/sang and did things on bass, ed played guitar, i was on the drums. we practiced in an empty room in tyler’s late grandma’s house that had a drum set, and some other gear ed brought from his house, and we spent some summer days making weird but good lo-fi music.
so maybe i don’t remember much from the hike up waimano, but there’s still lots of love for these summer/winter friendships. it also happens to be ed’s birthday today. happy birthday, my friend. i’ll see you in a few months
all photos shot on holga 135bc
waimano loop trail, oahu, winter 2010/2011