October 31, 2003

• There are many local legends here, about encounters with Madam Pele, the Volcano Goddess. A few are even about her dog, which appears either black or white, size & fur like a Samoyed. Seeing the black version is bad mana (spirit/luck). The white version is supposed to bring good mana.

  
  

  My brother once told me, very long ago, about a time he was hiking up in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. He was in his late teens. He was alone, walking along the Chain of Craters Road.

  
  

  Suddenly, in front of him, he noticed a white, fluffy dog, much like the Samoyed my mom once had. He had no idea where this dog came from.

  
  

  It turned its head once to look back at my brother, then trotted on ahead of him. My brother followed, never really getting close to him. Just as the dog had suddenly appeared in front of him, it vanished, fading out of view.

  
  

  Years later, after my brother was drafted into the Army, he got stationed at Pohakuloa Military Camp. One thing that he told me about the camp was a visitor they frequently had... a white dog.

  
  

  The soldiers would put out food for this dog every day. As long as anyone hung close to the bowl, the dog wouldn't come for the food. As soon as they'd back away far enough, the dog would materialize near the food & come to the bowl to eat.

  
  

  Were those sightings of the dog, supposedly Pele's, good luck for my brother? You tell me...

  
  

  My brother was shipped out to Vietnam, where he served from 1960-1961. He was a member of the 24th Infantry Division out of Schofield Barracks in Wahiawa, Hawaii. He was a paratrooper & member of the elite Special Forces. He holds not one, but three Purple Hearts! Two of them from gunshots... one in the leg, the other in his back just missing his vital organs. He hasn't told me how he got the third Purple Heart... he doesn't talk about Vietnam.

  
  

  Frankly, I hadn't known he went there until I was stationed in Wahiawa at the nearby Naval Station. It was then that he told me about serving there, asking me to find the patches he had worn at the time & the two gunshots injuries he had received.

  
  

  Our other brother, a 'Conscientious Objector', didn't know that he had been there until a phone conversation we had within the last two months. He always thought his letters were going State-side. When I asked if he was sending them to an APO, he confirmed that. Having never served in the military himself, he didn't realize that APOs were overseas redirecting, as are FPOs for the Navy & Marine Corps as well as shipboard stationing. Strange, isn't it, that a brother only 4 years younger was never told where his older brother was?

  
  

  Anyway, despite the injuries resulting in 3 Purple Hearts, my oldest brother survived the conflict, sort of intact. Luck? Blessings from the local cultural icon? Your guess is as good as mine.

  
  

  PS-- I sent the blog from yesterday as an email entry (last night... last minute!) into the local classic rock radio station, B-97 (97.1 FM KNWB, Hilo). They were sponsoring an 'Obake Stories' contest. I WON!!!!

  
  

  My list of prizes includes 4 passes to Wallace Theaters ('Texas Chainsaw Massacre' [remake]is the promotional movie showing, but I can use them anytime!) I also receive 2 books relating to Pele (I can't recall their titles right now... too excited!). There are a few other things as well. I'll fill you all in on the specifics after I pick up my prizes.

  
  

  When I was a kid, I used to listen to the AM radio station KPUA that was located just a mile above where I lived, up at Boiling Pots* (now a lovely park!). I would call in & win prizes once a month (prize rules were you had to wait 30 days before you could win again). I kept our family stocked with sodas from Hilo Soda Works, won numerous record albums & 45s (us 'older folks' sure remember those!), & concert tickets. I got to hear Mark Lindsey & the Raiders at their LAST concert as a group & Burton Cummings with The Guess Who, right there in Hilo, at the Civic Auditorium! The disk jockeys knew me well!

  
  

  * Photo linked © David Thoresen. It was the best that I could find right now. I guess I need to go back there, WITH my camera (forgotten the last 2 times! ) & get some really GOOD photos of the 'pots', Pe'e'pe'e Falls & the surrounding park!

  
  

  **Please note that the paintings of Pele shown above are not my work. (Nor are the graphics, although I did tinker with them to improve them a tad.) The first is by D. Howard Hitchcock, ca 1927. The second was an entrant in a competition for a new painting to exhibit at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Visitors' Center, which didn't win but I especially liked. I can't remember the artist's name & cannot find the link to the contest entrants at this time. The Park's site has been undergoing changes & some of the links no longer work (but their webmaster's working on it).

  
  

  

  
  

  

  • 8:37 pm
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