The Amazing "Kid"

I recently returned from a trip back home to the islands. I always return with mixed feelings. I wish I could definitively say I want to be here or I want to be there. My mind and heart are conflicted. My career is better here but I am happier there. There is no middle ground. I have punished myself by pursuing my dreams.

One evening while enjoying a conversation with old friends on the Apia seawall I looked up and saw a face from the past. I was in the part of town where I grew up. Home. The place I visit every night in my dreams. Yet it was not home anymore. Strangers occupied our old house and like a stranger I was outside looking in.

I tentatively muttered ," malo Kid". A bright smile lit up on his weathered face.

"Malo ####", was Kid's reply. We struck a firm handshake, exchanged pleasantries and just as quick as Kid came, Kid was gone. Kid's real name was Uila. Samoan word  for thunder or lightning. Or bicycle depending on the context. Samoan is infamous with ambiguous words. He was aptly named Kid because when we were growing up, Uila was good at everything. So he got labelled "The Kid". Synonymous with the "chosen one" or "the greatest of all time." Kid was good at fishing, was a fast swimmer, good rugby player,  the village's only acrobat and diver. When we were hungry Kid was the one who would creep into a family's yard and stole mangoes off their tree with Ninja like precision. Kid was the one who could climb a 30 ft coconut tree in a few seconds. Kid was the one. I even heard rumors that Kid was already drinking and having sex at 13. He was a man among boys. But the quality that stood out the most in my mind was his fearlessness. Kid feared no one. I never saw Kid back away from a fight. Ever.

As I watched Kid disappear into the Apian sunset I briefly reminisced back to my youth. The persona he embodied was memorable. Now Kid did not look 10 ft tall. There was no brawn to his appearance. He wore tattered clothing and a tired looking face. I was taller, broader and more alive than Kid. Life looked like it had been hard on Kid. I was suddenly saddened. As I drove past my old neighborhood in the following days I saw many more familiar faces. Grown up. Weathered. Tired. My excitement to be home had now abruptly diminished. I wish I could wave a wand and make everything better. Like the way it was when we were young. When Kid and all the other boys were vibrant and strong. When the rvier replenshished us. Growing up had punished us all. Kid wore his demons as did I. Only I secretly.

Cloud Computing

Ever think for a minute who holds your possessions in their trust? Ownership has become a fuzzy term in modern day systems of exchange. When setting up this blog for the first time I realized that my thoughts were no longer confined to my head. My opinions and perspectives are now transferred to a Blog Server, the server in turn holds it for safe keeping and offers it for public consumption either by design or by accident. My thoughts are my own but they will also reside in this mythical cloud that is the Internet. More and more we are being readily submissive about things near and dear to us to third parties. The convenience is undeniable and increasingly I am getting lazier. My naivety sometimes convinces me to submit to the will of those whom I think are better at something because its their job to be good at it. Bankers, financial advisors, real estate agents, doctors, lawyers, mechanics, gardeners, hair stylists, teachers, etc. However, it is not disappointment proof. Seems like this "cloud" metaphor is more far reaching than I originally thought. See how this goes.