Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 11, 1 November 2023 — LETTER TO THE EDITOR [ARTICLE]

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Mahalo for so many wonderful articles about Lahaina in the October issue of Ka Wai Ola. So many memories were eonjured for me, especially of my childhood. Reading Hailama Fardens "Mahalo Lahaina!" was like riding down Front Street to Nagasako's in the backseat of Grandma and Grandpa's old Datsun, listening to them talk about different things. My grandparents are the same Unele Ned and Aunty Pua Lindsey mentioned in "Mahalo Lahaina!" It wasn't only the memories contained within and relived through those articles; it was the nuanced connections between them. Those connections demonstrate the power of generational memory and belonging to a plaee. Mo'olele, the 42-foot long double-hulled sailing eanoe eelebrated in "Remembering Mo'olele o Lahaina," was cared for by my grandparents and kept in their yard for many years. Ned Lindsey composed the song, Mo'olele, whieh was recorded by Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau. Those verses are his poetry and storytelling, and his aloha for Mo'olele. Like Hailama, I am transported to the Lahaina of my childhood, where I hear Grandpa on his 'ukulele singing a song he wrote about Polanui, our 'ohana home in Lahaina: "That is where I long to be, by the murmuring silvery sea, 'neath the hau and the coconut trees, on the shores of Polanui." Hokulei Lindsey Editor's note: Mahalo nui e Hokulei for naming your grandfather, Ned Lindsey, as the haku mele ( music and lyrics ) ofthe song, "Mo'olele." We are pleased to be able to give him the credit he deservesfor composing this beloved mele and ensuring that Mo'olele o Lahaina will live on.