The first outdoor shower I bypassed was right off Kihei Drive along Maui’s southern coastline. Even though it was a little after 6:00 in the morning and traffic was sparse, I kept driving, scouting the perfect shower location. The next one I bypassed had a man sitting at a picnic table no more than six feet away. Two grannies dressed in their one-piece swimsuits sat in their car evaluating the surf next to the third shower. The fourth was hidden from the road by a public restroom—good--and in full view of two young men--bad--staking an area for a party at the park later in the day—a first baby luau, no doubt. And that’s when I spied a shower head standing sentry in the middle of a grassy patch, in full view of everything—the road, the beach, the picnic tables—and yet far enough in the distance that, perhaps, my spaghetti strap T-shirt and striped underwear could be mistaken for a swimsuit—not that unusual for the beach. Perfect. So, I showered in my T-shirt and underwear and dried off with a mustard-colored beach towel splashed with the word “Maui” which I’d just purchased at Foodland, open 24 hours, where I’d also picked up travel size containers of shampoo, conditioner and body wash.
Some opportunities in life come with a few discomforts.
The shower, for instance, and last night. I spent last night in my rented Mercury Rendezvous SUV sleeping on a foam pad and covered with a fleece blanket, both purchased from Kmart at the last minute. It wasn’t my intention to sleep in the car, but it’s a holiday weekend and not a single hotel room is available on the island under $300. I'm not prepared to spend $300 a night for three nights, not when I’m facing a new laptop purchase soon.
It’s not like I had much time to plan this trip, anyway. The PR representative from the Maui Writers Conference only confirmed my interview with Mark Twain biographer Ron Powers yesterday morning at 8:45. Thirty minutes later, I was on a plane for Maui.
I packed a knit skirt, top and one pair of underwear—rolled and wedged in my backpack carryon alongside the more important items, Powers’ Mark Twain: A Life, Walter Francis Frear’s Mark Twain and Hawaii, Twain’s Letter’s from Hawaii and Roughing It, my 35mm digital SLR camera, laptop and digital voice recorder, plus a handful of files. As for toiletries, I tossed my tooth brush and tooth paste in my purse, but officials at the security check-point at the airport confiscated the toothpaste. I didn’t care. I was soon to be on Maui with a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer born in Hannibal, Missouri. If I closed my eyes, he might even morph into the old geezer himself, and then answer all my questions about the invention of Mr. Brown.
In the end, he didn’t, but he gave a pretty good impersonation of Mark Twain—or Sam, as Ron refers to him—and, more than questions answered, he offered me friendship. By the way, Ron did agree that Hawaii was a turning point in Sam's career which was a nice confirmation, making me feel that I'm not out on a limb flailing in the wind entirely alone now. As for the Brown business, I guess that’s up to me; he is my fascination, after all, and so that exploration continues--discomforts, like a kink in my neck, and opportunities, like meeting Ron Powers, and all.
