State Memories: Hawaii

Why yes, I did celebrate my honeymoon on the island of Kauai.  And no, my state memory of Hawaii did not take place that week.  It was a wonderful week, but there isn't that one, iconic memory of the week that separates itself from the rest.

I first visited Hawaii the summer of 1982, so that means I would have been 10 years old.  It was my grandfather's wish that my family take a vacation there after he died.  So we did.

We were staying in a condo right on the beach in Kauai.  There were a bunch of other families with kids the same age as me and my brother staying in the condos as well, and we all sort of banded together and hung out.  My brother had a "girlfriend" named Julie.  I had a huge crush on her brother, Joel.

There was a rainy spell, if memory serves, and Greg and Julie talked my dad into taking them to see a movie.  Blade Runner to be exact (I am surmising the date of our trip based on the release date of the movie. I could be off a year or so, but I don't think I am).  I wanted to be in on the fun as well.  And I'd never gotten to see a rated R movie before.  So I gathered all the courage I had and asked my parents if I could go, too.  Surprisingly enough, they said YES!  In questioning my parents about this decision after the fact they my dad basically let me know he said yes because he didn't want to have to sit alone in the movie theater.  But hey, rated R movie!  When you're 10 this is a HUGE deal.

And thus my life continued without incident.

It wasn't until 15 years later that the memory truly reached iconic status for me.  I was single in Seattle and had a date with some guy I'd met somehow.  We were going to go out to dinner and then to see the 15th anniversary director's cut of the film at Cinerama.  It was a dud of a date, but I remember watching the movie.  I couldn't remember any of the plot specifics from my earlier viewing, but the images and the mood definitely resonated.  And I spent the whole movie thinking "Good god, I cannot believe my parents let me watch this movie 15 years ago.  And I can't believe I escaped from it unscarred.  That is some disturbing stuff going on."

But see it I did.  My first rated R movie.  And a continuation in the love affair with Harrison Ford.

Comments

[tommyspoon]

What a great memory! My Dad took me to see "Blade Runner" when it first hit the screens. He felt it was time to for me to see some "adult" sci-fi. Like you, I was not so wrapped up in the plot or the characters but the visuals blew my mind! And not just the flying cars and the tricked out pistols, but the visions of decay and damp. I can't think of another movie that has so captured the imagination of a generation.