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Running On Water
Wednesday, July 1, 2009 - 12:00am
Hawaii is a huge tourist destination. And, despite its sand, surf, and other intimidating and potentially inaccessible features, it's a place where disability doesn't have to be an issue.
View ForumI have no memory of running. Is this what it feels like? The canoe races at a speed I don't know on land. I travel through space with no effort, no pain. I dig my paddle deep, deeper into the blue water, enjoying the resistance of the current and the rush of wind. I'm running on water! Look at me. What joy and freedom!
I've been exhilarated by the speed of the zip line, traveling 35 miles an hour through the Oregon tree tops. I've wept at the sweet memory of the prow of an 18-sail tall ship plowing through North Sea waves at midnight. These adventures only whet my appetite for more challenges like the one I found in canoeing and surfing in my own hometown on the Big Island of Hawai`i. I proudly wear the T-shirt, "Who, Me? Disabled?"
Rosemary Ekert and the crew of Hawaii Lifeguard Surf Instructors enjoy some waves and fun in the sun. The business's owner offers surfing lessons as a free service to the community.
Hawai`ian artist and historian Herb Kawainui Kane identifies the Polynesians as "people of an ocean world." The importance of water (kai) is reflected in the local language, hula, music, and art. Water is the centerpiece of island life: surfing, paddling, net throwing, diving, snorkeling, blue-water fishing, and sunset watching from the seawall. The coastal waters, home to sperm and humpback whales, are happily shared with green turtles and dolphins. In Kailua its all kai, the direction of life is makai (toward the ocean).
I watch as sweaty paddlers rinse off in the outdoor shower and head home for supper, carrying their personal paddles of lightweight cedar or poplar. Paddle makers are to canoes as shapers are to surfboards, the gifted craftsmen who raise the level of their unique work to that of art. Paddle maker Makana Delovio, of Portuguese-Hawaiian descent, has made the canoe his world since the age of 12. Vintage paddles, which were six-foot, 15-pound koa wood beauties, have been replaced by shorter and lighter versions more able to reach the 60 strokes per minute for competitive paddling. Delovio says the newest design is a half-pound graphite paddle that is a suitable weight for paddling in Kailua Bay.
Sunday Church
Being part of a paddling crew interests Eric Hedenberg, who you will find on the King Kamehameha Hotel beach on the last Sunday of each month. A stroke in 2005 left Hedenberg with a wicked sense of humor and a paralyzed arm and leg.
Motorized wheelchairs, trained caregivers, ramps, roll-in showers, and other adaptations assist people with mobility issues, but there are no grab bars on the beach. Sand and water are not friendly to crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs. I'm a polio survivor who fortunately only needs a cane, but sand stops me in my tracks.
According to the Hawaii Parks and Recreation office, beach accessibility is the number-one inquiry from island visitors. Efforts have been made to address this issue through shoreline sidewalks, wooden walkways, and additional reserved parking. Easy water entry is now possible with Mobi mats, durable plastic carpets that provide a path across sand into the water shallows.
When Hedenberg joins others for his Sunday morning paddling, he is part of a new program started in 2007 called Kalamak`u, a ministry of Kona's Mokuaikaua Church. Kalamak`u (the Torch) uses the outrigger canoe as an instrument for building strength and recovery of the whole person. The monthly Sunday outings are an adventure for the soul who is too often discouraged from trying the unknown. I climbed into a Kalamak`u canoe only a year ago after watching from the shore for 20 years as others enjoyed the sport.
Read more about the positive impact of the waters of Hawaii on people of all abilities.
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