And a pool, and a lagoon; lots of water everywhere. The abundance of Hawaii is inspiration daily. The flora and fauna are outrageous and yet so often delicate and graceful. And lovely scents that turn my head as I'm walking. Of course there is also abundance of people, traffic, noise; Honolulu is indeed a large city and Waikiki is a huge tourist destination - with good reason.
The last book of the year for me was Amitav Ghosh's "River of Smoke", a remarkable, well researched fiction about the opium war. An awakening for me. That old adage about if you don't know history it will keep repeating. Our modern equivalant is the disregard for human life in the 3rd world sweatshops making our clothes, shoes, toys for meager wages in unsafe conditions for the profit of a greedy few. All in the name of free trade. Ah, out with the old! And so it is time for the new resolutions. Happy New Year!
