When I saw the following story it made me smile for two reasons. 1) It’s a funny drunk story. 2) It reminded me of when Buzzy and I visited there in 98 and yes, we were both sober when we did so.
For the most part, whenever I see or hear something about an area of the world that I have visited, it brings back nice memories. “Been there, done that” will run thru my mind. I’ll have a smile or two over a memory of something seen, said or done while I was there in full on tourist mode and taking it all in. These are usually good/great memories and that I lodged many of them with my Dad makes those moments all the more special and pleasurable.
However, there is also a dark side to this travel memory dynamic. It involves disasters striking areas and places that I have visited and regard as one of my favorite “go-back-to-places.” Currently the town of Lahaina in Maui is front and center on my mind.
Having been to Lahaina a number of times, it makes me sad seeing it now completely decimated (click here.) The photos of all the burnt out homes and buildings along with hearing the increasing body count of folks who died in the fire, makes for a very sad and tragic story.
Had I never visited there previously, the Lahaina fire would be just another one of those disaster stories to shake my head over, thank God that no one I knew was involved and move on. But now that I have an investment memory-wise as in the case with Lahaina, I can’t just let it go.
What is all the more disturbing about the fire and its devastation is that it sounds like it could and should have been prevented (click here.) I am sure that there will be numerous investigations conducted to basically conclude what we already know – the fire got out of control and burned down everything in its path. (Very small bit of good news is that Lahaina’s famous Banyan tree is still standing (click here.)
OK, enough fire and ruin talk. After all, this is the Buzzyblog – home of sports, trivia, rock n roll and other items that in the larger scheme of life don’t really matter. I’ll leave you with some Wilburys.
Written mostly by George Harrison and then recorded with some of his friends, this tune was first intended to be released as a George solo song. However, the record execs liked it so much, they encouraged George and his friends to record additional songs for an entire album which then became “The Traveling Wilburys Vol 1.” (Sad footnote – only Bob and Jeff are left out of the original 5 with Tom, Roy and George having traveled on. Makes me think that they should have included a final verse “I’ve been buried and laid to rest, but that’s how we all end up I guess.”)
Speaking of fires, one of my South of Buzzy’s friends Ryan had two incidents Wednesday night at his Scotland Beach home (click here for story and photos.) Fortunately, no one was injured. Surveying the damages to his place, Ryan noted that his Buzzy’s Country Store print had survived intact.
I am not saying that this puts Buzzy’s up there with Lahaina’s Banyan tree, the Nagasaki Arch or 9/11’s Trinity Church, but it is still there and it is not the first fire that Buzzy’s has survived. Better handle it with care.