The Achilles Heel of Cultural Hegemony
After we bought land on the Big Island, progress was slow because we built everything ourselves. When the money finally ran out, all we had was a big shed that became our vacation spot.
Friends, family, and my wife would ask, "What the hell are you doing?" I never had a good answer. I didn't realize I was rewilding, like Buck in Jack London's story. Even if I had known, I wouldn't have said it out loud until now, years later.
This experience connected theory with real life for me. It gave me a place where my ideas could finally become real. Living in the Kau Desert became my answer.
My way of building, which once felt timeless, has now become a ruin. At first, I could leave a hammer on the ground for months and find it right where I left it. But over time, things changed. Drug addiction and poverty spread through the area. Property crime and theft became common, and development stopped in areas without surveillance.
Working on the site felt magical, like finding the end of a rainbow. But soon, everything will be torn down except for the footings and columns. Those will stay as a reminder of the gifts Pele gave me one day when I was there alone.
