AMERICANWAY
FEBRUARY2016
53
why theplacedidn’tseem tohaveanything todo
withTheMonkees.
The instantweallemerged to toweloff,Ken
burst intohives.Hehadbeen takingpenicillin for
arecentboutofstrep, and thepool’schlorinehad
triggeredanallergicreaction.Beinga typicallysen-
sitiveolderbrother, I immediatelydeclaredhim to
be“Lumpman.” (Mycosmicpaybackwasdevelop-
ing thesamepenicillinallergy inmy30s.)
Ken’soutbreakabatedoverthenext fewdays,
andwetooktothesaltwater.Ahalf-milewestofour
hotel, thebeachcuppedatidalpond,andKenand
Iwaded intoswim itsbreadth.My father,walking
withtherestof the familyalongtheshoreline,kept
wavingextravagantly.At firstwethoughthewas
rootinguson,proudofhowwellweswam.Only
whenweclimbedoutdidhereveal theactualreason:
He’dbeentryingtowarnKenandmethata large
snappingturtlehadbeentrailingclosebehindus.
OnanotherofourHawaiiandays,my fatherand
Isignedup forasurfing lesson, the long-awaited
fulfillmentofmydreams.Riding thesmallwaves
inside thereef feltsodeceptivelyeasy that thenext
time,DadandIsimplyrentedboardsandpaddled
beyondWaikiki’sshorebreak.There, thewaves
wereprobably3or4 feethigh.Thiswasn’texactly
EndlessSummer
territory,but itwas turbulent
enough tosendmehurtlingoffmyboard—and the
boardhurtling intomyhead.Dadsomehowman-
aged tocorralmeandoursurfboards, shepherding
usbackonto thebeach.There, in filialconspiracy,
weagreed thatmymotherwouldneverbe told.
Thetranscendentsurfingmomentoccurred
whenwedroveourrentedcartothose famous
placesontheNorthShore:SunsetBeachand
WaimeaBay.Thebiggestwavesalwayshit inthe
winter,buteven inAugust,wewereawedbythe
poundingechoesandtheraggedshawlsofwhite
spray. Iwassilent—almostreverent—aswedrove
backtoHonolulu, listeningtotheradioplayThe
Association’shit“Windy”andNancySinatradoing
thetitlesong fromthatsummer’sJamesBond flick,
YouOnlyLiveTwice
.Normally,myparentshad
nothingbutdisdain forTop40songs,butonvaca-
tion, therulescouldbebent.
Therewasanotherpassenger in thecarwith
us thatday: a localmanwhomwehadmeta few
daysearlierat thePolynesianCulturalCenter.
My father, alwaysready tochatwithstrangers,
hadstruckupaconversationwith theman, and
theyhit itoff—somuchso that themanhad
volunteered tobeourguide to theNorthShore.At
theendof theday, though, the fellowmadesome
cuttingcommentaboutJews.My fathercalmly
informedhim, “We’reJewish.”Flummoxed,
themanpointed tomysister’s
dirndl
blouseand
stammered thathe’d thoughtwewereScandina-
vian. (Later,backat thehotel,wereceivedanote
ofapology, asign that, through themagicof travel,
he, too,mayhave learnedsomethingofvalue.)
Yousee, Iremember this tripsodeeply,nearly
ahalf-centuryon,notonlybecauseof thegood
things thathappenedbutalsobecauseof thenot-
so-good:Ken’sLumpmanepisode;myaccident
with thesurfboard; therentalcaroverheating;
even thatman’sstupidslur.Somuch in life is
evanescent.Mymotherwouldbedeadofcancer
barelysevenyearsafter this joyous trip.The
SummerofLovewouldcollapse intoaplagueof
drugabuseandcivilunrest.Our familyalbum
ofsnapshots from thevacationweredestroyed
in2012,whenmybrother’shomewas floodedby
HurricaneSandy.
YetIcansee those imagessharpasever in
mymind:Kenwearingaclumpofseaweedatop
hishead;mymother, radiantlyhealthy,wearing
pearlsata luau;my fatherandmeposingwith
ourboardsbesideapalm tree.Ourreturn flight
back toKennedyAirport fromLosAngelesran
intodelaysenroute. Irememberuscircling ina
holdingpatternaboveAllentown,Pennsylvania.
AndIremember, souncharacteristically formy
impatientself, thatIdidnotmind,becauseInever
wanted thatvacation toend.
SAMUELG. FREEDMAN
, a frequent contributor to
American
Way
, is the author of eight books,most recently
Dying
Words: TheAIDSReportingof JeffSchmalz andHow It
TransformedTheNewYorkTimes
.
IFYOUGO…
Trying to recreate an
experiencenearly 50
years later canbe an
uncertainproposition,
since somanyof the
places you remember
mayno longer exist. I
was pleasantly surprised
to findmuchofmy
family’s 1967 trip is still
accessible.
SAN FRANCISCO
While the
JackTarHotel
fell to
thewreckingball in 2013,
I’veenjoyed several stays
at theAdagio, a restored
boutiquehotel near
UnionSquare.
Hoteladagiosf.com
It’s a short walk frommy
favoriteSanFrancisco
restaurant,
LeColonial
,
whichhas French-
Vietnamese cuisine and
decor tomatch.
Lecolonialsf.com
Thebest place toget a
senseofHaight-Ashbury’s
hippiepastmight be the
AmoebaMusic
store,
which still has plentyof
vinyl and vintageposters.
Amoeba.com
You can also take
awalking tour of
Haight-Ashbury
.
Haightashburytour.com
As for the legacyof
CharlesM.Schulz
and
Peanuts
, the cartoonist’s
estatenorthof
SanFranciscohas been
turned into amuseum.
Schulzmuseum.org
OAHU
InHawaii, thehotel
whereour family stayed,
now known as the
OutriggerReef
, is still a
mainstay alongWaikiki.
Outriggerreef-
onthebeach.com
The
Polynesian
CulturalCenter
remains apopular site for
its exhibits and luau.
Polynesia.com
THEOUTRIGGERREEF
PHOTO
VINCECAVATAIO/DESIGNPICS
