I will never know what it's like to fly a commercial airliner from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Or to captain a 43-foot fishing boat in the waters off the Big Island. I'll never be an Israeli living in San Francisco or a loud but friendly Kentuckian wintering in Hawaii. I'll never work in Hilo for four years and then move to Kona or drive for two hours in the middle of the night and then hike for another before dawn to catch a perfect shot of lava at sunrise.
That's why I love to talk to people who have done those things.
I learn about automatic landing capabilities and layover schedules, about using mackerel for bait and about squeezing lemon on a papaya. I learn about vog and skin problems and photo techniques and favorite haunts.
I'll never be a lot of things. But I hope I meet a lot of people who are.
