The Lonely Coconut Tree

I spotted this coconut tree during our Monday walk today and thought the tropical scene looked pretty good. So I snapped a picture of it waving to the ocean alongside the sandy shore.

Unfortunately, this was the only thing of beauty that I saw during the walk. We went to a different place – Sand Island State Park – and I don’t think we’ll go back there for a walk again.

The place is called Sand Island for a reason. ‘Way back when, it was basically an island of sand. That’s where we (the Honolulu Jaycees) held our 50th State Fair back in 1975, and at the time, we had to clear out a lot of brush and keep the place watered down so we wouldn’t be inundated by dust storms.

Years later, they developed the island into a state park. My University of Hawaii public relations student society held an outing there once and I was surprised at how nice the park had turned out.

Well, it isn’t so nice today. There were beer cans and bottles all over the place (homeless scroungers could probably pick up some cash turning those containers in to a recycling station), bare patches of dirt in the grass, weeds poking through the brown "greenery," and generally, the walkways did not afford a good view of the sandy beach area and blue ocean.

So … that tree is going to remain lonely, ‘cause I’m not keeping it company again.