We all know this has been a very difficult year due to Covid and all which has ensued; lockdowns, mask wearing, business shutdowns, loss of jobs, racial injustices, marches, riots, looting, and unfortunately deaths of family and friends. As if this pandemonium wasn’t enough, some of my closest friends have been dealing with their own serious health issues making this an even more trying year for them and for myself, because I care for them deeply.

In 2020 I learned that I have an arrhythmia, which frightened me because that is what my son Steve passed away from, in his sleep. I felt alone living by myself and worrying “what if I die in my sleep and my dogs are not being taken care of.” I seem like a warrior to some but truth be told, deep down I am a Nervous Nellie. It was recommended that I get a cardiac ablation. Instead I opted to cut out caffeine and get on a few meds. I’m only saying this because feeling so alone in 2020 and doing my best to comply with health protocols recommended has not been easy for me, knowing that my autoimmune disorder puts me at risk. In fact I’ve hated it BUT I comply to keep myself, my family, and especially my dad from getting sick.

So one day sitting here and dreaming of escaping, I saw how low the fares were to fly to Hawaii. I had never been there. I took a chance and booked my ticket to fly into Honolulu on Sept 30th. I was looking forward to going, just run away for a brief moment, somewhere…ANYWHERE! Well that didn’t happen. Deep down I knew it wouldn’t. The airline cancelled my ticket. Ok, I get it. But I was still determined to make my escape.

My son Steve once had a hydraulic lift mishap on his legs at the age of 14. He also had been holding cherished Van Halen concert tickets for months in his hands, and the concert day was approaching within 3 days of the accident. Positive Steve had a light at the end of his tunnel of pain. I believe it helped him cope, he just wanted to be THERE. He was determined beyond belief, crutches and all. That’s how I felt in 2020. I didn’t dwell on being here by myself once I had this plan to visit Hawaii. It was something I had to look forward to, something desperately needed.

So, again I booked a flight. This time instead of Honolulu I booked a ticket to Maui, which had just opened up to travelers on Oct 15th with the stipulation of taking and having a negative Covid test 72 hours before the flight for the safety of its own residents. I was in full agreement of this protocol. With our Covid numbers back on the rise I felt that if I’m going to do this, NOW IS THE TIME! My flight date was set…. this time for 11-11 and I knew THIS TIME IT WAS MEANT TO BE. Another factor I want to mention is that Southwest Airlines was still social distancing their flights with all middle seats remaining open until Dec 1, in which they would begin booking full flights once again. I was fortunate and got an entire row to myself round trip.

Originally my room was booked at a posh resort in Lahaina. I later changed it to a nice and comfortable room in Wailea. It was close to some great restaurants, shopping, and of course the beautiful beach.

I THOUGHT the hi-light of my trip was the remarkable 12 hour day trip to Hana to experience 620 curves and switchbacks along with 59 scary, single one way bridges. I’m sure glad I took a Polynesian Adventure Tour because the driving on such a narrow primitive road with cliffs on the edge would’ve been stressful to drive. I got to see the amazing rainforest with its lush foliage; coffee plants, banana trees, coconut palm trees, mango trees, avocado trees, citrus, painted desert eucalyptus trees, lipstick ginger plants, and the poisonous cyanide laced black bamboo trees. My soul quenched for such beautiful scenery from the breath taking waterfalls, black sand beaches, to lava rocks of all sizes. At Ke’Anae Park the ocean water seemed very active and electrifying, splashing and crashing against the lava boulders, all very close to the road. That particular area was devasted in 1945 by a tsunami which destroyed everything in its path except the church built in the late 1800’s. The church still stands along with its cemetery.

I fulfilled all my expectations I had on the road to Hana. It was my planned hi-light of this journey and nothing could make this trip more amazing….

UNTIL synchronicity had its own plan…..

On Sunday I took an hour drive out to Lahaina to see what’s out there, it turned out to be A LOT of resorts stacked much too close to each other! Driving through seemed too congested for my liking. I was glad I had changed my reservation to Wailea instead, it was more my pace. In Lehaina I stopped at a little art fair in which upon entering my temperature was taken as a safety measure. There weren’t many people walking around, nothing like our local pre-Covid art fairs I’ve been to. I walked around and admired all the beautiful handcrafted items wishing I had not done my souvenir shopping the day before. Not only did the art fair offer more variety but much better prices. I justified my shopping a day earlier knowing that the shop owner was very grateful for my purchase considering him and his wife owned it and admitted it’s been rough for them this year, but hopefully getting better.

As I was walking around I noticed this one booth and had to turn back to take a closer look. This booth seriously caught my eye. Not only did I see textured paintings of the beach and others of dragons and koi fish but what really caught my attention were these unique Alice In Wonderland themed jewelry. As I picked up a necklace in complete awe, the artist began telling me about her creations. I looked up and saw this woman with crazy fun bright red hair that made me miss mine BIG time! We started chatting about mixed media art and I felt an instant kinship, a soul sister. I ended up dragging myself away from her booth because I was feeling I could stay there forever discussing art with her. My senses were all on overload, if I had wanted to buy a piece it would’ve been overwhelming to choose one. She told me to look her up online, Fileena Bahris. I said I would and reluctantly said my good bye. I came back to the hotel completely exhausted. I needed sleep, so I did just that.

The next morning I woke up feeling regretful that I didn’t purchase just one piece for myself, nor did I get her contact info. This really bothered me, her unusual name would never have sticked so luckily she had me google her while I was at her booth. I checked my google history and there she was. It turns out Fileena is quite an accomplished artist, actress, and producer. Next I searched for her on Facebook and Instagram. I found her! I WAS THEN ON A MISSION TO BUY A PIECE BEFORE LEAVING MAUI THE NEXT DAY! Yes, panic set in. I wondered if she’d even look at her Facebook? Would she remember me if I tried ‘friending’ her? I remembered I had shown her a few of the crowns I had made. I quickly changed my profile and cover photos on Facebook to show my crowns, before the ‘friending’ attempt. Within 15 minutes she accepted my request! I then noticed she lived in Wailea, where I was staying! Excitedly…. I sent her an IM on Facebook with trepidation not knowing if she’d be available, would she have other plans or just needed to recuperate after her show. I went ahead and messaged her and told her I woke up regretting not choosing a piece to purchase. I told her I was staying in Wailea and asked her if she was nearby. It so happened that she lives there and not an hour away, where we first met at the art fair. I asked her if it was possible to get photos and prices for the Alice line here on Messenger, then perhaps we could meet up later? She said “of course, give me half hour because I need to get them from my car.” And she did. She sent lovely photos of her line which is called LOST IN TIME COLLECTION, WONDERLAND. I IM’d her “Hey, I’m starving care to meet for breakfast?” We met up within the hour at a seaside restaurant.

Fileena arrived seconds before I did. She got “my table” I had sat at several times with a lovely ocean view. Her mother Joanne, also an actress and producer joined us as this was one of her favorite restaurants and hadn’t realized they were open for business once again.

We had a wonderful breakfast, we all ordered the same omelette called ” A Fungus Amongstus” with a Diet Coke. The three of us all had the best connection! We sat and talked for HOURS, each of us condensing our own life stories. Fileena then picked up her phone and showed me her thousands of emails which were just too overwhelming to open up. Let me tell you, if I saw that number on my email icon I would seriously throw my phone away! Just the fact that I chose to IM her instead of email her worked out! It all happened the way it was meant to happen.

We talked about so many things, she told me how she and Joanne have traveled to the Land of Oz in Beech Mountain, North Carolina. WHAAAT? I never knew of this place!!! When Steve was alive he always bought me Wizard of Oz gifts, in fact I used to have a Wizard of Oz themed bathroom! I somehow felt that Steve was letting me know, “Mom!!! You gotta go check that place out!”

We talked about life, spirituality, and healing. These were deep conversations in which we all felt comfortable talking about. And of course I shopped.

Sadly I had to leave the following day, otherwise they were going to take me to their special places in Maui where I could interact with dolphins and see the sea turtles.

Another trip will happen again someday, until then I look forward to Fileena and Joanne visiting me in Arizona.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2668091/bio
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3122797/bio

Thank you Universe.

With love and affection,

Sylvia/Silver Moon