The View

Tsunami, a killer of dreams

Dreamhouse

Who doesn’t like the view of the ocean - a lake or any body of water - from his balcony, room, porch or deck? It’s a dream view. It is also an expensive view, hence oceanfront property is always valuable and costly. The fact is that the ocean is a natural magnet. There is something in the sights and sounds of the ocean that soothes, comforts and heals. That something impacts the whole being - physically, mentally and emotionally. It’s especially therapeutic to those - like myself - who are cordoned, shackled or tethered to an enclosure such as an office in a landlocked downtown high-rise. So when these prisoners of modernity take vacations, chances are they will go to places where there are beautiful beaches and towering hotels with rooms with “the view”.

You would think that someone who was born, raised and grew up - for a significant part of his life - just a block from the ocean would be tired and repulsed by the view. Naaah!!  In fact I long and yearn for it every day. But could the yearning be a result of having lived in a landlocked state for the last two decades? No, I doubt it; in fact I adamantly demur. My blood is literally an ocean gushing through veins and vessels forged, thickened and nurtured by the silver crests and the gentle lapping waves, by the enchanting and pristine waters of blue lagoons and by the unspoiled natural seascape. Therefore, the natural oceanfront experience, for me, is visceral.



Fogalesolo (A)

 So it has been a dream for me to have a house on the beach with a thatched hut or bungalow over the lagoon (yes, EXACTLY like the picture "Dreamhouse" above). The problem is that there’s another element in the picture now - a sea monster, aka ‘tsunami’.  So inasmuch as I admire the dream house with its ideal location, I am bothered by the invisible yet remorseless and cruel beast lurking beyond the horizon. And yes, the beast DOES exist, it just needs to be awakened.

Having watched my former friend-turned-fiend in action recently in Japan and other places - but especially in my very own island backyard two years ago - I have reviewed (punning of course) my dream. And like most people along my coastal home stretch in Samoa, I’ll move my dream inland to this high oceanfront property (Fogalesolo (A)).  It belongs to my family. It looks quite safe from a killer tsunami too. But how safe is it from a killer earthquake? A ha!  Come to think of it, it’s okay. With this property, I’ll live on the edge - literally and figuratively - everyday (don’t we all sometimes?).

In other words, I can be a real stubborn rebel and a risk-taker at times, so give me a nice location with the ocean view - tsunamis, earthquakes and all - and I’ll build my dream house. Fogalesolo (A) seems ideal. It’s quite a point and a view. Who knows, may be in my old age, I’ll pen my own version of “The Old Man and the Sea” or better still, call it “My Point of View”.

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(PS: My condolences to tsunami victims in Japan. May the good Lord comfort and gather you “as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.” )