I’ve been lax about rolling out the remainder of my eight passions which I started going on about here. Why such a slackard? Mostly, I wasn’t sure I could come up with seven more items about which I could claim to be truly passionate.

A story in the news the other day however set me straight. Here’s the story:

HONOLULU — Isolated from most of the world, Midway Atoll could open to visitors next year on a limited basis.

[…]

Midway, located 1,250 miles northwest of Honolulu, is at the tip of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, which was established in June.

So, where’s the passion? Oh baby, here it is:

Hawaii
I am mad about Hawaii. I’ve been several times. As mentioned above, Midway Atoll is part of the Hawaiian Islands. And though not a tropical paradise, I do hope to get to Midway some day.

Hawaii is easily one of my top-three passions. I love the sun, the land, the sea, the people, and it’s history. Forever I’ll remember my wife and I walking around the giant heiau by the Wailua River on the island of Kauai; fascinated by the massive structure, frightened by the noises coming from the tall grass, awed by the aura of the place.

History
I love history and the Battle of Midway was really my introduction to that subject outside of school. I remember repeatedly reading a paperback history about the battle. I believe I was 11 or 12 at the time. I still read quite a bit of history mostly WW II and the American Revolution.

But, let there be no doubt: I want to know the history of everything. I can’t get down half a city block without wanting to know the past of some building or street. Nevermind when I find an unexplained artifact in the woods. My behavior is downright compulsive.

Maps
I am also compulsive about maps and anytime I see one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands mentioned I need to consult a map to see just where in the chain the island lies. Here’s a map now!

Almost any map will hold my attention for 30 minutes. Especially if it is someplace I’ve lived or visited or read about or want to visit. Especially if it is out of date or old. Especially if it is some combination of the previous. You get the point.

In Closing
Okay, so there are three more passions. I realize that I am not presenting them in rank order. In fact, these three are probably very near the top of my list!

Hmm!