Added couple pictures
Mauna Kea (White Mountain) is 13,760 ft, on the 'Big Island' of Hawaii where 202,000 islanders reside. On the windward/eastern side, is the county seat and its largest town of Hilo (to bond)--pronounced, HE-low, home to 43,000. It is my birthplace and where I now call home--once again--after a 40-year absence.
Aloha!
Rural life on the island of Hawaii, I held an interest in poetry since my shortened year in high school--having graduated at a young age. 'The Collection Plate', was my first published work in 1977 by a major national magazine. That opened the door for others to appear in several published anthologies throughout my early career.
My family grew up on the mainland. Kenny, Ricky, the twins Liz and Franky (who had passed 01/14/2022 at 35 years old), Princess, Rose, and Kimo, twelve grandkids, and three great-grandsons. I met my significant other of 25 years, Elyse, of Spanish and Swedish descent from Seville, Spain, on my 17th birthday. We both attended the University, being four years my senior. Sadly, she died shortly after Kimo was born.
I retired after 48 years and successfully sold online for a few years while passively engaging a writer's aspirations.