15 Years to Life in Hawai’i

By David Nudelman

An inspiring book about San Francisco Bay Area punk rocker, David Nudelman, exiting the California “rat race,”after throwing a farewell Hawaiian themed toga party, with his new wife Luz and one cat. Leaving family and friends behind they made their adventurous move to the island of Hawai’i. Dave shares quirky tales of his soul-searching experiences shifting from big city life opting for a new reality. Dave explores his newfound love of Hawaiian culture through music, food, and the laid-back vibe and lifestyle. Exploring the Hawaiian Island’s has many beautiful benefits like erupting volcanoes, crystal clear ocean views, off grid ruggedness and mountain beauty as pretty as heaven.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781663210814

David Nudelman

David Nudelman grew up in suburban San Mateo CA. After over coming learning disabilities his passion and love for art, music, especially punk rock, and nature helped draw Dave to be open to new adventures living in the jungle on Hawaii Island, where he now resides with his wife Luz.

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 David Nudelman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Front cover photos taken by Luz Pondok Nudelman

Artwork by David Nudelman

Creative book consultant: Luz Pondok Nudelman

Editing consultant Franny Nudelman

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expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6632-1080-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-1081-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020920744

iUniverse rev. date: 11/30/2020

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Contents

Intro:

First things first:

The arrival:

The first visitors:

Returning to school:

RUN TO THE HOSPITAL:

Is he alive?-the blessing:

Breaking the scene:

Hawaiian legends & up and coming musicians:

Rotfest-movie night-punk rock newbies:

Film Director Buford Poindexter:

Raising money for Baby Jesus:

Our beloved four-legged brats crossing over:

The warmponds:

Checking out the lava:

The wave of disappointment:

Weirdness on the islands and conspiracy theories here there and everywhere:

BURNING FIRE:

The Great ESCAPE:

Luz’s–passage

The Big Picture:

Hawaiian word meanings:

I dedicate this book to my Mom Jane

Cutler who is my biggest inspiration in

succeeding and overcoming any learning

issues that may have held me back in life.

Intro:

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H alemaumau until very recently was one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Halemaumau is home of Madame/Tutu Pele, Hawaiian Goddess of Volcanoes and Fire. Halemaumau has always kept us mindful of constant change, going with the flow, and like many of Mother Nature’s events her sheer force has been earth shaking! During the process of writing this book, lava vents (Fissures) burst open and put on a spectacular nightly show. The fiery vibrant sky boomed like the Fourth of July.

In May 2018 as lava erupted, the landscape life has changed a large proportion of the east side of Hawai’i. Hundreds of houses, dwellings, and magical places were reclaimed by Tutu Pele’s molten hot lava in just under five months. I couldn’t have imagined living anywhere else other than here this amazing place we call home. I have wonderful childhood memories of Hawai’i. The scenery is still very much like I remembered it back in the 70’s. I had no idea then that I would someday be married, living an off-grid lifestyle, on an island with erupting volcanoes, and taking ukulele lessons with one of the top virtuosos in Hawai’i.

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First things first:

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L uz and I first met when she temped for a transportation company I was working for in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the time she was dating someone else and was moving to Kaua’i to start anew. We began as friends went to lunch and a couple of baseball games together. After she moved, I had hoped to see her again one day. As a going away present I gave her a signed baseball by yours truly that said, I will always remember you. As fate would have it my company called Luz back to the Bay Area to temp again. Eventually she dumped her old boyfriend and we began dating. They say timing is everything in life because I knew our relationship was destined to happen.

Our first official we are a couple date coincided with the 2000 Major-League All-Star Game, did I mention we are both huge baseball fans, Oakland A’s to be precise. After many fly balls, cocktails, and rounding of bases, we were both hooked. We did our best to keep our relationship a secret from our co-workers. The gig was up when Luz came to work one day with a hickey on her neck and we were busted making out in the broom closet.

We eventually moved in together in Alameda, California. As a very special Valentines gift to Luz we adopted the first of our four leg family members Ozzy. The night I got Ozzy I let him jump around the apartment as she was getting home. Right there on the table was a cute little black and white fur ball and he was full of love and energy.

As Ozzy got older we decided he needed a mate, so we adopted Sharon. Yes, our cats were named after one of my favorite rock legends and his wife! Sharon was beautiful and looked like a miniature tiger. Sharon’s social butterfly demeanor had us receiving many calls from our neighbors asking us if we owned a beautiful friendly cat because our phone number was on her tag. Ozzy and Sharon quickly became very dear to us. As their relationship blossomed so did mine and Luz’s. On a tip from dear old Dad he suggested, "Live together