At the corner of the old IBEW Local Union building on 9th Avenue, there was this overhanging area that was, at the time, completely hidden away by the trees and plants, but by wriggling through the bushes, you'd come to this dusty corner area with this cement ramp thing that was completely hidden from the street and just perfect for a kid to sit on and idle a Sunday afternoon doing nothing.
There's a classic Steely Dan song that my friend Jas says "totally reminds me of us when we were kids", and he's right. The song, called "The Caves of Altamira", expresses the childhood wonder of going off on your own to discover secret hideaways for your own:
"I recall when I was small, how I spent my days alone
The busy world was not for me, so I went and found my own
I would climb the garden wall with a candle in my hand
I'd hide inside a hall of rock and sand"
My GOSH, that REALLY sums it up, but I had forgotten all about that secret corner of the building til I was walking past it some years later as an adult. All those tangled bushes had been cleared out and replaced with gravel. And that cement ramp was now easy to see from the sidewalk!
Kaimuki still gives a wonderful chill and relaxing vibe and looking at that spot, I can still feel that magical feeling I once had sitting in there, a secret hideout all my own!
