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1998 Second Place Winner
Story by Audra Limoz
Interviewee:Nova Jean McKenzie
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The Empty Lot
The ocean was empty. The fishes were jumping up and down. Nova ran to her grandmother to tell the wondrous news. Nova's grandmother knew something horrific was about to happen. Nova-Jean McKenzie and her banal grandmother were alone at their beachfront home on the north shore of Oahu.
When Nova's grandmother saw the fish flopping on the exposed reef, she immediately felt a feeling of fear greater than she had ever before experienced. She knew they had to get away and fast.
"Nova, let's go, honey," grandma said, trying to stay as calm as possible in order to keep Nova peaceful. It was April 1, 1946, and Nova was just a little girl who had no idea what was going to happen.
"Where we going?" little Nova inquired curiously.
"Far, far away," her grandmother whispered to herself as she grabbed her purse and fumbled for the keys as she walked quickly towards the car.
As soon as they were in the car, Grandpa started the engine and stepped down hard on the gas pedal. Suddenly, Nova heard water rumbling, the ground vibrating.
When she turned around, she saw these massive waves which looked as if they were going to crash down on them any minute.
"Look, Grandma! Look!" Nova said excitedly.
Nova's grandmother knew those waves could do a lot of damage and pressed down even harder on the gas. She drove until she found a place where she knew those waves would never get them.
She waited there, amusing little Nova until she thought it was safe to go back. Nova's grandmother knew that there would probably be some damage, but she wasn't prepared for what they saw. Everything was gone, destroyed. Those waves had taken Her home and brought it a good 100-200 feet away, and in it was everything they owned.
It turns out there had been an earthquake which rocked the Hawaiian Islands. One of the biggest, it generated those huge waves called a tsunami or tidal wave. Now, that little girl, Nova-Jean Mckenzie, is a Pearl City High School teacher known by the students as Kumu.
All that is left of the Mckenzie estate now is an empty lot, and it is Nova's dream to once again have a small house on her 10,000 square foot property. She has not been able to fulfill that dream because of problems with her surrounding neighbor, Asahi Lyuken (U. S. A.). She had to negotiate with Asahi even to get access to her property. She said, "When Asahi first came in, they told me I didn't need a road because I could reach the lot by boat." At least now she has a graded road but no fresh water. The community relation’s coordinator for the Kuilima Development Company said, "There are no legal requirements for us to provide Mckenzie with water, but we are going to sit down and work something out with her."
Meanwhile, Nova mows her empty lot, and continues to spend her weekends there with her family. The Mckenzies haven't been able to rebuild since that day in 1946 when a tsunami took away their house, but Nova still has a dream to someday rebuild. "Well," she says, "I just keep hanging on."
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All materials © Copyright 1996-2007 Pacific Tsunami Museum Inc.
130 Kamehameha Ave Hilo, HI 96720 tel: 808-935-0926 FAX: 808-935-0842
email:
Last Revised November 2007
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