“When you’re looking up there, do you know how to tell a planet from a star?” I replied that I don’t know any astronomy; I meant to learn but it had escaped me. With one broad gesture and a performer’s easy grace, he took me across the sky, showing what he knew and, when one spot came into our walking view, pointing out Mars. “You see, stars are brighter but they flicker and someday burn out. Planets keep shining though, they won’t fade away.” Read More
Author Archives: Matthew Coomer
Isolation and Connection
It’s tough to think that I’ve been here for two months, as I am still collecting my thoughts about this internship and tracing its lessons to my goals. Hawaii has made me feel both isolated and connected. When hurricane Darby soaked our house and whipped the trees outside last weekend, it seemed like I was stranded. On a central-Pacific archipelago, where can you go when the storm surrounds you? The other Hawaiian Islands are too close to be unaffected and too far to reach unaided. Read More
Scenery
Tourists in a moving metal box, cameras and boogie boards in hand. They’re ready to snorkel around America’s best beach 2016: Hanauma Bay. The fish there are spectacular and unafraid; bus people look uncomfortable. Whispers in Japanese, and German conversations around the intern in between. Getting dropped off means walking towards our office along the highway, while the bus speeds towards scenic vacations. Read More