Kei te tū te rarangi wakatō Airstream i roto i tētahi whare putunga i Land Yacht Harbor i Thurston County, Washington, i te 28 o Mei, 2008. (Drew Perine/The News Tribune via Associated Press)
I te tau 2020, i te katinga o tētahi whare toi i whakahaerehia e au i waenganui o Palmer, ka tīmata taku moemoeā ki te hanga me te whakahaere i tētahi whare toi nekeneke. Ko taku whakaaro kia haria tika te whare toi nekeneke ki te wāhi ataahua o waho, ka peita, ka tūtaki ki ngā tāngata i te huarahi. I whiriwhiria e au a Airstream hei wakatō i whiriwhiria e au, ā, ka tīmata taku hoahoa me te putea.
Ko tāku e mārama nei i runga i te pepa, engari kāore i te tino mārama, ko tāku moemoeā e hiahia ana kia whai me te whakahaere i tētahi tauaru.
I muri i te kohikohinga mai i te waka rererangi, i kōrerorero noa ahau me ōku hoa i roto i te hāora inu me te hiahia ki te whakarongo ki ngā taipitopito katoa. I pātai mai rātou ki ahau mō te waitohu, te tauira, te hoahoa o roto, ā, i whakautua ngāwaritia e au i runga i ngā tauira taipitopito i rangahauhia e au. Engari kātahi ka tīmata ā rātou pātai ki te tino motuhake. I tō rātou mōhiotanga kāore anō ahau kia eke ki te rerenga hau, kāore rātou i huna wawe i te whakaoho i ō rātou mata tae noa ki te kore e aro. I haere tonu taku kōrero, me te māia ki aku whakaaro.
I kite ahau me ako ahau ki te taraiwa i tētahi wakatō i mua i te tiki i taku wakatō i Ohio me te taraiwa i te wakatō ki Alaska. Nā te āwhina a tētahi hoa, i taea e au.
He tangata ahau i tipu ake i roto i ngā tēneti, i tīmata mai i te tēneti nui rawa atu e rua ngā rūma i hokona e tōku pāpā mō tō mātou whānau i ngā tau 1990, e rua hāora te roa o te whakatūnga, ā, i te mutunga ka neke ki te tēneti REI e toru ngā wā. Kua kitea ngā rā pai ake. Kei a au anō tētahi tēneti kua whakamahia mō ngā wā e whā! He whare whakamatao tōku!
Koinā noa iho. Ināianei, he wakatō tāku. Ka tōia e au, ka whakamuri, ka whakatikatika, ka ringihia, ka whakakīia, ka whakairihia, ka rongoatia, ka waiho kia makariri, me ērā atu mea.
E maumahara ana ahau ki taku tūtakitanga ki tētahi tangata i tērā tau i tētahi puranga paru i Tonopah, Nevada. I whakapirihia e ia tēnei ngongo kopikopiko ki runga i tētahi wakatō ki roto i tētahi kōhao i te papa raima, e kiia ana e au he mahi hoha o te "punga paru". He nui rawa tana wakatō, ā, e ārai ana i te rā.
"Ko te poka moni," tana kī, i a māua ko taku tāne e whakakī ana i te taputapu wai inu o te teihana ki te ipu wai tawhito i hokona mai e māua i te toa tāra—i a māua e whakamātautau ana i te oranga i roto i te waka hei tirotiro mēnā he mea tino pai. I pai māua ki te inu; he mea whakamīharo, i tino pai māua. "Kāore e mutu. Te whakapiri, te whakakī, te tiaki katoa."
Ahakoa i taua wā, me te hau e rere ana, i whakaaro pōuri ahau: Koinei tonu taku e hiahia ana? Kei te hiahia tonu ahau ki te tō i tētahi whare nui me tētahi teihana putunga para hei hono i tētahi ngongo me te tuku i te wai para mai i taku taputapu ki te whenua? Kāore au i tino tīmata ki te mahi i tēnei whakaaro nā te mea kua kukume kē ahau ki taku ariā, engari i takoto noa iho i raro i te mata.
Anei te mea: āe, he nui te mahi e hiahiatia ana mō tēnei wakatō. Tērā ētahi mea kāore tetahi e kōrero mai ki ahau, pērā i te hiahia kia noho hei kaiārahi whakamuri hei whakarite tika i te hononga o te taraka ki te wakatō. Koinei te mahi a te tangata?! I ringihia mai anō hoki te wai pango me te hina, he mea whakarihariha pērā i taku i whakaaro ai.
Engari he tino whakamarie, he tino whakamarie hoki. Kei roto ahau, kei waho hoki i te wā kotahi, ā, ko aku wāhi tino pai e rua he pakitara angiangi anake te mea e wehea ana e tētahi. Ki te wera ahau i te rā, ki te ua rānei, ka taea e au te eke ki te wakatō ka whakatuwhera i ngā matapihi ka pārekareka ki te hau me te tirohanga i a au e pārekareka ana ki te tūru me te whakangā i te rangi. Ka taea e au te kai tina i a au e mātakitaki ana i te tōnga o te rā.
He rerekē ki ngā tēneti, ka taea e au te hoki whakamuri mēnā he haruru ōku hoa noho i te puni. I tangi te pā hau i roto. Mēnā he ua nui, kāore au e manukanuka kei puta he puna wai i te wāhi e moe ai au.
Kei te tirotiro haere tonu ahau, ā, i roto i ngā pāka wakatō e kore e taea te karo, ka miharo ahau ki te ngāwari o te uru atu ki ngā hononga, ki ngā teihana para, ki te Wi-Fi me te horoi kakahu. He tangata wakatō anō hoki ahau ināianei, ehara i te mea he tangata noho teneti noa iho. He ngana whakamere ki te tuakiri, nā te mea pea kei te kaha ake ahau i tētahi ara, nō reira kei runga ake i te katoa i roto i ā rātou taputapu ataahua, pakari ake.
Engari he tino pai ki ahau tēnei wakatō. He tino pai ki ahau ngā wheako rerekē e tukuna ana ki ahau i waho. He tino tuwhera ahau, e whakaae ana ki tēnei wāhanga hou o tōku tuakiri, he mea miharo pai i a au e whai ana i aku moemoeā.