Diamond Head Then and Now

I first visited Hawaii in the summer of 1983, when I was 21 years old (my dad was almost 56). Our family was there for a wedding, and while we were on Oahu, we had the opportunity to climb to the top of Diamond Head, overlooking Honolulu. On that date, in mid June of 1983, we took a family picture at the top, with the city behind us. On 20 August 2024, when I was 62, I had the opportunity to climb Diamond Head on another visit to Hawaii, this time with my son Thomas, who was almost 21, the same age as when I last climbed Diamond Head. At the top, I wanted to recreate the family photo from 39 years earlier. The following are three original photos from 1983 (I’m second from the right), and three from 2024. It’s interesting to compare the buildings in the background, which don't seem to have changed as much as I would have guessed. And the weather isn’t much different, either. However, I suppose I’ve changed a bit, not even counting the shorts I’m wearing.

Also on this trip, I was finally able to visit Pearl Harbor, which I hadn’t been able to visit in 1983 because I was committed to helping with a now-forgotten before-wedding duty on the day when everyone else got to go. It had been on my bucket list to visit ever since, as had the idea of recreating that family photo at the top of Diamond Head. I hope someday Thomas, and perhaps my daughter Sarah, will go back and take this picture again, although I hope they won’t wait 39 years.