Keep the dream alive- Lava Latte
Donation protected
We are the McCarroll family, Tom and Bonnie, three generations evacuated and displaced from our home and farm and surrounded by flowing lava from Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. Our home has been deemed permanently inaccessible and uninhabitable by Civil Defense.
TOM AND BONNIE EVACUATING FROM OUR HOME
Tom, standing in front of lava flow over one of the roads to our house. (The Red Road- Hwy 137)
OUR STORY
Words cannot describe the month of May, 2018. It started with evacuation, on Mother's Day, from our beautiful "Over the Rainbow" farm and school on Pohoiki Rd. It is the permanent home to Tom and Bonnie McCarroll and Aubrey , Etta Mae, Aumrae and Goldmynn McCarroll, three generations living and working together. Our sons, Charley and Michael both have part time homes on the land as well. Darryl also has been living on the land with us the past five years.
OUR HOME THE HALE HA HOUSE
MOST OF OUR FURNITURE HAD TO BE LEFT IN THE HOUSE
MICHAEL'S CABIN
MIKEY
About 5 days before we evacuated, we hiked up to fissure 16 shortly after it opened with Darryl.
This is a picture of Pohoiki Rd, which is the road we live on. As you can see, complete access has been cut off. Note the road to the far right of the picture. If you look closely you see the telephone poles and lines which gives you a glimpse of the magnitude and scale of the flow.
This was taken off our back porch. It looked like a full moon night, only all in red.
We awoke about 4AM to a very strong smell of sulfur dioxide and there was a red glow over the property.
Kilauea Volcano had completely drained all it's lava into the East Rift Zone after a big 6.9 earthquake about two weeks earlier. Lava had been erupting from multiple fissures in the earth all around us. At 04:30, we heard the sudden, very loud roar of what sounded like multiple jet engines. It sounded like it was in our back yard, just beyond the fence. All the kids had evacuated the week before. We quickly got dressed, loaded the car and left just as the sun was coming up. The loud, terrifying roar and vibration of the house was still going on as we drove away.
MEGAN, OWEN AND CHARLEY
Our son, Charley and his partner Megan and our grandson Owen, graciously took us in and we have been living in their daylight basement since. We have been so blessed to have this roof over our heads with family. We are so grateful to Megan and Charley for everything they have done for us and the support they have provided. It is going on three months now and we are certain we would not have survived living in the shelter this long. We should be moving on soon to Portland to land on the mainland. Our youngest son Michael , Samantha and Lily are taking us in next to their home in Portland. Thank you, Sam and Mikey!
Sam and Mikey McCarroll
The remainder of May was spent in survival mode, as this surreal, devastating, slow motion disaster unfolded. We made many frantic trips back back and forth to the house: moving equipment, packing up belongings, deciding what to take and what to leave behind, not knowing if each time would be our last. Each trip back was slow and arduous as we had to be escorted in each time by Civil Defense. Two of the main roads to our home had already been covered in 30-40 feet of lava. No one could have predicted what came next. The lava from Fissure 8 started flowing fast like a raging river at flood stage. It quickly cut off ( in 2 days) our last access and had surrounded us. That flow wiped out the entire Kapoho communities estimated at 700 homes. It has been a very terrifying, confusing, disorienting period in which time seemed to stand still. All semblance of a normal life with routines, habits, work, play, relaxation and interactions, all came to an abrupt stop. We watched helplessly, as one by one, all access to our homes was cut off. We can no longer go home. The county and state are saying that the roads will take years to rebuild and that they may never be opened up again. The lava has only intensified since and shows no sign of stopping. This may go on for years, nobody seems to know.
We must all now start to move on. Aubrey, Etta and the kids have moved to Austin this past week. We are relieved that they may soon be getting some normalcy back in their lives. Darryl remains in the hospital in Oahu from his injuries. He still has a very long road ahead. We must all begin the process of grieving: for the loss of our homes, our friends and neighbors homes, and of our daily lives. At this point, we do not know what these lives will look like. We are not accustomed to asking for help so this is very hard for us. If you can share our story, we would be so grateful.
Aubrey, Etta Mae, Aumrae and Goldmynns home with one of the frequent rainbows
AUBREY AND KIDS FOM SPRING BREAK ART CAMP AT THE OVER THE RAINBOW SCHOOL
ETTA MAE, AUMRAE, GOLDMYNN MCCARROLL
AUBREY AND A STUDENT MAKING FRESH JUICES FROM THE CITRUS ON THE FARM
OUT IN FRONT, LOOKING FROM THE LANAI
AUBREY AND ETTA MAE LOST THIER HOME ON THE PROPERTY AS WELL
THE DREAM
The farm and off grid home was a dream that we have had for the past 18 years. It took 10 years to manifest this dream to live a sustainable life off the grid, to grow our own fruits and vegetable, live close to the earth, but more importantly, to live near children and grandchildren or at least a place where they could come and visit.
The seed money for this dream started in 1972 when we bought our first home for 15,000 in Ft. Worth, Texas. This catapulted us into our subsequent homes in Houston and Martindale, which after a lifetime of work, we were able to pay off. This allowed us to buy land in Hawaii and to build our home debt free. This home was built by our own hands with over 24 months of hard work, but it was a culmination of over five decades of hard work.
We call this dream the "Over The Rainbow" farm and school. Rainbows frequently form behind us up to the mountain and below us to the ocean. It also reminds us that like in the song; "Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true"
THE WORK
The work on our home, the "Hale Ha" house began 11-11-11 and ended with the basic structure being up around 12-12-12 when we moved in. An auspicious beginning! Of course, the finish work went on for at least another year. Hale means"house or home" and Ha means "breath" in Hawaiian. Thus we like to think of our home as
"The House of Breath". It is an open air structure that lets the gentle trade winds flow easily through the home. It is also a home, that for us, let us relax, breathe and be ourselves. The word "Ha" has different meanings and it also stood for the primary number 4 which led us to incorporate it into the design of the house in many of the measurements i.e.: 44 by 44 square outer measurement, lanai is 22 by 22', and windows are 4 by 4' and 2 by 2'.
It was quite an experience to build a house from scratch. Up until then we had only remodeled older homes. We could not have done it without Darryl. He was our main guy. Darryl never met a problem. He can do anything. He is calm, even tempered, a great builder and friend, funny in his own way, a vegan, an avid surfer,an expert at living simply and in the moment and crazy about his two teenage daughters. Unfortunately, Darryl was hit by a lava bomb while protecting a neighbor's house. He had put out at least a half dozen fires in the the house from exploding lava from a nearby fissure.He has been in the hospital in Oahu ever since, trying to recover from an injury to his leg and foot. If you want to donate a Lava Latte to him, here is the link. https://www.gofundme.com/5dbkh-frist A sincere thanks to all of you who have already donated
DARRYL WORKING UP ON ONE OF OUR ROOFS
TOM AND DAVE WRAPPING THE HOUSE
ABOVE; TOM AND AUMRAE PUTTING UP CEILING FANS IN OUR NEW HOME
TOM DOING HIS FAVORITE PASTIME; MOWING. HE ALWAYS SAID IT WAS HIS "MEDITATION"
Dave was also a great friend and help in building our house. Energetic,happy, a very skilled carpenter, writer, rock band member, surfer, and teller of many entertaining stories. Rich, Daves Hawaiian friend, also lent his talents on the concrete work and beautiful lava rock walls gifted to us by our dear friend, Shelly. Mark Clawson did a masterful job on the plumbing, accompanied by dry wit and much laughter. We were so lucky to cross paths with him. Not only did he do an outstanding job, but he and Oshi have become dear friends. Lee was such an expert on everything solar and thanks to him, everything electrical worked great in the house when we moved in.
Last but not least, our three boys, Charley, Aubrey and Michael and their families were there every step of the way. They worked many hours whenever they could. They also worked the land, planting over 100 fruit trees, pineapples, vegetable gardens, chicken coops, beehives,and two years ago putting in a ranch fence around the entire property. All of you are family or have become family to us and we can never thank you enough for your hard work, dedication in making this dream real.
THE GIFTS
The gifts from this home have been unmeasurable, uncountable, unique and will remain with us always. Among these gifts has been the priceless time spent with family, friends, children,and grandchildren. It has been a gift to be able to share this home with our friends and community We have enjoyed the gifts of hard work, planting tress and gardens and watching them flourish and sharing their fruits with our community. The gift of tending the earth in a very meaningful way. The gift of watching the chickens and bees do their work. The gift of children's laughter and singing still rings in our ears from Aubrey and Etta Maes students at their homeschool and art schools. Etta and Aubrey have lost their home also and Etta's livelihood from her art school that she operates on the property, The Center of Creativity. https://www.instagram.com/centerofcreativity/
At the risk of asking for too much, I have included a link for their GoFundMe. A heartfelt thanks to all of you who have so generously donated already. Please continue to share their story. https://www.gofundme.com/let-us-make-it-real
GOLDMYNN "You have all moved before but this is my first time" after the loss of our homes. Goldmynn was born on the land and is quite a "homebody" like his dad.
Charley, Megan and brand new baby Owen Reid McCarroll
GOLDMYNN, GOLDEN HEARTED CHILD
PEPA AND AUMRAE DOING WHAT THEY LIKED BEST, EATING GOOD FOOD
LILY LANE MCCARROLL AND NANA
OWEN REID MCCARROLL. IT IS LIKE GETTING TO BE WITH CHARLEY AT THAT AGE
ALL OVER AGAIN
A DAILY GIFT, WATCHING SUNRISE ON THE LANAI
AUBREY MCCARROLL
ETTA MAE MCCARROLL
'
ETTA MAE, THE" POCKET LADY"
AUMRAE MCCARROLL 8TH GRADE GRADUATION
CHARLEY AND OWEN IN THE HELOCOPTOR
MEGAN, OWEN AND CHARLEY
LILY LANE IN THE SNOW IN PORTLAND
MICHAEL, SAM AND LILY LANE
I CAUGHT THIS RAINBOW EARLY ONE MORNING GOING FOM THE HEAVENS TO THE OCEAN.
THE LESSONS
We have learned or been reminded of many lessons from this humbling experience:
Be always thankful for your family and friends.
People really do want to help.
Don't become complacent.
Simplify, simplify, simplify!
Be kind, always.
Never, never take anything for granted.
It is OK for your children to take care of you.
Life is about change, nothing ever stays the same
Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Grandchildren are even more precious than we thought.
Don't attach too much permanence to material things.
This disaster has been very difficult, but also very beautiful to witness nature unfold in this way, it is no ones fault.
It reminds us that we are not in control and must learn to live with this beautiful planet we call home.
It is OK to cry.
WHAT'S NEXT?
We do not know what our future holds but we do know that we are starting a new chapter, not by choice but by necessity. We are trying hard to look at it as an opportunity rather than as a tragedy. We are working hard to put our affairs in order: selling items we got out, dealing with our "stuff" we no longer have a place for or need, coming to terms with this loss, finding homes for pets, bees, helping our children who have also endured a huge loss. There are many that have also endured great loss in our community and we grieve for them as well. Like the loss of a loved one, the loss of a dream can be very painful
We don't know what our long range plans are at this time. In the short term, we are raising these funds to buy a travel trailer and truck as a temporary home on the mainland. We have already sold our truck and tractor here, so have a good start. If you could support our GoFundMe by making a "Lava Latte" donation (not over $6.00) and then share it with your networks, it would help us reach our goal of !0,000 shares. ( 100 of you share with 100 of your friends= 10,000 shares). If you could include a note of your own about how you know us, or heard about us, or just why you decided to help us,we would be so grateful. As the proverb goes "Many hands make light work"
We cannot thank all of you enough for your calls, texts, emails, kind words and offers of places to stay. They have truly sustained us through this most difficult time and mean more than you will ever know.
To our families, friends, acquaintances, and those of you whom we have never met, a sincere thank you for reading our story, for sharing our story with your social networks, for donating your daily latte if you are able. We are grateful for your gifts, no matter the size.
Our Love To You All.
Tom and Bonnie McCarroll
808-339-5096
[email redacted]
1768 WAIANUENUE AVE
Hilo, HI 96720
TOM AND BONNIE EVACUATING FROM OUR HOMETom, standing in front of lava flow over one of the roads to our house. (The Red Road- Hwy 137)OUR STORY
Words cannot describe the month of May, 2018. It started with evacuation, on Mother's Day, from our beautiful "Over the Rainbow" farm and school on Pohoiki Rd. It is the permanent home to Tom and Bonnie McCarroll and Aubrey , Etta Mae, Aumrae and Goldmynn McCarroll, three generations living and working together. Our sons, Charley and Michael both have part time homes on the land as well. Darryl also has been living on the land with us the past five years.
OUR HOME THE HALE HA HOUSE MOST OF OUR FURNITURE HAD TO BE LEFT IN THE HOUSEMICHAEL'S CABIN MIKEYAbout 5 days before we evacuated, we hiked up to fissure 16 shortly after it opened with Darryl.This is a picture of Pohoiki Rd, which is the road we live on. As you can see, complete access has been cut off. Note the road to the far right of the picture. If you look closely you see the telephone poles and lines which gives you a glimpse of the magnitude and scale of the flow.This was taken off our back porch. It looked like a full moon night, only all in red.We awoke about 4AM to a very strong smell of sulfur dioxide and there was a red glow over the property.
Kilauea Volcano had completely drained all it's lava into the East Rift Zone after a big 6.9 earthquake about two weeks earlier. Lava had been erupting from multiple fissures in the earth all around us. At 04:30, we heard the sudden, very loud roar of what sounded like multiple jet engines. It sounded like it was in our back yard, just beyond the fence. All the kids had evacuated the week before. We quickly got dressed, loaded the car and left just as the sun was coming up. The loud, terrifying roar and vibration of the house was still going on as we drove away.
MEGAN, OWEN AND CHARLEYOur son, Charley and his partner Megan and our grandson Owen, graciously took us in and we have been living in their daylight basement since. We have been so blessed to have this roof over our heads with family. We are so grateful to Megan and Charley for everything they have done for us and the support they have provided. It is going on three months now and we are certain we would not have survived living in the shelter this long. We should be moving on soon to Portland to land on the mainland. Our youngest son Michael , Samantha and Lily are taking us in next to their home in Portland. Thank you, Sam and Mikey!
Sam and Mikey McCarrollThe remainder of May was spent in survival mode, as this surreal, devastating, slow motion disaster unfolded. We made many frantic trips back back and forth to the house: moving equipment, packing up belongings, deciding what to take and what to leave behind, not knowing if each time would be our last. Each trip back was slow and arduous as we had to be escorted in each time by Civil Defense. Two of the main roads to our home had already been covered in 30-40 feet of lava. No one could have predicted what came next. The lava from Fissure 8 started flowing fast like a raging river at flood stage. It quickly cut off ( in 2 days) our last access and had surrounded us. That flow wiped out the entire Kapoho communities estimated at 700 homes. It has been a very terrifying, confusing, disorienting period in which time seemed to stand still. All semblance of a normal life with routines, habits, work, play, relaxation and interactions, all came to an abrupt stop. We watched helplessly, as one by one, all access to our homes was cut off. We can no longer go home. The county and state are saying that the roads will take years to rebuild and that they may never be opened up again. The lava has only intensified since and shows no sign of stopping. This may go on for years, nobody seems to know.
We must all now start to move on. Aubrey, Etta and the kids have moved to Austin this past week. We are relieved that they may soon be getting some normalcy back in their lives. Darryl remains in the hospital in Oahu from his injuries. He still has a very long road ahead. We must all begin the process of grieving: for the loss of our homes, our friends and neighbors homes, and of our daily lives. At this point, we do not know what these lives will look like. We are not accustomed to asking for help so this is very hard for us. If you can share our story, we would be so grateful.
Aubrey, Etta Mae, Aumrae and Goldmynns home with one of the frequent rainbowsAUBREY AND KIDS FOM SPRING BREAK ART CAMP AT THE OVER THE RAINBOW SCHOOLETTA MAE, AUMRAE, GOLDMYNN MCCARROLLAUBREY AND A STUDENT MAKING FRESH JUICES FROM THE CITRUS ON THE FARMOUT IN FRONT, LOOKING FROM THE LANAIAUBREY AND ETTA MAE LOST THIER HOME ON THE PROPERTY AS WELL THE DREAMThe farm and off grid home was a dream that we have had for the past 18 years. It took 10 years to manifest this dream to live a sustainable life off the grid, to grow our own fruits and vegetable, live close to the earth, but more importantly, to live near children and grandchildren or at least a place where they could come and visit.
The seed money for this dream started in 1972 when we bought our first home for 15,000 in Ft. Worth, Texas. This catapulted us into our subsequent homes in Houston and Martindale, which after a lifetime of work, we were able to pay off. This allowed us to buy land in Hawaii and to build our home debt free. This home was built by our own hands with over 24 months of hard work, but it was a culmination of over five decades of hard work.
We call this dream the "Over The Rainbow" farm and school. Rainbows frequently form behind us up to the mountain and below us to the ocean. It also reminds us that like in the song; "Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true"
THE WORK
The work on our home, the "Hale Ha" house began 11-11-11 and ended with the basic structure being up around 12-12-12 when we moved in. An auspicious beginning! Of course, the finish work went on for at least another year. Hale means"house or home" and Ha means "breath" in Hawaiian. Thus we like to think of our home as
"The House of Breath". It is an open air structure that lets the gentle trade winds flow easily through the home. It is also a home, that for us, let us relax, breathe and be ourselves. The word "Ha" has different meanings and it also stood for the primary number 4 which led us to incorporate it into the design of the house in many of the measurements i.e.: 44 by 44 square outer measurement, lanai is 22 by 22', and windows are 4 by 4' and 2 by 2'.
It was quite an experience to build a house from scratch. Up until then we had only remodeled older homes. We could not have done it without Darryl. He was our main guy. Darryl never met a problem. He can do anything. He is calm, even tempered, a great builder and friend, funny in his own way, a vegan, an avid surfer,an expert at living simply and in the moment and crazy about his two teenage daughters. Unfortunately, Darryl was hit by a lava bomb while protecting a neighbor's house. He had put out at least a half dozen fires in the the house from exploding lava from a nearby fissure.He has been in the hospital in Oahu ever since, trying to recover from an injury to his leg and foot. If you want to donate a Lava Latte to him, here is the link. https://www.gofundme.com/5dbkh-frist A sincere thanks to all of you who have already donated
DARRYL WORKING UP ON ONE OF OUR ROOFS
TOM AND DAVE WRAPPING THE HOUSEABOVE; TOM AND AUMRAE PUTTING UP CEILING FANS IN OUR NEW HOMETOM DOING HIS FAVORITE PASTIME; MOWING. HE ALWAYS SAID IT WAS HIS "MEDITATION"
Dave was also a great friend and help in building our house. Energetic,happy, a very skilled carpenter, writer, rock band member, surfer, and teller of many entertaining stories. Rich, Daves Hawaiian friend, also lent his talents on the concrete work and beautiful lava rock walls gifted to us by our dear friend, Shelly. Mark Clawson did a masterful job on the plumbing, accompanied by dry wit and much laughter. We were so lucky to cross paths with him. Not only did he do an outstanding job, but he and Oshi have become dear friends. Lee was such an expert on everything solar and thanks to him, everything electrical worked great in the house when we moved in.
Last but not least, our three boys, Charley, Aubrey and Michael and their families were there every step of the way. They worked many hours whenever they could. They also worked the land, planting over 100 fruit trees, pineapples, vegetable gardens, chicken coops, beehives,and two years ago putting in a ranch fence around the entire property. All of you are family or have become family to us and we can never thank you enough for your hard work, dedication in making this dream real.
THE GIFTS
The gifts from this home have been unmeasurable, uncountable, unique and will remain with us always. Among these gifts has been the priceless time spent with family, friends, children,and grandchildren. It has been a gift to be able to share this home with our friends and community We have enjoyed the gifts of hard work, planting tress and gardens and watching them flourish and sharing their fruits with our community. The gift of tending the earth in a very meaningful way. The gift of watching the chickens and bees do their work. The gift of children's laughter and singing still rings in our ears from Aubrey and Etta Maes students at their homeschool and art schools. Etta and Aubrey have lost their home also and Etta's livelihood from her art school that she operates on the property, The Center of Creativity. https://www.instagram.com/centerofcreativity/
At the risk of asking for too much, I have included a link for their GoFundMe. A heartfelt thanks to all of you who have so generously donated already. Please continue to share their story. https://www.gofundme.com/let-us-make-it-real
GOLDMYNN "You have all moved before but this is my first time" after the loss of our homes. Goldmynn was born on the land and is quite a "homebody" like his dad.Charley, Megan and brand new baby Owen Reid McCarrollGOLDMYNN, GOLDEN HEARTED CHILDPEPA AND AUMRAE DOING WHAT THEY LIKED BEST, EATING GOOD FOODLILY LANE MCCARROLL AND NANAOWEN REID MCCARROLL. IT IS LIKE GETTING TO BE WITH CHARLEY AT THAT AGE ALL OVER AGAIN
A DAILY GIFT, WATCHING SUNRISE ON THE LANAIAUBREY MCCARROLLETTA MAE MCCARROLL'ETTA MAE, THE" POCKET LADY"
AUMRAE MCCARROLL 8TH GRADE GRADUATIONCHARLEY AND OWEN IN THE HELOCOPTORMEGAN, OWEN AND CHARLEYLILY LANE IN THE SNOW IN PORTLANDMICHAEL, SAM AND LILY LANE
I CAUGHT THIS RAINBOW EARLY ONE MORNING GOING FOM THE HEAVENS TO THE OCEAN.THE LESSONS
We have learned or been reminded of many lessons from this humbling experience:
Be always thankful for your family and friends.
People really do want to help.
Don't become complacent.
Simplify, simplify, simplify!
Be kind, always.
Never, never take anything for granted.
It is OK for your children to take care of you.
Life is about change, nothing ever stays the same
Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Grandchildren are even more precious than we thought.
Don't attach too much permanence to material things.
This disaster has been very difficult, but also very beautiful to witness nature unfold in this way, it is no ones fault.
It reminds us that we are not in control and must learn to live with this beautiful planet we call home.
It is OK to cry.
WHAT'S NEXT?
We do not know what our future holds but we do know that we are starting a new chapter, not by choice but by necessity. We are trying hard to look at it as an opportunity rather than as a tragedy. We are working hard to put our affairs in order: selling items we got out, dealing with our "stuff" we no longer have a place for or need, coming to terms with this loss, finding homes for pets, bees, helping our children who have also endured a huge loss. There are many that have also endured great loss in our community and we grieve for them as well. Like the loss of a loved one, the loss of a dream can be very painful
We don't know what our long range plans are at this time. In the short term, we are raising these funds to buy a travel trailer and truck as a temporary home on the mainland. We have already sold our truck and tractor here, so have a good start. If you could support our GoFundMe by making a "Lava Latte" donation (not over $6.00) and then share it with your networks, it would help us reach our goal of !0,000 shares. ( 100 of you share with 100 of your friends= 10,000 shares). If you could include a note of your own about how you know us, or heard about us, or just why you decided to help us,we would be so grateful. As the proverb goes "Many hands make light work"
We cannot thank all of you enough for your calls, texts, emails, kind words and offers of places to stay. They have truly sustained us through this most difficult time and mean more than you will ever know.
To our families, friends, acquaintances, and those of you whom we have never met, a sincere thank you for reading our story, for sharing our story with your social networks, for donating your daily latte if you are able. We are grateful for your gifts, no matter the size.
Our Love To You All.
Tom and Bonnie McCarroll
808-339-5096
[email redacted]
1768 WAIANUENUE AVE
Hilo, HI 96720
Organizer
Lynn Carroll
Organizer
Pahoa, HI
