Mel Gibson and a Double Rainbow!!!

I went to the airport early in the morning. Again, I checked my bags and waited while I watched the rain come down for them to cancel my flight. Sure enough after a nice amount of pacing and buying butter sandwiches the flight was cancelled. BUT then Mel Gibson’s private pilot was in the house! And his plane was on the runway! My community partner sprang into action and snagged me a seat on the plane. So I flew to Mel Gibson’s private island where I was given a tour (It went something like this; “this is a cow.” “this is a house.” “that is a blade of grass.” It was very informative) and then I was given a fabulous dining experience(I say dining experience bc I believe Mel won’t use the word lunch – it is a word for commoners); made of eggplant and rice with an orange for desert. A special thanks must be inserted here to Mel Gibson: Thanks Mel! You’re a doll! Anytime you come to Arkansas come by and I can return the favor (well maybe the lunch/dining experience part).

It should be noted that the runway was also made of grass. Mel’s pilot is just much braver than the commercial folk. As we were landing I thought to myself, “My God this is fun! Wait. Maybe I will die like this (cause the plane was weaving back and forth through the air). The wind is too strong. This is one of the most dangerous things I have done in my life.”

Fast forward to after lunch.

We took a pickup truck down to the pier where we loaded all our gear (I was traveling with two other people from the hospital) on to a small fiberglass boat with an outboard motor. There were not enough seats for all of us, plus the driver, so they pointed to a spot on the ground where I could sit. I said, “Wait. Wait. I have a raincoat.” So I spent a million hours digging through my bag to pull out this badass raincoat I have (JB won it for me in a race in Norway!). Then I carefully laid it on the ground and sat on top of it to prevent my ass from getting wet. About five seconds later, I realized that using the raincoat as a water buffer here was about effective as wearing a raincoat when jumping into a swimming pool.
The waves were massive. They flung the small boat around and washed heavily over the sides covering my lap with water. The boat road high on the waves and would quickly fall back down the other side. I started laughing and laughing. This was great! But amid my fit of chuckles I realized no one else was laughing or even smiling. They looked scared. You know you are F-ed when Fijians are on the water looking scared. . . this is their second home. I realized I was like that A-hole they put into movies that is smiling all the way to their bloody death. I stopped laughing and I thought, “My God this is fun! Wait. Maybe I will die like this. The waves are too strong. This is one of the most dangerous things I have done in my life.”

The ride lasted about an hour. The salt water attacked my eyes and it hurt. It felt like I was pouring lemon juice into them (which, in case you are wondering, I have done on more than one occasion).

Rain could be seen falling in the distance. As we approached Vanuabalavu a rainbow formed on the horizon. It lay across the water. I have never seen anything like it. Soon it arched up and filled the sky. And then another rainbow formed underneath it. Then I said, “WOAH! THAT’S A FULL RAINBOW ALL THE WAY! DOUBLE RAINBOW!!! DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!!! IT’S AMAZING!!!! I told the people with me that this is a sign of good luck and great things to come. They said that they had never heard that before, but it seemed very likely. I too have never heard this before, but it seems likely enough, so I think I will continue saying it.

When we got to the island we took a truck to the hospital. The road is a single lane made of sand. It is beautiful here. Words cannot begin to describe it - well actually, some words can – this place has blue and green water and tall palm trees that overlook distant islands. And the sky is filled with rainbows and unicorns.