Interesting Islanders

Meet Ameilia Walker

It was a wonderful day at Richardson's Beach Park. Beautiful, glorious. Pristine. A day to spread an oversized towel on the ground, plop down and read a good book.
Light clouds pulled themselves snug over the volcanic peaks, keeping the bright rays of the sun at a reasonable level. The glassy ocean covered the sea life, as it has done for many a millennium, protecting all creatures great and small.
A patch of pine needles fallen near the shore gently spread themselves out over a colony of ants. And, Cheryl Amelia Walker sat contently on a mat, crocheting a multi-colored blanket to be finished and used someday to cover someone she loves.
Yes, that's how I met Amelia. That's what she likes to be called. Her hands were busy looping thread over a long needle -- knitting one, pearling two or doing whatever it is industrious people do to make a colorful homemade blanket right on the beach during a lovely mid-summer's day.
It should have surprised me to see such a sight, but I've come to expect the unexpected on the Big Island. It's an eclectic group of people that never fail to make interesting eye-candy for nosey people such as myself.
This teacher from Hilo High School was no exception. Yet, in an instant I realized Amelia was exceptional, and I was drawn to her.
Amelia was taking advantage of a work holiday. She took the summer off as a Food Science, Health, Career and Life Skills teacher for special education students and her life as a student at the University of Hawaii, and was enjoying some time at the beach with her two daughters, nine-year-old Bindu and seven-year-old Kundalini.
While the two girls played on the shoreline, Amelia watched them with her eyes while working steadily with her hands.
"This is my summer project," she said of the crocheting. "This is what excites me. I like the way it makes me feel. Just to bring a basket and crochet on the beach brings me great joy. I love to be creative."
If sitting on the beach, enjoying the surf, sand and a craft passed down throughout the generations--is a peace-filled preoccupation, well then, that's exactly what Amelia intended when she moved from Philadelphia, PA almost three years ago.
In fact, she moved to the Big Island right after Sept. 11, 2001, when the world was in chaos, fighting faceless terrorists and other evils that go bump in the night.
Amelia didn't make the move to pull the proverbial blanket over her eyes. Instead, she came to the islands to wrap her children in a lifestyle offering comfort and protection.
"I moved here because it is a safer place to raise children," she said. " I don't have the anxiety. I don't worry about the children. I really like the peacefulness. The safety. I definitely want to stay here until I get my children grown and out of school."
Ah, I could see what she was really creating--a multicolor blanket of love, tenderly knit from a mother's heart and gently warming her children's hearts with joy, happiness, gentleness and goodness.
Yes, it was a great day at Richardson's Beach. The conversation with Amelia ended. I took my belongings to a shady spot, wrapped myself in a towel, put the book over my face and fell asleep.
There would be another time to read. For the moment I would doze off in peace. Blessed peace--an excellent day to snuggle in and enjoy the life that surrounds, embraces and covers us each and every day in East Hawaii.