Humble Hero of the Indigo Waves

I have decided to write about Eddie Aikau for my creative piece, the lifeguard who still enjoys a hero's status in Hawaii- and for good reason. My story will be revolving around the 16th and 17th of March, 1978, the last few days of Eddie's life. I thought of concentrating on writing the story from the view of Eddie's friend, Nainoa Thompson. He was navigator of the Hokule'a. However, I must look further into Thompson's background before making this decision.

 I wanted to write in Thompson's view because he was one of the last men to see Aikau before he died. Thompson helped in the search and rescue mission for him. I thought it important to write in Nainoa's view; he was the last man to speak to Eddie. Since he was a friend of Eddie's, it would lend the story some depth.

The main problem with writing only in Thompson's view is that there are many accounts from other sources besides Thompson's that are also interesting. It doesn't necessarily need to be chronological, as Lee Gutkind points out. A convoluted piece with flashbacks will show the whole story of Aikau, and not just Thompson's side of it. Thompson only knew Eddie for a few days, but Eddie's family noticed that Eddie seemed to know he would not be returning from the voyage he was going on. According to several accounts, he tied up loose ends in his life, like divorcing his wife, and saying goodbye to his surfing mentors.

I find that he has a very deep story to write about, which makes the task of writing his story in a comprehensive manner all the more difficult. If at all, I think that I should write his story in the same form of third person narrative as "The Road Hill House". His is a tale of brave stoicism and needs to be written with integrity while trying to portray the conflict he went through. It will be a difficult matter of showing the wider meaning of Aikau's story of heroism and how it made an impact on the nation of Hawaii.