Gecko or DBS

I’ve been to Maui three times - twice in the past 3 or so years. I almost moved there over two years ago. I love Maui. Moving there would have probably meant no deep brain stimulation for me, but I am sure the sacred ocean waters, the Hawaiian spirit, and the majestic sunsets would have had the same effect. If not, then they have a beautiful winery there that would have made up for it.

Speaking of Maui Wine, the last time I was on the island I was introduced to the winery and it’s beautiful and lush environs. I was supposed to be deciding if I wanted to live there. Some people I knew had described living on the island as being trapped on a small barge which caused them to leave the island.  Now there is a Costco on the island, so it I guess it feels like being trapped on a family sized inflatable raft - much more comfortable, for sure. I was confident that a good winery would get me to stay. Little did I know it would be a creature that would encourage me to stay, not the wines.

We chose to sit on the patio, even after the server said “the gecko may come and say hi“. We ordered a glass of wine and some crackers with jam. The crackers were good, but the jam was best, and so agreed the gecko. As soon as we stopped eating, down came a gold dust day gecko to lick the jam off the plate. It was within inches of us, posed for some photos, finished off the jam and went back into the rafters.

Much like that gecko, I felt like I could live there on the island, as long as long as once in a while I could get crackers and jam (and wine)! Oh yeah, some levodopa, too.

Note: I decided to stay in California and find myself shaken and saddened by the wildfires that have ravaged places I know and destroyed businesses I had hoped to return to one day. Thank God my friends there are all OK and their homes are safe, though they now have heavy hearts because their island is hurting.

Maui Wine has reopened, and is offering space on their ranch for farm animals needing a home. They are also donating all revenue from wine tasting flights to aid the island recovery. Check with them on social media for more details.

I assume the gecko is still there. Why would he leave?

The Gold Dust Day Gecko at Maui Wine ©2021 Steve Steinberg