Writer's Block

The real Ka'imi

Since my children's picture book, Ka'imi's First Round-Up, was published by Island Heritage last year, a lot of people have asked me if I based the story on a real man named Ka'imi who works for Ulupalakua Ranch. I don't know the Ulupalakua Ka'imi, and I can say with certainty that the story is not about him. But I was inspired to use the name by a real person.

A few years ago, I noticed on the obituary page that one of the old-time cowboys I had once interviewed for the Paniolo Hall of Fame had died. He had several children, and one of them was a son named Ka'imi. For some reason, the name struck me and stayed in my mind. I had a soft-spot for this old-timer, who had given me one of my most memorable interviews with many great stories. Reading his obituary, I imagined him as a man in his prime, riding out on the ranch with his young son Ka'imi in tow. I don't know if that scene ever happened, but that's how I wanted to imagine it.

Later, I drew on my interviews with many different cowboys to write a story about a young boy who rides out with his papa on his first round-up, eager to show his dad that he's ready to be a paniolo. But from the first draft of the story, there was only one name that seemed right for the boy: he had to be Ka'imi.

The Ka'imi so many people know on Maui may well be the same Ka'imi whose name jumped out at me in the old man's obituary. But he's not who the story is really about. After all, every little boy I've met who shares the name has told me that he is the "real" Ka'imi.