Thoughts of Home

Screenshots from Men in Black

In the science fiction adventure comedy Men in Black, K, the character played by Tommy Lee Jones, displays a momentary but powerful longing for the life he left behind. He uses a satellite camera to zoom in on a New England hamlet to catch a glimpse of his wife. Such technology seemed fantastic in this 1997 movie, but something close to it is freely available to everyone on the Google website.

I couldn’t resist using Google Earth to check out my old Honolulu neighborhood. The streets are wider, and a few houses have been razed by high-rise developers, but most of the buildings are still there. The house in the corner, where the crazy lady lived, has a different owner. The next door apartments have been recently painted, and the satellite photos confirm that the roofs are in good shape.

Sorry we couldn’t be there for your anniversary, Mom and Dad, but we’re there in spirit!