A Hui Hou, Uncle Bill

Bill Tapia

Uncle Bill Tapia passed away at 103 years old. I got to meet him when he was approaching 99, he’d just bought a house and joked that he was on a 30 year mortgage. He was teaching at the Kalama Days of Discovery, a festival that acknowledges and celebrates the connection between Kalama, Washington and the Hawaiian islands.

I’d gone to take photos. Uncle Bill was hanging out between sessions in a little lounge room in the community center, I went in to introduce myself and to explain that I was taking photos for the festival organizers. He sized me up, looked at my camera, and said, “Where’s your ukulele?!”

It’s right here, Uncle Bill. It was an honor.

 

1 thought on “A Hui Hou, Uncle Bill”

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.