Those of you who have been following my journey via my blog and my e-mail announcements know that I’m on the road for a year.
You know how life is—the more you plan, the more surprises come along. The biggest surprise is that I don’t feel rooted to Hawaii anymore. Now that I’ve set myself free to “live” anywhere in the world, Hawaii suddenly seems like a very out-of-the-way and inconvenient place to keep my office.
YOU’RE GOING WHERE??
Long story short, I’m selling my Waikiki apartment, closing my office and moving everything to Lincoln, Nebraska.
WHAT?? LINCOLN, NEBRASKA?? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR F**ING MIND??
Well, yes, that’s what I would have said a year ago. But now that the whole world is mine (it always was, I just didn’t know it until now), it doesn’t matter so much where I make my pit stops.
And my family, which has always been very much there for me, is mostly in and around Lincoln, especially my sister Kelly, who’s always been my biggest cheerleader and BFF. There’s a lot to be said for having a solid support system already in place.
I’ll rent an apartment which will be my new headquarters with office, studio and a small living space all in one. Also, as you will have guessed, Lincoln, Nebraska is a lot less expensive than Honolulu, Hawaii! And that makes a lot of sense now that I’ll be on the road for all but a few days of the year.
MOVING OUT AND GETTING RID OF MORE STUFF
All this means that it’s time to get rid of even more stuff. I’ve been involved in this process now for almost 9 months, and I just keep getting lighter and lighter. This is a very good thing.
I’m having a series of sales to sell art and other office items I don’t want to move. I could call them “Clearance Sales” but I think prefer to call them “LIGHTENING THE LOAD” Sales. If you’re on my e-mail list you’ll hear about these sales.
The first of the “Lightening the Load” sales may already be underway as you’re reading this. Check out my website if you’re curious!
LEAVING HOME—AND GOING HOME
I’d be lying if I said that leaving Hawaii wasn’t an emotional thing for me. I’ve spent most of my life here, and I will always love it. But one of the bigger surprises of my “On the Road” adventure so far has been how little I miss Hawaii!
Yeah, that surprised me. But I guess the fact that I now feel at home anywhere I’m at, means I don’t have a home to be homesick for. And living in Hawaii for 40 years, it turns out, is enough. I made my life there, and loved it, and now that I’m in a whole new phase, Hawaii feels very much like my past already. And I don’t want to live in the past! (Of course, that doesn’t mean I can’t visit anytime I feel like it.)
So begins the next phase of the adventure. I’ll be in Hawaii for at least another couple of months—there are a lot of loose ends to tie up. And of course through all of this, I’m still producing art, so watch to see what is created by all this excited new energy!
I can’t wait to get to Nebraska (never thought I’d write those words!) and set up my new home and office, so that I can head out into the world again! One of the things I like about my new location is that it’s much closer to Brazil—as well as the rest of South America, Central America and the Caribbean—all areas I can’t wait to explore more. Hmmm…Santo Domingo? Havana? Bogotá? Ah, the possibilities—and the beautiful men—that await!
If you’d like to send some support my way and help make sure the art and the blogs keep coming, use this button. Or, do something just as wonderful and visit my website and become a Simonson collector. You’ll support me in the best possible way, and you’ll get to own some beautiful art too! Many thanks!
Bob slavin
Hope to see you when you are in Honolulu sometime in the future. Yes, the whole world will always be yours, Doug! Keep on sharing the beauty you see.
Robert
There comes a time in all our lives when we must make a change. I wish you all the LUCK in the WORLD. As long as I can still buy your work, I don’t care where you live. Will always remembe when I met you in Chicago.
Margie Warren
Welcome back to good ole Nebraska. I would have to say, I was one of the surprised ones….lol
It sounded like so much fun living in Hawaii, but I’m sure it is very very pricey. Enjoy your travels.
Tell all your family HI when you get here.
Margie
Douglas Simonson
well, margie, keep in mind that i will not actually be living there….i’ll be on a beach somewhere handling stuff via e-mail! but i will be checking in every few months…and yeah, i’ll tell everybody you said hello! great to hear from you!
Thom
Wow, Pep, what a great ‘arrival’ you’re making. The fact that you’ve reached a point where you’re so totally at home in yourself that your geographic home base is incidental is wonderful. Good luck with finalizing all the closing details of your move. I’ll give you a holler when I”m back on the aina later this month. Peace and aloha, Thom
Steve Johnston
Da time has come for the big move. I never believed you would move to the islands and now I find it hard to think of you coming home. After visiting you years ago in Honolulu it was easy to see why you were there, it’s a paradise.
It will be great to see you back and easily available to family in Lincoln and I am not too far away in New Mex. I just hope you bring your snow shovel and forget about breaking ice for the cattle when it’s 20 below, we don’t have cattle anymore.
love bro steve
Anderson O'Mealy
Good luck on your new adventure, Douglas. We’ll miss you here in Hawaii; you have done a great service for the community and arts here. Thanks you for your years of support to the magazine. Aloha, Anderson
Gilbert Chu
You are invited in your travels to visit me in McMinnville, Oregon. Nebraska…..amazing. I have no attachments and have enjoyed living for a short while in Europe.
Gilbert
Roger Wilkins
I hope to see you in Lincoln this summer. I’ll be there for the National Roller Skating Championships. They’re held in Lincoln frequently and I never miss a chance to get there. I made some wonderful friends there 30+ years ago and have stayed in touch with them since than. Actually, I almost moved to Lincoln 20 years ago but moved instead to Honolulu. After living in Honolulu and Wahiawa for many years I decided to move to NE Ohio. The prices are extremely low here and there’s always something to do. Who knew? Good luck on your move. I hope to meet you when I’m in town. I’ll be there sometime the last part of July and the first week of August.
Jim
I guess sometimes the grass is starting to look greener back on the other side. You did the same thing i did. After living and loved Hawaii for 8 year i moved back to Calif. You have a great time where ever you are Douglas.