Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 9, 1 Kepakemapa 2005 — Warm weleome [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Warm weleome

The Siple family thrives amid Arizona's desert heat

By Keaumiki Akui £ m ut it's dry heat." Yeah, l-Cright! "It's only 120 degrees three months out of the year," downplays Hawaiian transplant to Arizona Arlene Siple, as her husband, Mike, shakes his head and smiles. Formerly of Kailua, the Siples are brave Hawaiians. Nine years ago, both agreed that the high cost of living in Hawai'i would only get worse, and if they stayed they would be among the thousands of struggling young couples living with mom and dad or other relatives. They wanted to live, not simply exist. Mike has always been a laid-back kind of guy. A 1988 Kalāheo graduate, he worked on catamarans off Waikīkī taking tourists sailing. Arlene, who attended Kamehameha, is just the opposite - assertive and ambitious. Mike didn't mind, he just went along. In 1996, they decided to leave the only home either of them ever knew for a new life in Arizona. Being a computer geek, Mike searched the Internet to compare cost of living and job opportunities in different loeations on the mainland, and Arizona kept popping up as the best deal. Their minds made up, they began plans to uproot and make the big move. Everyone thought Arlene was

crazy, but Mike didn't mind, he just went along. Fortunately, FedEx had an opening in Phoenix, and as the company's Honolulu dispatcher, Arlene was able to get a transfer. So, after bidding a tearful good-bye to loved ones at Honolulu International Airport, Mike and Arlene - along with their seven-year-old daughter, Nieole, and three-year-old son, Aaron - boldly went "where they never have gone before." Collecting Mike's aging piek-up

truck in L.A., they drove across the Arizona desert with all their possessions and two complaining kids. Meanwhile back in Hawai'i, their parents wrung their hands until the phone eall saying they had made it okay eame two days later. In fact, at the grocery store checkout in Chandler, the cashier was Hawaiian, and so was the lady behind them ... almost like home. A year later, the Siples bought their first home in Chandler. For what would

amount to a downpayment in Hawai'i, their three-bedroom abode includes a separate family room, fireplace and central air conditioning. This year, they added a swimming pool. After a few years of playing Mr. Mom, Mike now has a secure position working for the nearby town of Gilbert. After a few years with FedEx and a number of entrepreneurial ventures, Arlene is now a kindergarten teacher for the Chandler School District. Nieole is a senior in high school with plans for college next year, while Aaron's focus has always been in the realm of sports. Last year he pitched the first no-hitter in his little league's history, and even Miehelle Wie would be proud of this ll-year-old Native Hawaiian from Kailua who led his golf team to first plaee in the county's John Russell Cup Tournament this summer. All in all, the Siples are doing just line in the Arizona desert - "dry heat" and all. Keaumiki Akui is the puhlie qffairs specialist with OHA's governance division. lfyou are a Hawaiian on the continent with an interesting story to ted. or ifyou know of one. please contact OHA Outreach Coordinator Aulani Apoliona at 594-1912. or via e-mail at aulania@oha.org.

The Siple 'ohana and friends take a break from the heat at the Magic Kingdom . Photo: Courtesy of the Siple 'ohana