I Am

Aloha, Friend

It's
Sunday in Hawaii

Let's go for a drive. . . .




click on windshield for a better view

On the bottom of the island, on the right side,
you can see Diamond Head.
Waikiki is to the left of the venerable crater.
But there are other Oahus,
far from where most visitors play.
Follow the map to the left,
past the airport,
past Barbers Point,
ALLLL the way to Kahe Point.
In real life you'll see the tall stacks
of the Kahe Power Plant.
That's the beginning of the
West Side.
This is where many Hawaiians live.
This is where poverty
and social problems
are said to run rampant
and I guess they do. . .

But there are reasons for all that.
And it's not everybody out here like the news implies.

There is much richness along the long coast,
and up in the valleys.

Waianae is emblematic of the whole area.
To say that you are from Waianae sets up lots of
assumptions about you.
I'm proud that I helped to facilitate after school groups
at Waianae High School. Being a part of this community
meant a lot to me. I am grateful that I can claim friends
up there. They taught me so much.


The stigma sticks to the kids.
Some of them are speaking up about it.
If you search "Waianae" on You Tube
you will see lots of clips of school yard fights.


This one is different. Check it out!

ALOHA & Thanks for joining me today. cloudia