Seeing History Unfold

A L O H A!

 Is more than a word, 

it is a concept, a philosophy of life, 

a rule of behaviour, 

a deep and sacred truth 

that is at once simple, obvious 

and powerful 

in any context. 

The Hawaiian People, 

it is said, recognized 

the spirit of Jesus 

immediately, but wondered 

at the cold behavior 
of the missionaries 

It was not a perfect society,

holding slaves, fighting wars,

ruled over by a class

of "superiors."

In other words,

it was like other

cultures around the globe

in that time.

What I am praising

is the inclusion and

courtesy that was

their heartbeat.

Vestiges of ALOHA 
remain.

They have blessed,

educated,

and changed

me;

For the better.

This week

our legislature

seems poised

to extend marriage equality

to all.

Hearings in special session

have run the gamut

from: "Gays are trying

to take over the world,

shame on you for taking

bribes to help them."

To wonderful testimony

from local families,

faith leaders,

seniors,

children,

as to why

equality and inclusion

are Pono

(the Hawaiian word

for "Right, righteous.")

For once, the dignity

of our local senators

(the majority of them!)

has risen to a

statesmanlike stature.

Senator Hee asked a 

very nice older woman

how she reconciled

the disagreement

between different churches

as to the bill.

She could not answer.

Nor could the person

who testified that 

legislative staff

was infiltrated with gays

when the same senator

asked:

"Which of them do I work with?

*Pause*

Thought you said you knew."

The US Supreme Court ruling,

as well as marriage equality

from South Africa to Iowa

have made a huge change

to local leaders.

Hawaii will vote: aloha to ALL

this week

or next.

My friends, my betters,

my forerunners,

 martyrs,

 and I

are poised to

succeed

in a long long long long long

struggle.

The world will not end.

Promise!

"It's historic in the sense that there's a huge paradigm shift, but it's a shift that, in my opinion, bends the arc of justice towards the right way,
It takes us to a new level of equal rights."

Hawaii State Sen. Clayton Hee 

" Kanaka Maoli*

 have been conditioned for so long

 to think and act like foreigners

 that we have allowed the meaning

 and intent of our words, traditions and philosophies 

to be replaced by neo-Christian beliefs 

and used to further a 

Western political agenda 

on our islands."

Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu 
More about Hina:
HERE


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* Kanaka Maoli is what the original Hawaiian people call themselves in their own Language. 

Back in the 19th century, Hawaiian sailors were often listed on crew manifest as "Kanaka" or "Kanak)

Roots of Current US Political Divide

America continues to deal with race.

 Frankly, old subliminal attitudes are at the root

 of much of the demonizing of our amazing president.

 Check out this 3 minute preview.

 It will all begin to make more sense.

 Films like Lincoln, 12 Years A Slave, 

and Django, further a conversation 

that includes Trayvon Martin,

Stand Your Ground, and the bible 

(which was used to both fight and defend slavery - 

as in the marriage equality fight today)

Attitudes of opposition to the federal government 

are quite ingrained in parts of the US,

yet significant numbers of US military volunteers, and 

our presidents, have come from the South 

(the old rebel confederacy that lost the Civil War).

They continue to see things differently. 

As the British Empire, 

and much of the civilized world 

recognized slavery as unsavory 

(to say the very least)

southern plantation owners promoted 

images of happily singing "darkies" 

thriving under the protection 

of benevolent owners, er, masters 

(sounds so much nicer, like with pets).

Their motivations were financial,

yes -

but not solely,

and the entire US

made lots of money

on slave labor

(they partially built

our US Congress building

with it's famous dome)

I see an inspiring (if not always perfect) 

president who mostly 

effectively supports 

what I believe in 

They see, 

well, it would be distasteful 

to share some of the 

disrespectful crap 

I've seen thrown at this man

 and his family!

Now Europe seems to be facing up

to the Roma (Gypsy) in their midst.

China has her Uighurs

and Tibetans. 

(The Uighurs & Roma

are both unrecognized

nationalities

to Spell Check!)

SO

What is going on

with group relations

in YOUR place?

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Day OH

A  L  O  H  A !

" The sun is new each day. "

Heraclitus 

" If there must

 be trouble,

 let it be

 in my day,

 that my child

 may have peace."

Thomas Paine 

" I arise in the morning

 torn between a desire

 to improve the world 

and a desire to 

enjoy the world. 

This makes it hard 

to plan the day. "

E. B. White 

" With the new day

 comes new strength

 and new thoughts. "

Eleanor Roosevelt 

" Write it on your heart 

that every day

 is the best day in the year. "

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

" An early-morning walk

 is a blessing

 for the whole day. "

Henry David Thoreau 

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Thanks Lou Reed

A L O H A !

" A hero is 

someone who has given

 his or her life 

to something 

bigger than oneself. "

Joseph Campbell 

"A hero is 

an ordinary individual 

who finds the strength 

to persevere 

and endure 

in spite of 

overwhelming obstacles."

Christopher Reeve 

"Show me a hero 

and I'll write you 

a tragedy."

F. Scott Fitzgerald 

By English: Freeport High School. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

"My God is 

rock’n’roll.

 It’s an obscure power

 that can change your life. 

The most important part 

of my religion 

is to play guitar."

Lou Reed

" The Velvet Underground's first album

 only sold 30,000 copies 

during its first five years

 but everyone 

who bought one of those 

30,000 copies 

started a band.” 

attributed to Brian Eno from a 1982 interview


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Lou was not a loveable "Mop Top"

 playing pop.

He wandered the

 Dirty Boulevard,

talked to the prostitutes,

"deviants"

 drug users,

artists and poets

 he found there.

For lots of us

he let us know

that we were not

Alone

in a scrubbed,

conformist world.

Thanks Lou.

Others today are expressing

why your poetry is important

and the massive effect

you had on the culture

of our times.

I will just say:

"Thanks, Man."

LOU REED, 1942-2013

Outsider Whose Dark, Lyrical Vision Helped Shape Rock ’n’ Roll  (New York Times)   

ALOHA, Friends!

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What Three Words?

A   L   O   H   A   !

Play the song - really goes with the picture

" Silly cowboy,
 trucks are for girls! "
bumper sticker

" It aint the clothes

 that make the cowgirl,

 it's the attitude and heart. "

Cowgirl Wisdom

" The day you were born 

was the day that God decided 

that the world could not exist 

without you. "

Rabbi Nachman.

Like many others do,
 we Hawaii folk get most of our supplies
 out of the big trailers usually pulled by 
trucks (lorrys)
but ours travel between the islands
 onboard barges like this one!



   ><}}(°> ~

Imagine!

You & I have been

arrested!

We are handcuffed

together

in the back of

a police car.

What would YOU

say?

Use only 3 Words -

GO!

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Right There - Don't Compare

A   L   O   H   A  !

Don't compare your 

middle

 with somebody else's 

beginning.

Rarely can we see

 those ahead of us

 on the path,

up around the bend

from glen to glen.

So find your footing

right there.

And don't 

compare -

 - Your middle

 with somebody else's

 beginning. . .



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Honolulu Farmer's Market

A  L  O  H  A !

"Age does not

 protect you from love.

 But love, to some extent, 

protects you from age." 

 Anais Nin

" Be faithful
 to that which exists 
nowhere 
but in yourself - 
and thus make yourself 
indispensable." 

Gide

" The goldenrod is yellow,
 The corn is turning brown, 
The trees in apple orchards 
With fruit are bending down. "


Helen Hunt Jackson 

" "To freely bloom - 

that is my definition
 of success" 

Gerry Spence

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Thanks for visiting!

                            Warmly, cloudia