Any Child Can Grow Up to Be

Aloha!

"Each week, from a different point of view, 

you get another look at God,

 and that's exciting to me."

Della Reese 

Do you recognize the couple from the 1960's?

"You know that being an American

 is more than a matter of where your parents came from.

 It is a belief that all men are created free and equal

 and that everyone deserves an even break."

US President Harry S. Truman 

Here is the same woman with their son.

"I remember my mother's prayers

 and they have always followed me. 

 They have clung to me all my life. "

Abraham Lincoln

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Middle Photo: Stanley Anne Dunham,
 and Barack Obama Senior.

Bottom Photo:
Stanley Anne and her son Barack

The University of Hawaii Foundation is forming an endowment fund that would honor the late Stanley Ann Dunham, President Barack Obama's mother. The fund uses the name Ann Dunham Soetoro, which she adopted after marrying her second husband, Lolo Soetoro. She also used the name professionally during years of anthropology studies. Obama was Dunham's first child, born in Hawaii to her and Barack Obama Sr., a UH student from Kenya.  Dunham died in 1995. Her second child and Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, said in an interview Tuesday that her mother would have been moved to know that her work in the field of applied anthropology was being honored. Dunham received a bachelor's degree in math, and a master's and doctorate in anthropology from UH. During her travels to Indonesia and other parts of Asia, she worked with nongovernmental groups focused on women and poverty, and established microcredit programs in Indonesia and Pakistan. Dunham concluded after years of studies in Indonesia that the roots of poverty there did not lay with the poor, and that cultural differences were responsible for the gap between less-developed countries and the industrialized West. Her book, "Surviving against the Odds: Village Industry in Indonesia," centers on the metalworking industries in the Javanese village of Kajar and contends that rice cultivation was not the only viable economic activity in rural Southeast Asia, according to a description by its publisher, Duke University Press. The endowment will support a professorship in the UH Anthropology Department that will focus on research and teaching on Southeast Asia.  It also will finance one or more graduate fellowships for students studying anthropology or other social sciences.  Courtesy: Honolulu Star Advertiser 19 NOV '10

Every parent touches the world through their children. . .

 Thanks for visiting today.

        Please leave a comment!   cloudia

Walking in Waikiki

"He aupuni palapala ko`u," My nation is a literate nation - Kamehameha III, ca: 1880's

"Sport: Born A Dog, Died a Gentleman" Epitaph at Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, New York

"Society can and does execute its own mandates. . . and it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself."

- J. S. Mill, On Liberty

Winter has come to Waikiki. . .
The nights are cooling, and it is time to bring out the quilts after months of sleeping only under a thin, rayon pareau (sarong). At night we fall asleep to the "rigging chimes" of the harbor: breezy ropes clanging against masts of aluminium and wood like the orchestra at a NOH play. Visitors enjoy the beaches, and locals may be spotted and known by their sweaters and light jackets. Delightful weather! A new display at Iolani Palace features some of King Kalakaua's personal treasures, including a gold cigarette case dusted with 99 diamonds, three emeralds, and four rubies, given him by his sister in law Po`omaikelani in 1881 as a birthday present. Other royal baubles include a "unicorn" cane (actually the tusk of a narwhal) and a 122 year old Swiss watch with a curious, early digital display. And speaking of family heirlooms, some of Madelyn Dunham's dresses have been removed to the Mu`u Mu`u Heaven Shop in Kailua in order for the fabric to be reworked into dresses for great-granddaughters Malia and Sasha Obama to wear. This sweet custom is an Obama family tradition. The President-elect wears aloha shirts made from his late mother's clothing as well . . . Winter surf is drawing crowds of up to 2,000 to watch world-class Triple Crown of Surfing events, like the kick-off 'Reef Hawaiian Pro' men's surfing contest recently at Ali`i Beach Park in Hale`iwa Town on our fabled North Shore. Waves the size of office buildings rush to the beach with a roar that cannot be described, you need to feel it, to experience it. Tiny, mad humans perched on splinters of high-tech fiberglass glide down the ever-changing faces of these giants; Sometimes they are tossed into the air and then immediately submerged under tons of crushing ocean, even dashed on the submerged reefs that give the ocean-travelling swells the "ali-UP!" boost which causes these awesome monster waves. Brudah Iz sang "Men Who Ride Mountains" about the professionals who enter the water on these "big days." The rest of us are safer on the shore, contemplating nature's furious ceremony at a prudent remove. DO observe posted warning signs when you go, check in with life-guards, and as the Hawaiians always say: "Never turn your back on the ocean." More better you do your OWN water sports here in gentle Waikiki! While we're on the beach, did you notice that orange helicopter flying low up the coast a minute ago? Every day our US Coast Guard conducts these slow, watchful flights (around 80 knots, and as low as 200 feet) around our isle of O`ahu. Flying about 350 search and rescue missions annually is just part of what they are doing. Environmental protection, such as enforcing the Marine Mammal Protection act, and port security, make the Coast guard a "multi-mission" asset to our island community. They also use cameras and deterrence to protect our wintering whales as well as providing an ever-reassuring presence to boaters and kayakers far from shore. Each HH-65 Dolphin carries two pilots, a rescue swimmer, and flight mechanic. Thanks folks! Students on the island of Kaua`i recently released 11 `A`O, or endangered Newell's Shearwaters, into the wild in a second annual
E Ho`opomaika`i ia na Manu `A`O (Blessing of the the Shearwater birds). For 30 years "Save our Shearwater" boxes have been available at island fire stations to receive (mostly) fledgling birds disoriented by lights, buildings, and human activity. They are a marine species born in nests high in upland forests of ohi`a and uluhe, who find their way out to sea from mid-September to mid-December. Thirty-two thousand such birds have been rescued and released since 1979, according to S.O.S. Students and public officials shared a youthful "yeah!" as each guest departed; and students from Ke Kula (School) Ni`ihau O Kekaha chanted in Hawaiian. "We're here to celebrate this really awesome bird. This bird is a part of you as you are a part of this island." said Nick Holmes, the project coordinator. . . Another endangered species, our local family-operated food producers, loses another member as Marufuku Brand Miso (soy bean) Paste Factory closes it's 67 year-old doors in Honolulu's workaday Kalihi neighborhod at the end of this year. Mr Harry Morita cooked and fermented his first barrel in 1941 when there were 40 other miso producers in the islands, and sugar plantations still spread over our plains. Mr. Morita immigrated from Japan at 11 years of age to work on a Maui Plantation. He didn't care for plantation life, ran away to work in a butcher shop and dreamt of owning his own store. Employment at a miso factory in Liliha set him on his life's path. He chose the name Marufuku because it means "never-ending good fortune." After his death 17 years ago the younger generation continued Harry's exemplary service ethic, even going so far as to deliver fresh miso to the homes of those with questions, and demonstrating methods of storing and cooking with their product. The Moritas will miss the clan business, but times change. "The family gets together to work and share stories . . . it's kind of sad because we won't be able to do that with the grand kids." said Harry's son, John Morita. . . BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Kumu Hula, musical performer, writer and cultural icon Robert Cazimero on being named a USA (United States Artists) Fellow. 50 creative types from some 21 US states were honored recently in Chicago. A (well deserved) $50,000 grant is appended to this honor! Do yourself a favor and check out ANY CD by the wonderful Brothers (Robert & brother Roland) Cazimero. Hawaiian music is what angels listen to at home, after all! Want to make YOUR angel smile? Take her to Paris Station on Keeaumoku at King Street! Women from all over the islands, and the world, make their way to this locally owned small business to trade and buy designer handbags. Cindy Young saw a market and boy has she cornered it! Gently used, and carefully selected Gucci, Dior, Fendi, Vuiton, and Hermes bags (all at a major discount) fill the colorful little shop along with some brand new items selling at "retail." Some refer to Paris Station as the happiest place on earth. That's cool; I prefer to think of Waikiki as Paris in Flip-flops, so designer bags are not exactly my "thing" but if they are YOURS this place will put a smile on your face. www.parisstation.com . . . A minor industry of Obama Tours is stirring, including "Barack Obama's Local Neighborhood" tour led by the civic-minded Clean Air Team. Call 808-948-3299 for information. . . Perhaps taking their cue from the stand-up surfing craze, skateboarders around Honolulu are now seen using "Pavement Paddles" to propel themselves along the sidewalk! Remember attaching skates to a wooden fruit-crate for your first home-made skateboard? Me neither ;-). . . Walking these Waikiki streets, I like to have a dollar bill or two ready to share with a smile. I spotted him just ahead: a young fellow with a well worn pack who looked as if he needed a meal. "Aloha," I smiled at him, "How's it going?" He looked happy but disoriented. "Had anything to eat?" I asked, offering him a dollar. "Oh that's cool," he replied with his own beatific smile. "I have this feather." he said, happily showing me a white quill. Nonplussed I continued on my way thinking of Disney's baby elephant Dumbo who was able to fly above the circus crowds clutching his magic feather. Safe landings, young man. . . . This weekend, the Honolulu Christmas tree will be erected downtown. Already!? Yes. I'd say we could all use a little Christmas right about now!
Think about celebrating it here with us. Life's parade is never boring . . . when you're walking in Waikiki. . .
A L O H A! Cloudia

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Island Style

Lion Dance! Fireworks!

Kahu (priest) Blessing new store

This is how we open a new yogurt store: lion dances, A Hawaiian blessing (above) and TAIKO drumming!

"Oh my, with all this hullabaloo it's going to be embarrassing if I DON'T die."

-Barack Obama's grandma Madelyn Dunham on all the flowers sent to her in her last days

"I felt honored that someone from our islands has risen to his position. The way we are brought up in the islands, we are simpatico with each other. . . Both Dunham and Obama reflected that cultural sense."

- Abigail Kawananakoa (Direct descendant of Hawaiian royalty speaking at Dunham's public memorial; she would probably be Queen today if . . .)

“Flowers leave some of their fragrance in the hand that bestows them”

- Chinese proverb

Aloha Greetings!

I want to thank all of YOU who visit Comfort Spiral, who have left your comments and who have subscribed ("Followers").

Your own blogs are a rich new part of my life, and I feel that some of you are simpatico fellow spirits. Your images and words have made my world a richer place. I hope you will continue to voyage in your canoes of thought here to my island home. You are most welcome. Your visit is a gift that you give to me. In Hawaii, we have NO TOURISTS, just visitors & friends (new and old.)

Mahalo for your time . . . We'll hold a shady spot for you here under the palms of Waikiki . . .

A L O H A ! Cloudia

Bitter Sweet

At Indianapolis rally from which Obama returned to Honolulu for his final visit with dear "Toots."
courtesy of Dan Axler













Ted Trimmer Photo (middle)

Just so we can vote.

Young Barry Obama's Young Street between his home and school. (below)

Madelyn Payne Dunham

1922 - 2008

"From clerk to vice president of Bank of Hawaii (1970); The Tutu (grandmother) called 'Toot' who largely raised young Barry (Barak) Obama."

[She] "was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She ... left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring," said Obama and his sister, Honolulu teacher Maya Soetoro-Ng, in a statement yesterday.

Victorious Roman generals rode through the imperial city amidst a great public celebration called a "triumph." To remind them of the passing nature of all earthly glory, and to keep them grounded, someone rode in the chariot just behind them, every so often whispering in their ear: "This too shall pass." Let's celebrate this election day by honoring the hopes and sacrifices of those who came before us. Let's honor our children; and their children too with our vote. For today, history is being made; even as those who helped bring it about take their leave . . .

Warm ALOHA to you this day! Cloudia