MTM: Ala Wai Yacht Harbor

Aloha, Mateys!

Let's Dance!

Kliban Cats (c)



time to relax. . .

Slide Show!

Aloha!

Welcome to my town: The Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor here in Waikiki.

The slide show are pictures I took of our recent inspection-cruise. My house eased out of it's slip, left the harbor, did a sweet pirouette, and returned safely.

As long as we abide by harbor rules and maintain our floating real estate, we can remain here at the border between land and sea. . . at the very edge of Waikiki!

A L O H A! Cloudia

MTM: Let's Go Beach

Aloha & Welcome!

Courtesy of Clark Little (c)

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Mark Twain

"You should not live one way in private, another in public."

Publilius Syrus

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

Anaïs Nin

Going to the Beach here in Hawaii

When you pull into a beach park among all the local folks who are spending their day off with their families do so humbly and with a good spirit. Easy does it. Remember: weekending families are not cultural exhibits or chamber of commerce employees

Regular folks work very hard simply to make it here, and they enjoy their weekend relaxation just as you do. Please understand that the closest beach is like the neighborhood’s living room, even though it’s “public.” Be laid back and you’ll probably meet some new people, or even be welcomed in inimitable Aloha style.

Offer to share your stuff first, like a juice to a child, or a slice of pizza to the guy sitting right next to you. I could recount many stories of visitors being invited to the baby luau, the wedding up the block at somebody’s house, given deeply personal tours, or even invited to stay over. Nice people do find each other, bad attitudes: just keep driving!

A L O H A! Cloudia

My Town Monday: The Grand

Aloha, Welcome!

Click on photos to enlarge A Sweet Little Boutique Hotel

"It's not necessary to go far and wide. I mean, you can really find exciting and inspiring things within your hometown."

Daryl Hannah

Great View of DH from the Grand,
"Front Row Seat"

"As I get older, I get smaller. I see other parts of the world I didn't see before. Other points of view. I see outside myself more."

Neil Young

From Across da Street, Zoo parking, da Park, and Queen's Surf Beach.

Nice!

"A stair not worn hollow by footsteps is, regarded from its own point of view, only a boring something made of wood."

Franz Kafka

Proposed Site of My Dotage!

Location Location LOCATION!


A favorite little "boutique" hotel of mine is the fortunately located Waikiki Grand Hotel (http://www.waikikigrand.com/)
at the corner of Kapahulu & Kalakaua.


Directly across the street from Kapiolani Park, the Honolulu Zoo, and steps from the Queen's Surf beach area, the Grand boasts Hula's Bar & Lei Stand, and Teddy's Bigger Burgers on site.



The Hustle & Bustle of Waikiki Beach meets the giant green park here. Check the epic view (close!) of Diamond Head from the Grand's tenth floor sun deck! Bonus: guests at the Grand often hear animal noises from the zoo close by.


Which brings us to: Rumor Alert! Credible sources whisper that Violet the orangutan was spotted wandering outside of her zoo enclosure after hours a while back. Incredibly strong and smart, the "forest people" will reportedly hide hand tools they find (or steal;-) and use them to escape. Maybe she just wanted a room upgrade to the Grand. Clever staff prevailed on Violet's mate Rusty to help lure her back. . .


Someday, the favorite husband and I would like to retire at the Grand. I could cross da street and visit the orangutans every day!

For more My Town Monday posts, click on:

http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/

A L O H A Cloudia

Seasonable Neighbors

Click on Photos to Enlarge!Anuenue (Ah-Neway-Neway) The Rainbow

“The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.”
John Vance Cheney

Ka Iwi Coastline - A Stark & Spiritual Place

“An enchanted life has many moments when the heart is overwhelmed with beauty and the imagination is electrified by some haunting quality in the world or by a spirit or voice speaking from deep within a thing, a place, or a person. Enchantment may be”
Henry Louis Mencken

Gargantuan Child Circumnavigates Oahu Map

“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”
Elizabeth Lawrence

Even here in the middle of Earth's widest ocean, we have neighbors who are seasonal residents. Soon the humpback whales, the kolea (golden plover), and the dear Canadians (Neighboris Northis) will be returning to their winter grounds.

The Whales continued their long economic contribution to Hawaii as stars of film, TV, and tourism - which they undoubtedly enjoy more than the old days of whale hunting. The gentle Canadians too, contribute much to the economy and ecology of Waikiki. These affable creatures often return to the same nest (condo) year after year, building warm relationships with us year-rounders. Then you wake up one morning and they've taken wing!

The Kolea arrive from Alaska as skinny as homeless men, spend the winter foraging, and leave fat and happy in the Spring. Thanks for nothing, freeloaders! In Hawaiian Olelo (Sayings, Proverbs & Aphorisms) the Kolea is representative of an interloper who takes & takes without contributing to the common welfare - you know, like Wall Street bankers. . .

This Winter's theme? Whales gone wild! Our visiting cetaceans flipped, flapped and slapped the waters rather close to shore this season. Visitors to the Diamond Head Lookout, or the Lanai Lookout beside the Blow Hole by Sandy’s Beach (Ka Iwi, above) have been treated to some extra exuberant displays this winter. Glad the visitors AND the humpbacks enjoyed their Hawaii winter sojourns! The little girl in the picture above was too busy running around Oahu to notice. . .

The Canadians seemed to have a lovely time this year as well. The Kolea? Who cares? They keep to themselves. Hope you won't! Please stop by here often. E Komo Mai - You Are Most Welcome.

A L O H A! Cloudia

MTM: Queen's Hospital

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
Leo F. Buscaglia


“How many desolate creatures on the earth have learnt the simple dues of fellowship and social comfort, in a hospital.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning


Original Queen's Hospital



Queen Emma & Kamehameha IV 1859

“I remember when I used to sit on hospital beds and hold people’s hands, people used to be shocked because they’d never seen this before. To me it was quite normal.”
Princess Diana

In the 19th Century, introduced illnesses and diseases were decimating the Native Hawaiian population of these islands. Though Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV were sovereigns of ALL of Hawaii's residents, including American, European, and Asian subjects of the Kingdom, they felt a special Kuleana (responsibility) to preserve their own people to whom they were bound by an ancient genealogy. The two monarchs did not disdain to humble themselves, visiting private homes all over O`ahu to solicit funds for a modern hospital at the foot of Punchbowl Crater.

2009 is the 150th Anniversary (1859) of the founding of The Queen’s Hospital (today: The Queen's Medical Center). The only hospital in the nation with a royal pedigree, Queen's serves all of Hawaii and the Pacific. Once can scarcely read Honolulu history, or literature that is set here (From Here to Eternity, House of Many Gods, Molokai, Honolulu) without "visiting" this hospital that is such a major part of our community.

Trippler Army Medical Center, Kuakini (Formerly the Japanese Hospital) Kapiolani Women's & Children, Shriner's, Kaiser Moanalua, and The Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, are local hospitals that also serve us with great distinction; but to enter Queen's is to enter the fabric of Honolulu in a unique way. You're likely to notice a Kupuna ( senior citizen) softly playing a ukulele in the lobby. A portrait of the Queen herself, along with distinctive Polynesian & historic art is on display in this cutting edge modern facility.

Here we interact with so many ethnicity's and life stories: Micronesians suffering the lasting effects of nuclear testing, neighbor islanders wary of the big city, tourists from every nation who find themselves unexpectedly and deeply ill, so very far from home - all find solace and Aloha here at Queens. Mostly it is the local staff, from physicians, nurses, skilled technicians to maintenance and office workers, who keep the graciousness alive.

While pondering this week's My Town Monday post I realized that it was a no brainer. I have spent lots of time at the hospital recently visiting my Dad. This place with it's precision, history and warmth has become dear to my heart. I hope this brief post has touched yours today!

You can read more about the Royal couple here: http://www.huapala.org/U/Ua_Nani_O_Nuuanu.html

A L O H A! Cloudia

MTM, Honolulu Living History

Moonlight Hawaii, Vintage Postcard

"Nothing had prepared me for Honolulu ... It is a typical western city ... It is the meeting place of East and West, the very new rubs shoulders with the immeasurably old. And if you have not found the romance you expected, you have come upon something singularly intriguing. All these strange people live close to each other, with different languages and different thoughts; they believe in different god and they have different values; two passions alone they share, love and hunger. And somehow as you watch them, you have an impression of extraordinary vitality" Somerset Maugham in 1921

Honolulu Harbor, T.H. (Territory of Hawaii)

Post Card

"The further I traveled through the town the better I liked it. Every step revealed a new contrast - disclosed something I was unaccustomed to. ... I saw cottages surrounded by ample yards, ... I saw luxurious banks and thickets of flowers, fresh as a meadow after a rain, and glowing with the richest dyes ...I saw huge-bodied, wide-spreading forest streets ... I saw cats - Tom cats, Mary Ann cats, long-tailed cats, bobtail cats. . .individual cats, groups of cats, platoons of cats, companies of cats, regiments of cats, armies of cats, multitudes. . . and all of them sleek, fat, lazy, and sound asleep ... I breathed the balmy fragrance of jessamine, oleander, and the Pride of India ... I moved in the midst of a summer calms as tranquil as dawn in the Garden of Eden ..."

Mark Twain on Honolulu

Today, a modern city surrounds Diamond Head

"Honolulu - it's got everything. Sand for the children, sun for the wife, sharks for the wife's mother." Ken Dodd

Reading a historical novel that bears the name of one's Home Town is an unusual experience. Well, Brennert's Honolulu is as good as I could have hoped for. This is what they call a "page turner," except that I'm enjoying it too much to hurry! There are wonderful sentences to linger over, and savory bits of Honolulu history that illuminate my hometown ever more deeply and richly.

This author also animates the thoughts and emotions of women characters so well that it is irresistible for me to identify with Jin, the heroine. Frankly, I see many parallels between her immigrant story and mine. The story of Honolulu is the story of those who came here from far away - beginning with the voyaging Hawaiians themselves.

Hawaii continues to lure many. Some she expels outright. She seems especially to test those who wash up here determined to stay sight unseen, especially those of us like Jin and myself with no "back" to go "back" to.

Life here is very hard, until one day you wake up and realize how much this place has become a part of you (and vice versa); how much you love Honolulu Town and her people, and that you could never live anywhere else for the rest of your life. You passed the purification, been humbled, been hanai-ed (adopted) become "local."

It was very difficult to pull myself away from the story this morning, but as my day would take me into the Historic core of my town, I was (in a real sense) still in it's setting. Walking today on streets named in the novel, I saw and knew not just what was so pungent before my eyes, but my own taxi memories of nights long ago, things vanished, and landmarks that remain. Now, thanks to Brennert, the people and places of even older times are all around me too.

There's no other place exactly like this place, my hometown: Honolulu!

A L O H A! Cloudia

MTM: In Bed With an Elephant

Click on photos to enlarge!Hawaiian Rainbows

"Don't buy the house. Buy the neighborhood,"

Russian Saying

Welcome to the HHV!

“Love thy neighbor--and if he happens to be tall, debonair and devastating, it will be that much easier.”
Mae West

Wedding pictures at the Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon.

Hilton Rainbow Tower behind.

That is the world's tallest tile mural.

"Canada, in sharing a border with the USA" is like a mouse in bed with an elephant." Anonymous

Some people want to live adjacent to a college campus. I live next door to the 12th largest resort in the world. This "campus" boasts the largest number of rooms at any resort in the State of Hawaii with 3,543 total. Of these 2,860 are traditional hotel rooms, 639 are time share, and 44 (in the Diamond Head Rainbow Apartments) may be rented by the month.

Welcome to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa!

When Duke Kahanamoku grew up here, folks still knew the area as Kalia, an age-old Hawaiian fishing village. Further down the beach were primitive tourist accommodations like Gray's Cottages (where Earl DeBiggers spent a summer, and found his most famous character: Charley Chan in local newspaper reports of the exploits of Honolulu Police detective Chang Apana).

In the Fifties, the early TV detective show, Hawaiian Eye, was filmed here. Remember Cricket (Connie Stevens) singing to the tourists, and local taxi driver Ponci Ponce playing his ukulele at the curb? Robert Conrad was the young "heart throb" of the show. All of the kitchey tiki paraphernalia has long since been purged. Pity. Arthur Godfrey (forgotten today - but BIG back in the day) sometimes broadcast from here. "How ah ya? How ah ya? How ah ya?" he said, mixing the magic name, "Hawaii," with "How-are-you;" pretty clever to a young kid (me). He too played the ukulele, and my earliest memories of Hawaiian Music are from hearing guests perform on his radio broadcasts. When I moved here, certain strangely familiar Hawaiian Classics gave me an unearthly memory of "small kid times." Part of my soul was here all along...

In the sixties, industrialist mastermind, Henry Kaiser, owned the property and prevailed on Buckminster Fuller to build one of his geodesic domes here. I walked past it many many times as long lines of visitors waited outside to be seated within for the dinner show. Today, the fountain with the three hula dancers (photo above) replaces the dome and welcomes visitors to Waikiki...

President JFK visited, as have many, many world personalities. I remember Bill Clinton drawing enthusiastic crowds to the lagoon, and George Bush rushing past less enamored crowds in his motorcade as he retreated to a closed fund raiser inside - or was it Cheyney?

The HHV is a small city unto itself. Almost daily, I walk down her beach, through her lobby, past her art, admire her carp, and over-hear her guests speak languages from around the world. Popular with corporations and conventions, the grounds often host grand private "events" with entertainment by famous artists. One of the high points of my life was presenting a paper about my work with youth to the annual meeting here of the Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists in 2001. A pleasant memory to conjure as I "schlep" through dressed like a bum, and covered in sweat on a hot day. . .

So this is my neighborhood. From my scow, I mean 'boat' I can see the bright windows of world-class hotel suites. There's no place like home!

A L O H A! Coudia

Honolulu Downtown

click on photos to enlarge!Honolulu Hale (Hah-lay) "City Hall"

"Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration."

Dickens

Downtown Honolulu, to the right of photo above

(State Capitol in foreground)

"Where we love is home,Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Kamehameha IV & Queen Emma 1859

"He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." Goethe

"Home, the spot of earth supremely blest,A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest." Robert Montgomery

Did you know that our Hawaii State Archives contains several letters signed by President Abraham Lincoln? In one dated February 2, 1864 the US president offers condolences to Kamehameha V from “Your Majesties Good Friend.” This year we celebrate Lincoln’s 200th birthday. What would the “Great Emancipator” think of a Hawaii-born man of color ascending to his office, being sworn in on Lincoln’s own bible, and the Kingdom of Hawaii a US state? It boggles my mind! Incidentally, when Hawaii became a U.S. Territory the grand pooh bahs in Washington sent along a seemingly innocuous order that our archives be sent east immediately. Fortunately, quiet resistance garbed in governmental inertia prevailed so scholars and nosey types can read, touch, and smell historical documents and objects right here in Honolulu. Throw in all the historical buildings (including America’s only Royal Palace and oldest Chinatown) and it’s easy to see why Congress may name Downtown Honolulu a National Heritage area later this year. The nation’s 41st such designated area might even be announced in time for the 50th observance of Hawaii statehood on August 21st. In my dear downtown, ancient shades of Hawaiians and their gods prowl the shadows of night alongside gallery hoppers and chic nightlife habitués. Sacred rocks (Pohaku) lie beside ballast stones that traveled here in the hulls of sailing ships that carried away the last of our sandalwood trees. (Though Chinese immigrants continued to call our islands the “Sandalwood Mountain.” America: the “Gold Mountain.”). A king’s carriage way is now a high tech fiber optic channel. Torches have morphed into streetlights, Kahuna Kapu (taboos) all replaced by the Hawaii Revised Statutes. But on moonlit nights the old power and perfumes remain. The chiefs and chiefesses of old still love to laugh beneath the huddled mountains. Can you hear them whispering?



A L O H A! Cloudia

My Town Monday

Click on photos to enlarge!

"O Lord, help me not to despise or oppose what I do not understand."
William Penn


"Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us; and true progress is to know more, and be more, and to do more."
Oscar Wilde

"A moment's insight is sometimes worth a lifetime's experience."
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Honolulu Hale (hah-lay, a polynesian "house.")

I love walking around my town of Honolulu. We have cool one-of-a kind restaurants like Helena’s Hawaiian Food on North School Street. Chef Helen Kwock Chock passed on last year, but her family maintains the recipes at her wonderful little ‘hole in the wall’ restaurant that was a favorite of gourmand James Beard. He ate there at every opportunity, presenting Helen with a respected “Beard Award,” and inviting the unassuming grandma to New York City to prepare a meal for the world’s great foodies. Nuff said? Eat at Helena’s!

So what’s with the lines of hungry people in front of chain restaurants here in Waikiki? You can eat that stuff back home, or anywhere! Why not try wonderful food with warm service at my favorite Bombay Indian Restaurant (Ala Moana by Hobron Lane)? Besides Helena’s and Bombay, there are so many other little culinary gems in our town, like the singular shrimp tempura at Hifumi in chinatown. After a recent concert, blues man Taj Mahal eschewed fine dining for the comfort food at tiny Liliha Bakery Coffee Shop (Kuakini off Liliha street-open all night). . . When you are here, eat somewhere local and unique, you!

Like Seinfeld’s George, I’ve always wanted to pretend to be an architect. I had a wonderful opportunity to do just that recently as I strolled along on a downtown architectural walking tour offered by the Honolulu Chapter, American Institute of Architects. Who knew that our city hall, Honolulu Hale, is a sort of Italian castle? Check out the fortified elements in this beloved Douglas Fairbanks of a building the next time you’re there. We walk by historical riches every day here in Honolulu town, though the surpassing beauty of green mountain, eloquent sky & seas oft upstages them. And don’t forget US! Everyone is beautiful here. Just look around at us!

The US Census reports that Hawaii leads in ethnic diversity, with “minorities” around 75% of our human treasure. “Minorities,” what does that even mean when there is no overwhelming “majority?” Whatever you call us- it (mostly) works. . . "Imagine" having a president who grew up in such a place. . .

Were those night marchers a while back in Kaneohe? Even today, distant drumbeats and chanting are sometimes heard in certain districts after midnight. The chiefs of old still inspecting “their” lands. But no, this time it was modern warriors, OUR folks, Kaneohe Marines training in the dark before going into a war zone. Out of respect for the public, cadences were not called so quiet was maintained. Nonetheless, many local residents paid their respects from front yards, and were frankly awed by the Mana surrounding these citizen soldiers. However you may feel about this war, or that police action, we all admire and appreciate those so young who make such a commitment to serve. . .

Sitting by my computer as I write this, a ripe mango tempts me. I picked it up off the grounds of the Mission Houses Museum from trees that real Queens admired long ago. History, beauty, sustenance, aloha, all offer themselves freely under isle skies. You see, in Hawaii living a rich life is less about money than it is in most other places. Sure, our visitors and we can find here all the things that money can buy (in abundance!) but Honolulu’s real treasure is found in our environment, and in each other; it’s about attitude, engagement and down-home enjoyment of all the cultures that make up our unique chop-suey island. . . the sorts of things you discover. . . when you’re walking in Waikiki. Aloha!

Lions Farewell

Click on photos to enlarge!
Ted Trimmer: "Magic Isle"

"What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and no involvement [of the adolescent] in the decision making." Laurence Steinberg & Ann Levine

"The skepticism of youth signals the beginning of a search for something actually worth trusting, both within one's own psyche and in the world. That's why teens, supposedly stuck in life's lost years, are often so unequivocal about what they love and what they hate, and so frustrated when they feel misunderstood. The adolescent spirit is not the spirit of the lost. It is the conviction that you are not lost - that wandering has a purpose, and that what you deserve more than anything is the freedom to walk awhile on your own path." Ann Powers




The Chinese New Year begins with a new moon, and the festival ends when the moon is full. That was last Sunday, and I just happened to be lucky enough to pass by the temple in time to see a ceremony that I never even knew about before. . .

Once more, the lions would dance to the gong, cymbal & big drum. . .


This time the lions were not invited to spread good luck and blessing. Rather it was their season's farewell performance; time for them to kneel at the altar and to receive a "well done" for all their hard work as emissaries of the Divine. . .

Emotion ran high. Primal music and incense filled the air. Next, the lions bowed to an elderly gentleman, paying their respects to the ancestors as they have for the ages since humankind's infancy on this planet. . . We fed them a few last dollars for their journey, as firecrackers laid red petals on the ground we trod. . .

They wandered the smokey grounds, seemingly saying "Aloha" to this material realm till next year. . .

They knelt at the outside altars, showing the bottom of their dear sneakers. . .

. . . "Goodbye. Please take our prayers to Heaven with you!"

Afterwards, the children were themselves again: laughing, joking, ready for the next stop of this special day. It's a school day tomorrow. . . here in our Honolulu.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Genoa Keawe

PO’OKELA (Excellence)

"Ahuwale ka po’okela I kāu hana iā ha’i."
Hawaiian Saying

It is through the way you serve others that your greatness will be felt.


"Hele me kahau ‘oli"

Go with Joy


"The best effect of fine persons is felt after we have left their presence."


Ralph Waldo Emerson










Aunty Genoa Keawe and son #11 (bottom picture)

. . . Boats are lovely things, dancing at the end of their lines. The Ala Wai Harbor is a special neighborhood WITHIN a special neighborhood. Our neighbors mean a lot to us, especially the good folks like Captain Dave Silvey, who’s always available to help anyone who needs it. Over 200 folks gathered recently at the Hawaii Yacht Club to wish him a happy 85th Birthday. Papa Al, played his guitar and sang a few of his own compositions. They tell me that I played my flute with the jazz band – but I was having such a good time that I don’t really remember it. What a blow out! Hope I get a cool party like that when I turn 85! Happy Birthday Dave ;-). . . . Which puts me in mind of legend, Aunty Genoa Keawe. Seems to me that the great lady has been passed for about a year. I feel to lucky to have been present at one of her last gigs. We were celebrating her 89th birthday all the month of her last October, leading up to her birthday on the 31st. As I recall, it was one of those free “Na Mele No Na Pua – Music for the Generations” concerts at Embassy Suites Hotel on Beach Walk. Over half the audience were locals, and it turned into a real back yard luau as aunty was joined by her sons, grandchildren, friends, and spontaneous hula dancers from the audience. Even co-host Brickwood’s mom got up and sang, what a talented lady she is! Now we see where her popular son “gets it from!” It was an amazing experience! Just don’t call Aunty’s style “falsetto.” She sings her full range. Proper Hawaiian Falsetto singing (which some say underlies today’s distinctive country music lonesome “twang.”) is the exclusive province of the men, and stems from a cultural time when Hawaiian women didn’t sing in public – so men sang the high wahine parts (like Japanese Kabuki, or Shakespearean Theater). There was good falsetto singing by New Jersey native Bill Wynn who won a recent Falsetto competition and told us that he’s selling his house back east and moving “home” real soon. Of course Mz. Keawe sang her classic hit “Alika” (Alaska) with it’s unbelievably long, long, LONG, held notes. Host Kimo Kahuano told us about when he was just starting out in music, and how “this lady sitting here always treated me, a kid, with true respect. I never forgot that, and if we can’t treat our kids and each other with that kind of Aloha, we aint never going to get anywhere good.” This veteran performer and MC had tears in his eyes and his voice as he said this. You could have heard a lei drop to the floor. Then Aunty sang for us the first song she ever recorded (on 49th State Records), “My Hawaiian Souvenirs: A photograph, a calabash, a paper lei – these are my Hawaiian souvenirs. . . When I’m old and gray. . . “ Now there wasn’t a dry eye in the house; and no one wanted it to end, even Aunty Genoa at the curtain call of a two hour show; so we spontaneously sang “Hawaii Aloha” all holding hands, then “God Bless America,” and finally “Happy Birthday.” I noticed a white dove fluttering in place just above the party, just like the Holy Spirit in a stained glass window. At the end, Aunty shouted out happily: “I’m proud to be 89!” What a special day for us all! Just the sort of magic that can be found around most any corner. . . when you’re walking in Waikiki. . . Aloha! Cloudia

Inauguration High

"Let us turn to each other, not on each other."

Inaugural Speech

"I don't measure America by its achievement but by its potential."
Shirley Chisholm

"We will extend a hand of friendship, if you are willing to unclench your fist." President Obama

"When I'm trusting and being myself... everything in my life reflects this by falling into place easily, often miraculously."
Shakti Gawain

Lawn Party at the Halekulani (above)

Royal Hawaiian Hotel Re-Opening. A Gala Local Inauguration Celebration!

Pics taken from outside da fence, and enlarge when clicked! Left, and Top.

Note family slide of young Barack in top picture.

Parrot Guy will place his feathered co-workers all over you, and take an unforgettable family portrait!

Inauguration day was like an unbelievable dream coming true. After years of ugliness, of dogma & talking points over science and dialogue. . . finally it's time to come home, America!

. . . Well, I possess no adequate words, just powerful impressions and memories: The tens of thousands of individual people and stories that came to Washington. . . Seeing Barack and his girls throw "Shaka" hand greetings to the Punahou School Band. . . Barack's greeting: "Aloha!" and Kauai`s General Eric Shinseki (discarded for speaking the truth but now confirmed as Veteran's Affairs Chief) dancing in a tuxedo at the "Home State Ball." . . .

. . . Barack & Michel dancing with military folks at the "Commander in Chief's Ball." Honolulu school children watching on TV and catching the "bug" of civic engagement. "He grew up around here just like me. Today I believe that anything is possible." Celebrations on almost every continent of the world; No one knows the full scope of what will come of this, and SO much more. . .

. . . Rick Warren and Rev. Lowrey both gave excellent excellent prayers. . .

. . . Intentions and beliefs are the cause of events. Enough people changed their minds, and the Berlin Wall came down. At this moment, millions of us all over the world are changing our minds about what is desirable and possible. . .

. . . I needed to take a break at last, and walked down Waikiki Beach around sunset last eve. Walk along with me through the pictures above.

And Welcome to the Next Chapter. . . A L O H A! Cloudia

Honolulu Chinatown

"Cherish your own emotions and never undervalue them."
Robert Henri

"Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught."

Sir Winston Churchill


"Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good."

Samuel Johnson













“Let’s Stroll Through Asia!”

All my friends and family have heard it over and over again: I love Chinatown! For a city kid like me, Honolulu’s Chinatown is familiar “mother street.” The grit, the small streets full of vehicles, a multiplicity of languages, old buildings and a million little family shops, all make me feel very much at home. “Yo! I’m walkin` here!” Loving a place, as I do America’s oldest Chinatown, means having favorite defunct restaurants/buildings/signs, and forever-magical spots like King St. & Smith where I bumped into Morgan Freeman one midnight as Chinese Opera music wafted from an upper window. Love affairs are not clear-eyed; there is always mystery. And especially in the case of Chinatown, for haole ole me, there has always been that certain veil. I might read about the old opium and gambling den days, know the former sights of plantation era dime-a-dance palaces, might even say “Nihau” or “Gung Hee Fat Choy” at my favorite Dim Sum place with total sincerity, but there is just no way into the secret truth of the Chinatown Community without the kindness of a trusted guide. Such is 3rd generation resident Anthony Chang,
Along with about a dozen other locals one recent Saturday morning, I was fortunate to join Mr. C’s monthly strolling tour through the neighborhood he knows so well. And vice versa! It was like being in the entourage of a celebrity. Everywhere we went, neighborhood folks greeted our host with warm smiles, and this included in the back rooms of small noodle factories, butcher shops, and tiny restaurants gearing up for the day. Watching sheets of rice noodle being made from scratch we learned that the proprietors add the drippings of roasted meat (from the butcher next door) to some of the noodles to suit Chinese taste, but keep other batches meat-free for the Vietnamese who prefer them that way. You see, not only is Vietnam strongly Buddhist (and therefore largely vegetarian) it is also the farthest from the spices of India and deeper Asia. Now I understand why Vietnamese food is so fresh and clean to the palate!
Ancient China had few trees, so folks cooked over grass flames: fast and hot. This gave birth to the stir-fry method, which quickly “bursts” and caramelizes the cells on the surface of your food, sealing flavorful juices inside where they wait to explode on the tongue like a Shanghai soup dumpling. Each village, if large enough, had a central shop, which roasted the meat for everyone. This is why roasted ducks and pigs are displayed in the familiar fashion one sees in Chinatowns throughout the world. Here’s a tip: it is the Chinese custom to go food shopping early in the day. So the very best shops are found on the morning-shady side of the street! If you see a similar shop across the street, it’s probably second best, though still worthy, and you might find shorter lines over there as well. If you’re in a hurry, your guests will never know the difference. Shhhhh!
The ancient Hawaiian Village of Kou sat where the Foster Botanical Garden and the lovely Kwan Yin Temple stand today on the mauka side of Vineyard Boulevard, which itself is named after the vineyards established there by early Portuguese resident Juan Marin on land granted him by the king. [Marin was reportedly not as generous with his harvests, opting to sell his provisions to the ships in the harbor rather than to share them with his neighbors. This made quite an impression on them which lives on today in the Hawaiian word: “manini” which means “tight” or “ungenerous.”]
Today’s Chinatown, bounded by Alakea, Vineyard, River, and Nimitz, had always been a sparsely populated marshy area. The solid land around the Iolani Palace and Kawaihao Church was dominated by the government and by commerce, leaving the less desirable area west of Nu`uanu affordable to immigrants. You can see a nice pair of stone lions at Bethel and Hotel Streets guarding the old boundary. They are a gift from our sister city Zhongshan China, whose officials are expected to be here for the dedication of a new statue of Sun Yat Sen (portraying his Honolulu schoolboy days) now being cast for us in China. Malaysian, Vietnamese, and Filipino restaurants have sprung up in recent years, as the area is constantly refreshed by today’s immigrants. But why “Soul De Cuba?” someone asked. That’s because early Chinese immigrants to Cuba played an important part in the war against colonial Spain, and added their food-wisdom to the African and Creole culinary traditions that gave birth to Cuba’s food heritage. Who knew?! Space does not permit me to rhapsodize here over all the wonderful little restaurants and food stalls – you really owe yourself a Chinatown adventure of your own, but I would be remiss if I didn’t point out one of my personal favorites: Duc’s Bistro on Maunakea (Chinatown’s “Main Street”). This wonderful little enclave is a welcoming and civilized place for excellent French-influenced cuisine, the best in atmosphere and live music, all hosted by the man himself, Duc. I love to sit at the tastefully lit bar and treat myself to a bowl of their signature lobster bisque. It’s easy to think that I’m in classy New York, or visiting Paris. Not “cheap,” but well worth it. Check them out!
Gorging myself at a Dim Sum palace on River Walk with our group, I decided to try chicken feet for the first time. They were sort of like tiny, savory, Buffalo wings! “Probably the loser.” Said one of the guys, alluding to the chicken fights still held in our rural districts. Yes, it was a day of illumination and of firsts, but my favorite local treasure turned out to be Mr. Liu who has a small stand in the lobby of a building on the makai side of King Street’s first (second) block. Mr. Liu is a true artist, trained in the traditional arts as a boy in China. One can purchase custom calligraphy, lovely paper-cut art, or even have a genuine Chinese seal (“chop”) carved to use on your important documents or artworks. But the really interesting thing about Mr. Liu is how he raised his three children in this new land, and put them all through prestigious colleges where they excelled in professional programs. You see, this talented artist spent years earning his living in Chinatown by cutting meat as a butcher! I was glad to see that, yes, he still has all his skillful fingers and displays the soul of a true artist. Be sure to stop by for some affordable and elegant art when you explore the world’s best Chinatown for yourself. . . And be sure to stop me and say “Aloha” the next time you are walking in Waikiki. Warmly, Cloudia