Hawaii Sock Weather

A  L  O  H  A !

"Some people confuse

 blurting out whatever 

crosses their mind, 

with honesty;

But that is like 

calling a burp 

a song. "
            Cloudia Charters

" When you build 

bridges 

you can keep 

crossing them. "

                          Rick Pitino

We are freezing.

I am wearing socks

as I write this.

You can tell locals 

from Honolulu visitors:

Locals are wearing sweaters,

jackets, fashionable boots.

Visitors

are going to the beach

in bathing suits.

It didn't get above 

73f yesterday!

And what awesome 

sleeping weather

in the low/mid 60s.

73 degrees F = 22.78 degrees C

A front full of rain & wind

passed through last night,

but it looks like the President

might just get in a 

game of golf today.

[that was written yesterday.
He took the girls
to the beach]

What fun it's been

to see the girls,

sometimes hand in hand

with their Dad.

How great

that Barack & Michelle

spent time with military

families on Christmas

as they always do.

And the wedding that got moved
for presidential golf?

The military couple understood
that such things can happen,
and said

it made their wedding day

speaking informally with

the President:

"My bosses bosses bosses boss!"

As they happily put it.
[ceremony moved to a
 'prettier' location close by]

 LINK

)i(

Thank You

for visiting-

Sightings of YOU

stir up almost as much

excitement as a

Presidential motorcade!

               Fondly, cloudia

Joe Cocker live 1970 - Obamas Last Night- ALOHA!

In a day of costumes, tie-die, and 

revolutionary EVERYTHING,

Joe Cocker was instantly DIFFERENT (!)

Was he for real?

Idiot Savant?  Truly mad or infirm?  

No one sang or moved like him! 

Like his body couldn't contain 

his vision and talent. His was the first

"Air Guitar" 

RIP Joe Cocker!





GOSSIP:

The Obama's DID eat at Morimoto, 

within sight of my lanai (balcony) last night.

Secret Service and HPD did a nice job. 

And then: they were OFF! 


-" DINNER WITH FRIENDS - The White House said the Obama family later went to dinner with friends at Morimoto Waikiki, a Japanese restaurant created by Masaharu Morimoto of "Iron Chef." It is one of their favorite dining spots on the island of Oahu and dinner there has become a vacation staple for them." News Link


Which prompted my early EARLY 

childhood memory of 

John F. Kennedy's speeding

motorcade through my town 

when he was senator/presidential 

candidate. I have a distinct memory 

of the excitement, the small expectant crowd, 

and the B L U R that was our view 

(he wan't able to stop - but waved for 

1/18th of a second.)


Yes. I am "old."


Glad to have YOU

to share it with!

             Warmly, cloudia

Welcome Home Barack!!

ALOHA!

Air Force 1 from a previous visit

Aloha from the temporary
power spot of the world!
The Obamas landed late last night.

Our normally busy skies
were still in hushed expectation.
[flight restrictions]
Then a lone light over the Pacific,
and the sweep around
to Joint Base
Pearl Harbor/Hickam.
No ceremony last night.Just a tired family
ready
to get to bed![ We got to see them on local TV ]
The girls looked tired
and relaxed;
The First Lady waited
patiently in another car
while the President
talked at length
with an admiral.

The two First Dogs
were clearly eager
for the patch of lawn
they pulled their human
over to.
[Yes, cameras panned
away when...]


Then
10 minutes over the spine of
Oahu, over temporarily
closed highways,
with police escort.

Don't you wish YOU
could get home from
a long flight so fast?

We are used to it,
especially the Kailua neighbors
who say that the Secret Service
people are very considerate.

I have it on good authority
from someone vetted
out the yin-yang
to provide services
to the President
while here,
that there are 
lots of new, young,
eager Secret Service agents
this year.

Shhhhhh!

It's a SECRET!



I bet the President 
worked out today
at Kaneohe Marine Base,
or played golf.

Good for him!
He looked strong
at yesterday's press conference
where he called on women
reporters only,
raising something of a fuss
among the Talk-er-ati.


Michelle enjoys a restaurant
practically under my window.
[2 visits last year]
Let's see if they return!
More gossip later!

For now,
here is a photo
of  the parking lot
at Ala Moana Shopping Center
two nights ago
at 10pm:

Click on the cars to see the jollity!

Thank You 

for looking in!

         Warmly, cloudia

feels like a let-down when they leave. . . . . 

Obama's Hawaii: Ko`olau Mountains to Kawai Nui Marsh

A   L   O   H   A  !

 Nu`uanu Street

 in Downtown Honolulu

Rises into the

 Ko`olau Mountains,

Becoming the Pali Highway.

Near Queen Emma's Summer Palace

" Every truth 

has two sides; 

it is as well to 

look at both, 

before we 

commit ourselves 

to either. "

Aesop 

 Kailua Town, Windward O`ahu 

Kawainui Marsh

I wish you could hear

the birds, waterfowl,

gently lapping waters,

and the breezes.

Yes, the Obama family

 is vacationing in Kailua.

If you paddle down this marsh

toward the beach,

you will meet Navy seals

before you get to see the Coast Guard cutter

and the other armed vessels lurking 

out of sight near the First Family's

 beach-front resting place.

The Obamas RENT the property.

There is no family compound.

Barack grew up in rental and

UH faculty housing.

During High School years,

 he lived in a modest apartment

(walking distance from here)

with his grandmother "Toot"

and WWII vet grandfather,

 Stanley.

Stanley Dunham is buried

at in Punchbowl Crater,

National Memorial Cemetery

of the Pacifc (Military)

(Below)

Punchbowl, Above Honolulu

Resting Place of Heroes

“ The most powerful

 weapon on earth 

is the human soul 

on fire. ”

Ferdinand Foch

=^..^=

' Take Peace & Smiles - Leave Your Comment '

Thanks for visiting!

                        Warmly, cloudia

Limbo

A L O H A!

"Nurture your mind

with Great Thoughts."

Disraeli

Malia Obama and her Dad get Shave Ice.

Imagine how that little kid feels to be so warmly embraced

by the First Daughter! It is spontaneous moments that show our

true nature.

 Photos of Obamas, Courtesy of SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images 

@ Huffington Post

The Famous Smile,





We ALL eat our Shave Ice one slurp at a time :)





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><}}(°>                                                     <°)}}><   The time between Christmas & New Years is a sort of Limbo, neither 'here' nor 'there'
not quite this year - but not yet next year either.

I got lost in limbo.

That's my story (excuse) and I'm sticking to it!

  SORRY to be "un-posted" for so many days without explanation or excuse.

  We have not sunk,

though we are submerged in the mind-scatter that accompanies this 'special' time of year

and Vog for too many hazy, 'Kona' days.

Add in the rainy rain

and the husband home from work for an extra day. . .

What was I saying?

Sorry too for the Pineapple Express of moist, rain-to-snow weather we sent your way on the Continent :(

Tonight there will be a professional American football game played on a Tuesday night for the first time since 1942.

I suggest that you stare at that, or some equivalent mindless amusement (sorry football fans. Not really.)

I'm sure glad that you chose to look in on THIS

mindless amusement!

Just think of all the stranded travelers

who long to sit

hand in pants

relaxing at home!

Thanks for your dear visit!

How/What have YOU been up to?

Please tell me in your comment-

Now here's a little song to make it up to you. . .

 cloudia

Thank You Mr. President

ALOHA to Our Visitors;

To The Obama Family & to YOU :)

"Your idol is shattered in the dust

 to prove that God's dust

 is greater than your idol."

Rabindranath Tagore

"Strange violin, are you following me? 

In how many far cities

 has your solitary night

 spoken already to mine?"

  Rilke

"Turn your face to the sun 

and the shadows fall behind you. "

 Maori Proverb

Did you know that here in the US: middle class taxes are down, the economy is improving, and the bailouts of Wall Street, AIG, and General Motors, are on track to turn a profit potentially in the billions for us taxpayers?


President Obama and the Democrats have accomplished much of value in the face unrelenting partisanship.




According to BLOOMBERG:   
No Congress Since 1960s Has Impact on Public as 111th

• For the first time since President Theodore Roosevelt began the quest for a national health-care system more than 100 years ago, the Democrat-led House and Senate took the biggest step toward achieving that goal by giving 32 million Americans access to insurance.

• Congress rewrote the rules for Wall Street in the most comprehensive way since the Great Depression.

• It spent more than $1.67 trillion to revive an economy on the verge of a depression, including tax cuts for most Americans, jobs for more than 3 million, construction of roads and bridges and investment in alternative energy;
• 
  
•  
• ended an almost two-decade ban against openly gay men and women serving in the military,

• ratified a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia.

• approved legislation to help rescuers and clean-up crews suffering from illnesses linked to the wreckage caused by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

• The S&P 500 Index has gained 38.9 percent since Congress convened in January 2009, thebiggest increase for a two-year congressional session since 1997-1998, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

•  in Ohio, for instance, the legislation created 122,000 jobs for teachers, police officers and construction workers.

“This is probably the most productive session of Congress since at least the ‘60s,”  “It’s all the more impressive given how polarized the Congress has been.”

 Alan Brinkley, 

 Historian, Columbia University.




Welcome home to Honolulu, Mr. President.
Here you are loved.




          And thank YOU for visiting :) cloudia

Aloft by Millions

A l o h a !

click on the pics

"Give me a pen

and a place to write

and I can move the world."

Cloudia

 (with apologies to Archimedes)

"I knew that someday

with luck

I'd be 50 -

but I never really believed it."

How many megapixels are YOU shooting? Tell me in comments.

The President should be landing here on Oahu today.

Kayakers near his (rented) Kailua home are already respecting an enforced exclusion zone

that encroaches on their usual routes.

"That's OK. We like him."

 One paddler told the TV news.

Like most Hawaii residents, Barry's parents and grandparents lived in

rentals and apartments - not a family compound like the Kennedys and the Bushs.

At this time of year ancient kings closed the passes over the mountains.

Energy is low around solstice time,

and they were wise enough to know that it was time to nurture

the waning light,

time to feed the incipient coals

so that light may rise again.

Nurture YOUR little flame-

perhaps by seeing it as one

in a sea of candles

held aloft by millions of people

like you

and like me.

We are the sparks of tomorrow.

Never forget to pass your wise kindness

on the those needing it.

Would you rather live with a tiger in the house

or a rabbit?

The year of the tiger is winding down.

The gentle rabbit is on her way.

You and I-

we've seen it many times before.

So remember to take time

to waste time-

that's sometimes the wisest investment

you can make.

Thanks for spending some time and attention

here

with us!

What small secret pleasure do you enjoy this time of year?

And how many Mega Pixels do YOU shoot?

Fondly, cloudia