Falling and Bouncing

 A  L  O  H  A ! 

"People used to ask me 
what I wanted to be 
when I grew up and 
I’d say ‘Happy!’
 That was all I 
wanted to be."
           Goldie Hawn

Did you want to

be a firefighter?

Unusual Happenings?

"Courage is 
the resistance to 
fear, the mastery 
of fear, not the 
lack of fear." 
Mark Twain

Oh! Ball Drop!

Multi-colored balls

all moving together.

Is this a 

political statement?

Poor joke,

but. . . 

Bouncy Bouncy Balls!

"Success is how 

high you bounce 

when you hit bottom."

           George S. Patton

The Crowd Goes Mild

“If you can't explain 

it to a six year old,

 you don't understand 

it yourself.”

                  Albert Einstein

I'll build a stairway to paradise Link

"Every beloved object 

is the center point 

of a paradise."

            Novalis

Like a ball

to a child?

[17,000 bouncy, bouncy balls 

dropped in Novato CA

Feb 4 2017 High Noon]

I'm thankful for small towns.

Linking to
Thankful Thursday

ᠧᠧᠧᠧᠧᠧᠦ

Thank YOU

Friend!

           Fondly, cloudia

Fire Engine Red

A  L  O  H  A   from    Honolulu!

" Into the house 

where joy lives, 

happiness 

will gladly come. "

                Japanese Proverb

Sweet House Sparrow

Linking to
Bird D'Pot
&

Wild Bird Wednesday

" I can think of 

no more stirring symbol

 of man's humanity 

to man than

 a fire engine. "

                     Kurt Vonnegut

/\

\/

Thank You!

                                                 cloudia

psssst!

' Seems to me the basic conflict 

between men and women, sexually,

 is that men are like firemen.  

To men, sex is an emergency,

 and no matter what we're doing 

we can be ready in two minutes.  

Women, on the other hand, 

are like fire.  

They're very exciting, 

but the conditions have to be

 exactly right for it to occur. ' 

Jerry Seinfeld

My Town Monday: Firefighting Kings

Alexander Joy Catrwright,

Honolulu Firefighter and the "Father of Baseball"

Guardians hover nearby

“Whoever destroys a single life is as guilty as though he had destroyed the entire world; and whoever rescues a single life earns as much merit as though he had rescued the entire world”
The Talmud

Honolulu Fire Department's HQ & Museum


“It's true that heroes are inspiring, but mustn't they also do some rescuing if they are to be worthy of their name? Would Wonder Woman matter if she only sent commiserating telegrams to the distressed?”
Jeanette Winterson

Only our fire trucks arrive with a surfboard for rescues!


“We have been surfing our whole lives, so protecting the oceans and beaches is especially important to us. It is our honor and privilege to participate in such a worthy cause.”
Brandon Boyd

The first HFD Central Station/HQ opened on this Beretania St. site on December 1, 1897. The art deco replacement above opened in 1935. These aluminium doors came from the California Artistic Metal & Wire Company and cost $9,960.





January 11th, 1851 is considered the birthday of the Honolulu Fire Department (H F D). King Kamehameha III, whose decree was published on that day, was known to role up his sleeves alongside volunteer firefighters. They wore red shirts back then.



King Kalakaua, the "Merrie Monarch" was Himself the first secretary of Honolulu's Number 4 Engine Company during the 1880's. And Alexander Joy Cartwright (the father of baseball!) was appointed HFD's first Chief Engineer. He later rose to Department Chief through election, never returned to his native New York, and is buried here in Honolulu.



The "Protection Hook & Ladder Company" (today's Company Number 4) was founded in September of 1857 and staffed entirely by Hawaiians. China Engine Company Number 5 (January 1861) consisted of Chinese firefighters.



Each firehouse was an important part of it's immediate neighborhood, and of the life of the city - even politically. Maybe Cartwright brought a little "Tammany Hall" politics with him from New York.



Every February, the fire companies held street parades that showcased their "modern" equipment.



April 19, 1886 saw the Great Chinatown Fire which gobbled up many Honolulu city blocks. King Kalakaua himself helped to fight that one, inspiring everyone by his conduct on that day. In May of that year, the King signed our first building ordinances to help prevent future conflagrations. (He later threw the switch for Honolulu's first public electric lights in 1888, and installed telephones in Iolani Palace.)



On December 7, 1941 two HFD captains, John Carreira and Thomas S. Macy, were killed in the Pearl Harbor attack along with hose-man Harry T.L. Pang as HFD battled flames at Hickam Airfield. Six firefighters wounded in the attack received Purple Heart medals from the Territory's Military (Martial Law) Governor. They were the only civilian fire fighters ever awarded this military honor.





In June of 1946 the Army and Navy established a Mutual Aid Agreement with HFD to assist in the fighting of fires anywhere on the island. These agencies continue to cooperate.



Today Honolulu enjoys the protection of a modern HFD that flies it's own Helecopter and operates the fireboat "Moku Ahi."


So let's salute the people of the Honolulu Fire Department; The only department in the USA founded by Royalty, that grew up in a Territory, and flourishes today in a modern city.


Thank you, HFD.


And thank each of YOU for visiting my town today!

A L O H A! Cloudia