Ride Your True Colors

A  L  O  H  A !

 Ride a White Horse Across the Dark Blue

" I had crossed the line.

 I was free; but 

there was no one

 to welcome me to

 the land of freedom.

 I was a stranger 

in a strange land. "

                  Harriet Tubman

 Whatever your job,

you can bring

flare & your own

individuality

to the way

YOU do it!

" Show your true colors.
 Those who truly love you 
will see a painting. "
                                       Anon.

" When someone shows you

 their true colors ,

 don't try to paint 

a different picture. "

 Ritu Ghatourey

(\__/)

(='.'=)

(")_(")

 "I see YOUR True colors

shining through

and it's

BEAUTIFUL

like a rainbow "

               Cindy Lauper

Thank YOU

for sharing them

here!

                                  cloudia 

Write or Fight?

A L O H A !

" The test of our progress

is not whether we add more

to the abundance of those

who have much;

it is whether we provide

enough

for those who have 

too little. "

Franklin D. Roosevelt

32nd President of the United States (1933–1945)

 

<>

 

" Why is it Class Warfare

only

when we fight back? "

Sign seen at Wall Street demonstrations

><

“Critique by creating” 

Michelangelo

" Happiness arises in a state of peace,

not of tumult. "

Ann Radcliffe

The Mysteries of Udolpho 

1764

“A fool sees not the same tree

that a wise man sees.”

 William Blake

 

 

 

 

 

" Pleasure is often spoiled 

by describing it. "

Stendhal 

" Never hurry. 

Take plenty of exercise. Always be cheerful.

Take all the sleep you need. 

You may expect to be well. "

James Freeman Clarke

" Great beauty,

great strength, 

and great riches

are really and truly of no great use; 

a right heart exceeds all. "

Ben Franklin

 > < } } ( ° >

 

 

 Thank YOU

              for visiting!  

Your comment is appreciated

warmly, cloudia

 

 

Walk, Talk, Shoot

Aloha, Friend!
Welcome
to
Wednesday
in
W A I K I K I


Do click on photos, eh?

A reflective shot


"Oh mortal,

what is good

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice,

and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly

with your God?"

Micah,

the Biblical Prophet

Wait. Which is the reflection?


"Creativity requires the courage

to let go of certainties."

Erich Fromm

"Power is not revealed by striking hard

or often,

but by striking true."

-Honore de Balzac

"Maybe all one can do

is hope to end up

with the right regrets."

Arthur Miller


><>


We all love to look at other people.
There is even a name for this activity,
we call it
People Watching.


I try to catch pictures
that leave the people in them
their anonymity.


My only hard and fast rule
is to avoid making anyone
uncomfortable.


This is
after all:

Comfort Spiral!





ALOHA, cloudia

Feel good bonus Below!

Anniversary

ALOHA
it's
Monday in Waikiki


click on photos!

"Conventional opinion is the ruin of our souls."

Rumi

What can you lose if you have your own heart?

><>

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."
-Nathaniel Hawthorne

"A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two (different) things."
Ben Franklin

Many years ago
on the Boardwalk
at the New Jersey shore
a fortuneteller asked me
if I was an artist.
"Writer"
I answered.
"You will write the book,
don't worry."
And so I have,
scroll to the bottom of this page
then click on the book cover to find out more.


She further told me
that I would marry a
"kingly man"
younger than myself,
and live with him
in a foreign land.
And here we are
in Hawaii.


24 years ago
today
I met a man.
Older than me in years,
but eternally young
in his spirit.


All that time
we have been together.
He is kingly
and a delightful
little boy at once.


Happy Anniversary,
Honey.

E Ku'u Sweetie

mele na Mälia Craver

leo na Kenneth Makuakäne

© 1991 Makuakäne Publishing Co.

He ha'upu keia no ka sweetie la
This is a remembrance for the sweetie
My warm beautiful pearl
Ku'u momi nani mehana la
One who is desired by many others
A lovely one, you are from the uplands
'I'ini na ipo la
He nohea 'oe i ka nahele

HUI: CHORUS:
O my Sweetie, O my Sweetie
E ku'u sweetie, e ku'u sweetie The intimate companion of the mist
O, so, relaxed with the ferns
Ka pilina a lilinoe
The beautiful one I've met
E luana nei, me ka palai
I ka beauty a o huia e

Kahiko ka ua i Punalu'u la
The usual rain is at Punalu'u
Upon the many Lehua blossoms
I ka pua o ka lehua
Arched above is the hued rainbow
In space above the Ko'olau cliffs
Pi'o mai la ke anuenue la
I ka lewa o ke Ko'olau

Puana keia mele no sweetie la
I'll sing a song for the Sweetie
My warm beautiful pearl
Ku'u momi nani mehana
Indeed, with you, is my love
Your admired always will be
Me 'oe wale no ke aloha la
A kou lei ho'ohihi a mau loa

ALOHA and thanks SO much for visiting! cloudia

Vertical Evacuation

A L O H A !

Welcome Back to Waikiki, Friend!

clickity click click click on the photos!Those hills would seem far away

if I was stuck in a panic traffic jam

trying to beat a tsunami inland!

"A timid person is frightened before a danger, a coward during the time, and a courageous person afterward."
Jean Paul Richter

Some might just give up and grab a Primo, Hawaii's beer.

But there is another solution.

Have you guessed it?

"Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them."
Suzanne Necker

Paddlers carrying their canoe. In the windshield glare it looks like

they are carrying a blur.

It's called "Vetical Evacuation."

Going above the third floor in a solid, modern building

should render one an observer (rather than a victim) of a

tsunami here in Waikiki.

Mom lives on the 20th floor (mountain side) of a cement pile called The Waikiki Banyon.

With modern warnings here in Hawaii,

there should be plenty of time for me to get up there

and to start bickering over the TV news channel to watch.

Of course, she'd have first call on the bathroom!


Meanwhile, our Hawaii Air National Guard has made numerous flights to Samoa bringing medicine, food, & supplies.

Look around you.
If your world is in Normal Chaos
instead of Disaster
count yourself Blessed.

Your visits are certainly a blessing to me!

Thank you, Friends.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Recuperating From Saturday

A L O H A!

What a Saturday It Was!

You're gonna want to click on photos :) Lions Being Brought to Life! They are watching

the Dragon chase the pill of immortality.

This thrills me anytime, anywhere.

Happy Autumn Moon Festival.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. . .

Uusually I'm driving past.

But yesterday I had time to really LOOK

at Makiki Christian Church (See yesterday's post for info).

Why look at this ornate interior.


But the festival was outside; Here I come!



"It's no accident that the church and the graveyard stand side by side. The city of the dead sleeps encircled by the city of the living."
Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider

These folks are proud to make Andagi (Japanese donuts)

just like grandma used to make.

They ran out early;

luckily I got one of the last bags :)

I didn't even know that the church had a courtyard,

but it was full of food &

fun yesterday!

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

Then I went to the Splendor of China Trade Show & Festival

just a few blocks away.

I was JUST in time to see the lions brought to life to dance and open the event. (Top photo)

Great timing again, blog girl!

"There is nothing new under the sun

but there are lots of old things we don't know."
Ambrose Bierce

After which, I crossed King street to Thomas Square to

attend the InterTribal Pow Wow just in time to catch this

Wolf Dance by the Suquamish People of Alaska.

Your visit today is so very appreciated. . .

But I need to lay down for a while now.

L O L :)

A L O H A! Cloudia

From the Beach to the Cliff

A L O H A!

Come On In. . .

click on photos to tavel through history

Kamehameha the Great (the 'lonely one') invaded Oahu in 1795

On his deathbed, King Kamehameha the Great said:

"I have given you -- the greatest good: peace. And a kingdom which -- is all one -- a kingdom of all the islands."

Hard to believe that this peaceful coast has seen invasion

by a fleet of war canoes.


“Then on the shore

Of the wide world I stand alone, and think

Till love and fame to nothingness do sink”
John Keats

Snack Break!

"...the avocado is a food without rival among the fruits,

the veritable fruit of paradise."

David Fairchild

"I'm standing for my ancestors"

"To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born

is to remain perpetually a child. For what is the worth of a human life unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?"

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Their bones LIVE!

"If you could see humanity spread out in time, as God sees it, it would look like one single growing thing--rather like a very complicated tree. Every individual would appear connected with every other."

- C. S. Lewis

"Those who do not look upon themselves as a link, connecting the past with the future, do not perform their duty to the world."

Daniel Webster

<>< )=( ><>

In 1790 (20 years before his 1810 unification the Islands) Kamehameha invited Englishmen John Young and Isaac Davis to join his forces, even welcoming them to marry into his family. Both men were regarded as "Ali`i or chiefs, and are today interred at Mauna Ala, the Royal Mausoleum. (Non-natives continued to intermarry, assimilate and contribute to the multi-cultural Kingdom of Hawaii.)

Kamehameha's last great battle was fought on O'ahu in 1795 at Nu'uanu Pali. (TOP)

There his invading army defeated O'ahu's

King Kalanikupule;

ultimately driving hundreds

(perhaps even thousands) of Oahu defenders to the edge

of the famous precipice.

The Big Island and Maui invaders had the decided advantage of cannons and guns wielded by Englishmen and a specially trained cadre of Hawaiian warriors. Spears, shark tooth daggers, and other traditional stone-age weapons (some now tipped with metal) were also used in the battle, of course.

Kalanikupule's men (and few women) warriors who were not killed outright either jumped or were pushed over the edge, tumbling to their deaths on the rocky cliffs far below. The most famous remembrance of that event is the huge oil painting by artist Herb Kane shown above.

No one knows the final resting place of the

"Napolean of the Pacific."

Kamehameha's bones were entrusted to a family retainer who hid them on his Big Island of Hawaii in the old fashion.

The bones, or iwi, are held to possess great Mana, or spiritual power. They are hidden in caves so that enemies may not use the bones in rituals. A descendant of that trusted retainer guards the Royal Mausoleum to this day.

A L O H A! Cloudia

I Love Liliha

A L O H A Greetings!

Welcome to Honolulu's neighborhood of

L I L I H A

click on photos to visitThe "I" is a poi pounder, the heart is an anthurum flower.

The Hawaiians of old divided the land into pie-shaped sections called

"Ahupuaa."

These ran from the peak of the mountain, broadening out as they reached the coast.

Thus the local village people would have access to the produce of the forests, the plain, and sea.

The Liliha / Nuuanu corridor is one of my favorite such neighborhoods in our Honolulu, embracing Honolulu Harbor, Chinatown, working class commercial and residential Liliha Street itself, and the foothills of Nuuanu.

The histories of the Hawaiians, the pre-statehood Chinese, Japanese, and Americans, all live richly in this area that contains the Royal Mausoleum (sacred burial place of Hawaii's Monarchs) legendary Kunawai healing spring & pond, Kuakini (formerly "The Japanese") Hospital, which was the first such hospital supported by Japan's emperor, as well as Hawaii's oldest lychee tree.

24 hour Liliha Bakery is a beacon to the whole island, and her coco puffs pastries are the stuff of legend. Further along Kuakini Street, a well used cinder block, neighborhood, Chinese Temple is right across the street from a Japanese Buddhist Temple & School, all just a few doors down from the Pizza Hut. Did I mention the four consulates?The Area is named for this lady: Liliha, Governor of Oahu under Kamehameha.

(It was her father, Hoopili, who created the Royal Mausoleum)

When his forces landed on Oahu at Waikiki, Kamehameha fought the local warriors all the way up into this valley.

The famous Battle of the Nuuanu Pali saw the local defenders spill over the cliff (or Pali) rather than surrender. To this day, the Pali Highway carries a supernatural aura that is felt by drivers, particularly at night. Do NOT carry pork over the highway either, but that's a whole other (ghost) story ;-]

Saturday's I Love Liliha Town Festival

opened with a traditional Lion Dance

at Kawananakoa Park.

Abigail Kawananakoa is the descendant of Hawaiian royalty, and would have a clear claim to the (overthrown) crown of the Kingdom of Hawaii. http://www.keouanui.org/Desc3.html#

She has spent recent years acquiring dispersed royal possessions and gifting them to the Iolani Palace.

There was a controversy a few years back, when a national magazine photographed the lady sitting on the throne. A fine man named James Bartels, who had dedicated his life to the heroic restoration of the palace, left his job in the resulting ruckus.

Mz. Kawananakoa has used her considerable personal wealth in aid of the Hawaiian patrimony and people - especially in recent years. Most recently she purchased one of Liliuo's golden bracelets, a very early example of the Hawaiian heirloom jewelry

worn by local women to this day, me included.

Mr. Bartels has since passed, but will never be forgotten for his unique contribution to the restoration of the pride of Hawaii.

One cannot pass by the palace, let alone enter it, without feeling

the undeniable presence of so many loyal hearts!

Boy Scout Troop 201 paraded the colors as we sang:

"Hawaii Pono`i" and the "Star Spangled Banner."

Listen to Hawaii's anthem here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmvFnvZd-VY

or here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gqexDy2UHg

Yummy Shave Ice!

We love our "grinds."
That means "Kau Kau" or "food" to you. It also means to "EAT."
You like go grind aftahs?
If you are in a western US state, you may have eaten at an "L&L Hawaiian Barbecue." The first L&L in the chain was a humble "plate lunch" place right here on Liliha Street. Saimin, one of our foremost local comfort foods, was also invented here. You can read about saimin at:

http://comfortspiral.blogspot.com/2009/04/comfort-in-bowl.html

The world's greatest civic band was there too!
Established 1836 by a King, and playing a unique repertoire of Monarchy era marches, Hawaiian music, western classics, Okinawan songs and MORE!
Can you tell how much I love the Royal Hawaiian Band?
They are a WHOLE other post!

Listen to my favourite "Kalakaua March" here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKv2VY2msgQ

Leader, Mr. Nakasone (Pearl City High School's beloved former band teacher) conducting outside as usual.
They march in parades too!
Note the proprietary aloha print.

There was an exhibition of Kung Fu by the youngsters.


"I do not fear the 10,000 kicks you have practiced once, I fear the 1 kick you have practiced 10,000 times."

Shaolin saying

Our kids are special!


"Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man." Rabindranath Tagore

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again."

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

We also love our Kupuna (seniors)

and PETS!


"A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails." Donna Roberts

Liliha Bakery:

http://lilihabakeryhawaii.com/

Jim Bartels:

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2003/04/22/news/story11.html

Iolani Palace:

http://www.iolanipalace.org/

Liliuokalani's Bracelet, A Video Report:

http://www.kitv.com/video/20679841/index.html

Mahalo for your visit today! Cloudia

I'm BACK, Baby!

A L O H A, Friends!

Welcome Back to Waikiki

click on photos for the full treatment

I am back from my journey to a strange place. . .

"When the baby looks around him

It's such a sight to see

He shares a simple secret

With the wise man

He's a stranger in a strange land

Just a stranger in a strange land

Tell me why

He's a stranger in a strange land

Just a stranger in a strange land - "

Things are starting to look like they normally do again. . .

"- How many miles will it take

To see the sun

And how many years until it's done

Kiss my confusion away in the night

Lay by my side when the morning comes -"

Now I can get back to important explorations

of the world around me. . .

"-Do you recognize the bells of truth

When you hear them ring

Won't you stop and listen

To the children sing

Won't you come on and sing it children

He's a stranger in a strange land

Just a stranger in a strange land."

Leon Russell, Stranger in a Strange Land (Lyrics)

First, I want to thank all of you who left supportive remarks for me on my previous (colonoscopy) post. I also want to thank those who left witty comments!

The prep was not THAT bad.

When my blood sugar does down I feel draggy and susceptible to "moods." But a little strained miso soup, ginger ale, and chilled green tea, make for a cleansing day and kept me going.

Drinking the 16 gallons (less?) of colyte was merely a commitment to DO it.

It wasn't till I was at the medical center that I began to get nervous - which is good, because I used to be nervous ALL the time, EVERYWHERE!

Why do you think I've become such a well being expert?

I had the choice of spiralling around in anxiety, or discovering and entering the Comfort Spiral. . .

The positivity that you find at this blog was hard earned, and requires respect and upkeep on my part. Which is not to say that it is fragile (far from it - hooray!) just that it takes a daily commitment which is far from difficult.

The motto of Kaiser / Hawaii Region is: "Caring for Hawaii's People Like Family" and most everyone you meet there is excellent at their task, and very human & warm.

Jim Morrison of the DOORS sang: "People are strange when you're a stranger."

When I felt estranged from others, everyday brought examples of their strangeness. Since I have begun to see the innocence in others and in myself, I have found good people everywhere I go. Marianne Williamson says there is no thought so insignificant that it does not have effect in our world. Since I have discovered the beauty in others (and in myself) and stopped living in constant judgement of them (and myself) I have felt more at home in the world and among others than ever before. People really can feel it when we are surrendered and trusting. My new health motto has become:

"Rejoice & Rejuvenate."

Sure beats the tar out of:

"Worry & Complain."

I knew that the team would either give me a clean bill of health, or remove a potential problem and thus save my health and life years in advance of any symptoms.

So I was grateful to receive this screening!

The Doc removed a few small polyps (future problems) said that it all looked good, and told me to repeat the test in . . . . 10 years! I'll be eligible for Medicare then. . .

One reason that I am sharing all of this is because a blogger I follow (was it you, Sandee?) recently posted about her colonoscopy (timely!) and made me feel much better about the whole thing. (Thanks!)

Another BLOGGING Miracle!

So it is in that spirit that I urge all my friends here who are lucky enough to have health coverage (or who can afford this screening) to strongly consider getting it done.

In honesty, I must tell you that I felt really out of it afterwards, and that I'm just beginning to feel like myself again (the test was Monday - I even missed posting yesterday which is rare for (big mouth) me ;-]

So today I'm babying myself with great self-indulgence. My favorite husband (who I usually leave out of this blog-thing) has been a trooper throughout, even taking yesterday off to stay home and annoy, er, distract and care for me!

Having seen my Dad fight a losing battle with cancer back in the Spring makes everyday seem precious!

So thanks to each and every one of you who share this blog-y life with me. Our friend Sepiru Chris of Cuneiform Scratchings (see my blog roll) sent me a cool postcard from Hong Kong. His cat companion, Pommes, also mailed a delectable "double-fish" seal to Miss Kitty who enjoys having it over her treat-spot. I'm resting in bed and reading Walking Man's book of verse: "Stink." (See my blog roll for his worthy blog also)

And I've noticed a lot of positive, under-reported news stories lately too. Many of the bailed out banks and financials are PAYING BACK bail-out funds and the Fed Gov't (you and me) is even showing a profit! Big Money Authorities (OK, I forgot the source) stated that the Federal Gov't "saved the financial system from disaster." (Even though we all know that it requires more balancing & fairness to us little guys)

And General Jones said this week that the Obama administration has made us all demonstrably SAFER in the world!

I look forward to getting around to visit all of YOU very soon, though I'm still feel a bit tentative, and I feel a televised, late-season WNBA game coming on ;-]

I love you guys - thanks for EVERYTHING!

Warm Aloha, Cloudia