Kamehameha Day

His Majesty Kamehameha I Welcomes you to his

HAWAII No one knows his birthday.

No one knows where his bones lie. They were hidden away by a trusted retainer in the ancient way. He was born on the Big Island, Hawaii. When he was a young chief the god Lono sailed into Kealakekua Bay (The Way of the Gods) as prophesied. But when Lono returned after the proper season needing repairs to his floating island, the Hawaiians began to suspect that he was a mere man. A fight ensued and the "god" was felled. It was the death of a great explorer, James Cook. Kamehameha came of age in a unique moment in the history of the Hawaiian people. All of his wisdom, statecraft, and military cunning would be required to maintain his blood and his ways. Appropriate human sacrifice would also be offered, as at his great Heiau (temple) that stands to this day in Kohala.

But first he had to grow up; he was one among many chiefs. Hawaii had never been unified, or had one monarch.

Legend speaks of the heavy Naha Stone in the district of his birth. It was said that anyone who could lift the stone (Arthur Style) would be a great chief. Kamehameha the youth lifted it, they say. You can see the stone today by the side of the road to Hawi.

He had the vision to unite the Big Island.

When his opponent's army marched towards battle, Pele the volcano goddess lashed out, burying the warriors and their chief in hot lava. Their footprints can also still be seen today...Here was a warrior who had god on his side inDEED!

He conquered his home island, then Maui, and finally, Oahu which became his capitol. Kauai the unconquered joined by treaty.

He took Hawaii from pre-contact days into the modern political world, establishing an independent kingdom when other native nations were being colonized all over the world.

We celebrate his special day every June, covering his statue before the Hawaii Supreme Court Building with giant lei. Saturday saw his floral parade wend from the statue down to Waikiki.

Here's some of what I saw. . .

Royal Society Ladies Keep Tradition Alive.

Mahalo (thank you) Ladies!

Youth Challenge. Troubled local kids become

AWESOME through fellowship & self discipline



Don't they look great?



Hawaiian Blood.

Precious

Royal Princesses, represent each island, wearing each island's flower.

They reenact royal visits made to each island. It was on just such a visit that Queen Lili`uokalani wrote the haunting Aloha `Oe after seeing the sweet parting of one of her court ladies and a Paniola (Hawaiian Cowboy) like this handsome specimen. Oahu = Ilima

Go on!

Click on the photos to enlarge

!

Those long dresses are actually loose fabric fastened cunningly with Kukui Nuts as "buttons." in an old style.

Horsey looks elegant in that big lei!

“Tradition does not mean that the living are dead, it means that the dead are living.”
Harold Macmillan

Hawaiian Homesteads were established by Congress in the early 20th Century.

These folks hold jobs, and live in society like all other citizens, many are US veterans, but they dwell on Hawaiian land. This simple fact keeps pride and ancient cultural treasures alive to the benefit of us all.

Bringing up the rear (of the horses!)

with shovels.

YAY!





Thanks for joining us today.

A l o h a! Cloudia

Jacaranda Jacaranda

Aloha.

Welcome to

a wordless reverie with my favorite tree!

(for the moment ;-) AHHHHH!


OOOOOOOOOO!

MMMMMMMMMM!

"God give me strength to face a fact though it slay me."
Thomas H. Huxley

Weekend Woosh

Aloha Saturday!

You are Entering virtual WAIKIKI!

click on photos to enlarge

Playmates

". . . I improvised, crazed by the music. . . . Even my teeth and eyes burned with fever. Each time I leaped I seemed to touch the sky and when I regained earth it seemed to be mine alone."

Josephine Baker

Shell Ginger

“Language is the apparel in which your thoughts parade before the public. Never clothe them in vulgar or shoddy attire.”
George Crane

Never Know Who You Will See

in WAIKIKI!

“Group conformity scares the pants off me because it's so often a prelude to cruelty towards anyone who doesn't want to -- or can't -- join the Big Parade.”

Bette Midler

Ah! The weekend is here!

What shall I do today?

Of course I could never miss the King Kamehameha Day Floral Parade!

Though Thursday was the official State Holiday, yesterday saw his statue downtown in the Capitol District honored with song, chant & prayer - then bedecked with bounty of king-sized lei. I enjoy going to see the statue late at night when it can be just Him & me.

And the scent of lovingly offered flowers.

What does he think (I wonder)

about our stewardship of his beloved &

Sacred `Aina (land)

?

When I was a kid, the only holiday near my birthday was Kamehameha Day, and I always felt a bond with this King from a far pacific and distant past. There always seemed to be 'something' between the King and the little Kid growing up in "mainland" Philadelphia.

Perhaps he was inviting me

'home."

So I will join the crowds cheering the Royal Hawaiian Band,

the floats,

the mounted Island Princess'.

Sun, Sound and Scents

will affect us all like strong drugs.

China Uemura will also be hosting his annual

Wahine Surf Classic.

And now a confession:

I live on a boat, and

I own a sea kayak that I haven't used in a YEAR!

Not pretty is it? ;-(

But I pledge to paddle!

So be sure to return and hear all about my mini- voyage.

(or rescue)

I'll be around to visit all of YOUR blogs too.

Have a great weekend,

FRIENDS!

A L O H A! Cloudia

Cloudia's Law of the C's

Aloha!

Come Celebrate Calm, Classy, Colorful

W A I K I K I! "Let us make a special effort to stop communicating with each other, so we can have some conversation."
Judith Martin

Found it! Over Here! Come Along!

"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people."
William Butler Yeats

Red Fred Meets Yellow Fellow:

"Why can't we be friends?"

"Words are the physicians of the mind diseased."
Aeschylus


Exhaustive research has revealed to me that all human conditions may be handled by deft application of the proper "C."

Meeting someone different from me, I can either Celebrate our differences, or embody Compassion.

The "A's:" Anxious, Angry, Acquisitive are poorly made tools that cause their user pain. Wanna see the scars?

Befuddled, Banal & Bacchanalian are pure "B" list strategies.

No, I'm quite happy here in the High "C's."

Contemplating the Contentment

ahead.

Cowabunga!

(Come be my Confederate)

C I A O! Cloudia

Dr. Kitty

Aloha!

Welcome to Waikiki-

South Shore surf is UP; skies are sunny; the people are warm! Clark Little's Artistry (c)

"My life has been incredible. I don't believe a word of it!"

Madame DuBarry

Hello, Pleased to Meet You

"When we are violent to our enemies, we do violence to ourselves. When we brutalize others, we brutalize ourselves. And eventually we run the risk of becoming our opressors."

Arundhati Roy

Yellow Fellow Cruising

"Don't do nothing because you can't do everything. Do something. Anything."

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Next time you are feeling anxious about life in this so-called "dog eat dog" world of ours stop and think about actual dogs you have known.

They're not eating each other, usually.

Think of the thrill of recognition that the "kid-you" felt

when you looked into the eyes of your pet.

You likely felt loved,

your dog followed you every where.

And though there are those who believe in fear-leadership

dogs lay down their lives,

or return from thousands of miles away,

for love.

Yes, an elemental love looks back at you

through the eyes of nature.

In this world

we are at home

and among family.

Dogs often take the role of protector,

a caring friend by the sick bed.

They try to assist

and research shows positive health affects

just from seeing

or touching

them.

Cancer dogs can diagnose through smell,

helper dogs provide assistance

for activities of daily life.

And when I feel pain

Miss Kitty comes near in concern.

When she brushes my ankles

or settles nearby

my pain is lessened

my spirit leaps.

So thank you to our under-rated

companions

who heal, love, and teach

us.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Wont YOU Be My Webcam?

Welcome to the Beach. . .

Waikiki Beach that is! Ahhhhhhh!

Fifty Years of Statehood

this August. . .

"It takes courage to take a broken plan and make a great thing of it. Don't hold a grudge against life if you can't have your way. Take a second choice and make the best of it."

Paul Osumi

Back when a computer was something you went to the college computer center to use (sign in please) or had on your desk at work, I was obsessed with web-cams.

The dream of an eye on different locations is an old one, and I loved "be-ing" on the street in New York City, San Francisco, Paris, London, & Jerusalem everyday.

Eventually though I realized that observing public places has it's limits, despite the solidarity I felt seeing NYC, Ground Zero, and the moving Tribute in Light, on my screen back in 2001.

This morning I realized that all of YOU, my Bloggy Pals, are the real fulfillment of my dream to make the world my neighborhood!

Through you, and your personal editorial choices I have the privilege and pleasure of frequenting Hong Kong, Louisiana, Lake Erie, English countryside, and your daily thoughts. I see the flowers, both human and vegetable, that you share on your blogs. I share your poetry, losses, and points of view.

And You share mine in return!

So won't you be my web cam, my correspondent, my friend, again tomorrow?

I wanted to paste all of your names all over this post, but realized I'd probably leave someone special "out."

Besides, you know who you are. You are my benefactors, my readers, my friends.

Mahalos, eh?

That's how we say 'thank you' here in Waikiki

and in my

Heart.

A L O H A! Cloudia

MTM: Here Be Dragons and Tikis

Aloha & Welcome to My Town:

Waikiki!

click on photos to enlarge Dragons in Custody. Book 'em Danno!

"I'd KILL for a Nobel Peace Prize."

Steven Wright

Puff the magic weed, and his braille buddy, Fern.

"I started out in the world with nothing but a kind of passion."

Katherine Anne Porter

Tom da Tiki

“The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully have been kindness, beauty, and truth”
Albert Einstein

(No Dummy!)

Let me tell you about a real special place between Waikiki and the airport, right off of busy, industrial Sand Island Access Road.

La Mariana Sailing Club, one of the last real Tiki Bars in Hawaii – or anywhere! - opened over 50 years ago and really looks it. Draped in lauhala leaves, fishing nets, twinkling lights, puffer-fish lanterns, giant clam shells and antique buoys like a kitschy fever dream, this is
the place to sip a mai tai. Check out a piece of Honolulu's past while you still can. Just ask a local for the location if you get lost. . .

Did you know that President Obama grew up without a father in a small high-rise Honolulu apartment a mile from where I'm posting?

He lived with his grandmother and his late grandfather, a proud WWII veteran. The Obamas took daughters Sasha & Malia to visit his grave at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl last Summer. (The crater's Hawaiian name is appropriate: Puowaina, "hill of sacrifice.").

Hawaii is a special place to grow up, a place with no racial majority where everyone is cherished as an individual. "We all have obligations to each other, we should all help one another." Obama said, speaking of the Aloha Spirit at a local gathering. "When you come from Hawaii, you start understanding that what's on the surface doesn't matter. The people of Hawaii understand. . . ".

We are very proud of Barack.

But patriotic local folks were actually a bit hurt by all the election-year talk of Obama's "exotic luxury vacation." There is no huge Obama family compound here, and as for exotic, the U.S. State of Hawaii has bled red white and blue since Pearl Harbor. Our state's people are over represented (by population) in our U.S. armed forces too. In fact, a large group of our National Guard citizen soldiers have served multiple combat tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. . . .

Come see the beauty that inspires us, available free anytime, just walking in Waikiki. . .

Aloha! Cloudia

Want to enjoy more Waikiki "street" life with me? Please check out my Hawaii "Taxi Cab" Novel: "Aloha Where You Like Go?" at Amazon:
-- <http://www.amazon.com/ALOHA-Where-You-Like-Satisfaction/dp/1598006495>