Beach Stroll Sunday

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Aloha!

It's

Sunday Morning in

W A I K I K I

Click on this maginificent TED TRIMMER photo to enlarge! (c)

"Truth is stranger than fiction."

Lord Byron

Early morning strolls reveal treasures like these colorful, wet,

beach stones. Trimmer (c)

High South Shore Surf "harvests" coral heads onto the beach





Anyone, any situation, is bearable once you accept it as it is;

And the road to hell is paved with false dichotomies. . .


A L O H A, Cloudia

Go For Broke

Aloha!

Welcome to Waikiki

on July 4th!

Click on photos to enlarge! The wild blue yonder

"There are, in every age, new errors to be rectified and new prejudices to be opposed."
Samuel Johnson

Jean

"The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."

Charles DuBois

William H. Holloman III

"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less."

General Eric Shinseki

Today, in honor of July 4th, I re-publish this post about real heroes. Thank you for visiting. Your visits & comments make my day!

*Happy Birthday USA*

Cloudia

You friends who often visit "Da Spiral" know that we like to salute unheralded heroes of everyday life. Heck, I've seen real courage in many of your blogs. But every so often there are Heroes, capitol "H" who strap it on and fly into the teeth of mortal combat, or who put their very lives on the line to say "No" to denigration, unfairness, and abuse. Sometimes extraordinary people are even called upon to face two Goliaths at once.

Today's post is dedicated to two very special groups of such human beings. Please come meet them!

Last September 30th, a few such surviving heroes were honored at Honolulu's Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific by Kauai boy General Eric Shinseki. (The general has since been appointed to lead our nation's veterans affairs by the new president.)

The elderly men that he honored on that day, largely Hawaii born and bred, had served in the famed 442nd & 100th segregated combat units of WWII. They had been the “Go for Broke” Japanese-American soldiers who fought in the toughest European battles of that war, and usually against superior numbers. History remembered, and history written, both tell how they were openly considered expendable because of their race. This was certainly not a surprise to them in their uphill fight for dignity. They all had family in US internment camps, even as German-Americans and Italian-Americans remained in their own homes. Nevertheless these aging men, in their youth answered the call to arms on behalf of the nation that detained their parents.

They are military legend for having saved 230 Texans (the famous “lost” regiment”) at the cost of 400 of their own, among numerous other documented acts of extreme heroism. These men won more decorations, more purple hearts, more medals of honor, than any unit of comparable size in the history of the US Army.

Every day in Honolulu we pass by these neighbors on our streets and in the aisles at Longs Drugs, only too aware that there are ever fewer and fewer of them. In my opinion they are among the greatest of the greatest generation, and what these men did will never be forgotten. . . As President Truman said of them at war's end: "You fought two enemies, the nazis and prejudice. And you have won."

So who could walk alongside such people?

Perhaps it would be the man I had the privilege to meet the other evening. He is William H. Holloman III, one of the justly famed Tuskegee Airmen. But he told me simply to call him "Bill." I was beyond thrilled to sit a spell with Bill and his lovely wife Jean to talk story. It's not every day that one gets to meet such a larger than life figure usually read about in books or admired in documentaries

At a time when "scientists" had told the US Congress that African-Americans had less intelligence and flying aptitude "than monkeys" these young men rose to the challenge of excellence while carrying social and cultural burdens we can scarcely credit today a mere 60 - 70 years later. Through dignity, courage, and sheer ability, they proved denigration a damned lie.

They flew like eagles! And like the Japanese-American combat veterans of Hawaii they came home to build lives of full citizenship earned in blood. Mr. Holloman, whose father might have served the railroad as a Pullman porter - but never an engineer, retired after many years of service as an airline pilot and aviation consultant.

"The Germans shot my black ass down! But they knew all about us, and they treated us with proper military respect. Then I came home and had to ride in the back of the bus." one of these vets has said.

Unfortunately the photo above caught Mr. Holloman with his eyes closed, depriving you of his most strikingly handsome light eyes! But one doesn't ask a legend to stand a second time. And I who religiously avoid publishing photos of myself am proudly shown with him!

A L O H A! Cloudia

First Crush

Aloha & Welcome

to

WAIKIKI

click on photos to enlarge

Early loves stay with us forever. . .

“No, this trick won't work...How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?”

Albert Einstein

You were my first crush....I was SO young!

You were still running around with that short guy

in white back then.

We lost touch. . . you haven't been in town for 10 years. . .

Now You're Back!

You still look great.

I see you're traveling with two boy toys now.

Crowds still adore you.

Glances turn your way wherever you go.





But at least I have this memento of our love. . .



Aloha ha ha Cloudia

Diverse Hawaii: Islam Day

Aloha!

Welcome Back to

W A I K I K I

"To understand Barack, you have to understand the Hawaii he grew up in."

Michelle Obama

“To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.”

Charles "the Great" de Montesquieu

“I believe in the brotherhood of all men, but I don't believe in wasting brotherhood on anyone who doesn't want to practice it with me. Brotherhood is a two-way street.”
Malcolm X

“Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. Love others as well as you love yourself.”

Jesus

“I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else - I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.”
Elizabeth II



“Brotherhood is not just a Bible word. Out of comradeship can come and will come the happy life for all.”
Heywood C. Broun

Hawaii people pride ourselves on our Aloha Spirit by which many cultures share these tiny islands amicably. We eat each others foods, use each others languages in our pidgin, observe each others holidays, and our island habit of intermarriage was a "problem" for some when Hawaii statehood was making it's way through the US Senate.



Yes, there is something alive here that turned me from a "get out of my way!" East Coast person into a much more patient driver and citizen. Tolerance is a nice, safe concept when living as a majority person. It is something else entirely when you have neighbors, co-workers, and even, perhaps, a boss from a very different culture from your own. Unexamined assumptions on both sides can cause very interesting issues to arise. I know that I am a better person for these sorts of life experiences.

And here we celebrate everything!


The Hawaii State Legislature has even provided official recognition to various days with religious connections:

Asian Lunar New Year Commemoration Week
Bodhi Day
Buddha Day
Baha'i New Year's Day
Christmas*
Confucius Day**
Father Damien De Veuster Day
Good Friday*
Islam Day**
Makahiki Commemoration Day

[* Official state holidays
** Recognized by resolution, not in Hawaii law]

And this doesn't include Mayoral and Gubernatorial proclamations honoring Israeli Independence Day and the like.

The coming weekend will find me celebrating Korean culture at a festival here in Waikiki, and this blog is full of my exploits enjoying Chinese New Year, Shinto ceremonies, and Makahiki Season (Hawaiian New Year).

Shall we all sing "Kumbayah" now?

Not yet!

If exclamation points appeared over your head when you read "Islam Day" you are not alone.

According to the Honolulu Star Bulletin of May 15:

"Muslims are a tiny minority in Hawaii, roughly 4,000 residents, but they feel welcome here, said Hakim Ouansafi, chairman of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, who asked (State Senator) Berg to introduce the (Islam Day) resolution.
"Fortunately for us, we're inundated with calls of support and encouragement, not just now, but after 9/11," he said. "This is the Aloha State. We live together, respect each other, love each other. We know that no people should be judged based on the actions of a few."
The terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks have continued bombing campaigns in Muslim countries, he noted. "It's a common enemy, and it's killing more Muslims than non-Muslims," Ouansafi said. "The Pakistan army is in full war against the terrorists on behalf of the world."
He said the Hawaii Legislature's move is helping build a bridge to Muslims, generating positive comments about America from viewers and readers of Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, major Arabic-language news organizations.
"It's reaching the far, far corners of the world in a positive manner," he said. "The legislators have done in one resolution more to plant seeds of understanding than anyone could dream."

But leave it to 2 of our notorious republican senators to begin foaming at the mouth and spouting absurdities that show the very NEED for such a non-religious day to learn more about our neighbors' culture. Once Fox (Faux) News covered the story in their trademark "even & balanced" fashion there were calls to State tourism officials threatening to cancel travel plans. Lucky for us, I thought, that those folks are staying away. They should perhaps vacation in the colonial 19th Century, eh? All the "different" people here might upset their mind-set! LOL.

Though Good Friday is an official paid State holiday here, Islam Day (which mandated no official observance) was denied on the basis of the "wall of separation between church & state" that Jefferson wrote about.

Today I was at an early morning meeting where Mr. Ouansafi and a lawyer from the ACLU presented their points of view. The ACLU had testified against the senate resolution on the basis of the wall of separation while ignoring the Good Friday holiday as "before my time."

The law really IS an ass!

Hakim told us that Muslim media throughout the world carried the story of Hawaii's attempt to honor their culture and that it was very positive coverage despite the ultimate outcome. (No Islam Day) One writer in Saudi Arabia even proposed that his own country establish a "Christian Day!"

This is the power of Aloha.

Even when it is denied by misguided locals, it still permeates our culture here, thanks to our host Hawaiian culture.

I admit to being reflexively wary of Muslims and their culture. Visiting Chicago on business a few years back, I was involuntarily shocked that everyone from my taxi driver to the toll booth person was greeting with a Salam Alaikum. Did they look down on me as a woman? What would they think if they thought of me as Jewish? It's very uncomfortable supposing that others hate you without knowing you. I suppose that was Hakim's intention behind Islam Day: more mutual understanding here in the isles.

Today I listened to a leader of Hawaii's Muslim community and heard a brother speaking.

A L O H A ? Cloudia

Just Stop And Take A Breath

Aloha!

Thanks for stopping by

WAIKIKI

Today!

Stop for a moment...

Take a breath...
...Then take another...

"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook."
- William James

"Progress is like walking on a rolling barrel."
- Robert Frost













"Sometimes the first duty of intelligent persons is the restatement of the obvious."

- George Orwell

As children we were pushed to perform; and so most of us have internalized the habit of over-riding our innate temperment. We are strangers to ourselves; never having learned to know, value, and work along with our natural inclinations. . . our GIFTS! That's why life can seem like a "to do" list instead of a pleasure. No wonder we're often exhausted. . . It is the very thing that we seek to be rid of, that thing we are ashamed of, that is calling us back to the path of healing, to our sweet, original selves. If we simply stop running. If we look at it and bear with it patiently. . . treasure will emerge. . . the treasure of your unique nature. . .

A L O H A ! cloudia

The Heart Knows the Way. . .

Aloha & Welcome to Summery

W A I K I K I !

"Your mind does not know the way. Your heart has already been there. And your soul has never left it. Welcome HOME."

- Emmanuel via Ram Dass

When you are looking with love. . . then you see lovely people everywhere. . .

"Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security."

- John Allen, Mathematician

A gruff person with a good heart is better to be around than a cold selfish person observing norms of politeness. . .

The road to hell is paved with false dichotomies. . .

A L O H A !

. . .

40 Year Summer Anniversary

Aloha!

Welcome to. . .

Waikiki?click on photos to enlarge

Can't believe I saved it all these years.

(Disclaimer: I was under age though somewhat emancipated)

"There is a way to look at the past. Don't hide from it. It will not catch you if you don't repeat it."

Pearl Bailey

Hawaiian Skies over me
today

“An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young.”
Oscar Wilde

First Filament BURSTING OUT

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”
Sophia Loren

Yes, that's a hotel room safe on the curb.
Make up your own caption ;-)

It seems to be a Summer of Anniversaries.


Fifty Years of Hawaii Statehood.

40 years since the Stonewall Uprising

Today.




Forty years since Woodstock.






40 ****ing years?!!!!!!!!!!!


I should post this in August but

40 ****ing Years?!

I remember selling macrame` belts to boutiques for my ticket money.
I remember the BUZZ that THIS was gonna be a "gathering of the tribes" and a do NOT miss event!

Arriving at the site late on Thursday night it was too dark to see much.
We slept on the ground.





But Friday morning was a bursting, bustling SEA of cars and humanity.









I'd never seen so many people in one place(OK, maybe Grand Central Station)
but certainly never so many freaks!




(Only Time magazine, and news people, and the 'out of it' called us hippies)






Bob Segar struck a chord that still resonates down the corridor of years:
"Always seem outnumbered, don't dare make a stand,
Same old cliches: 'Is that a woman or a man?"


It took real courage to let your freak flag fly.







But this was freak utopia.

The few cops looked surrendered and happy and just kept the cars safely flowing even as random people (like me) hitched rides on hoods and trunks along the slow moving line of cars. Joints were smoked freely under the open sky, even sincerely offered to cops who declined smiling. Some people were topless, others muddy, and/or nude. Everyone looked HAPPY!


The cops acted like real peace officers. Locals told the press: "They're good kids." The cops treated us like citizens (instead of prey) for once. What else could they do, but still.
It was a peaceful metropolis under the sky, no fights, no attitude, just unbelieving bliss.





The radios in the cars reported that the New York State Thruway was closed!




"We closed the highway, man!"




"Maybe they got us all together in one place to bomb us."







It looked like the end of the world as we knew it and it felt fine indeed!






The disorientation and sensory overload of being amidst so many folks in quasi-disaster conditions made me feel high,
plus we hadn't brought food in expectation of buying it.
But fences were flat, services overwhelmed and not set up.
We sucked on those English flavored cigarette papers popular back then.
Rizzla?





Campers shared food. We got by somehow.
I still have my ticket because no one needed one. Free show, Man!
Free was a big concept then: bartering,
Whole Earth Catalogue self-sufficiency, communes....
A shop in West Philly at the time was called "The Free People's Store" which had a " free shelf" to challenge the whole idea of consumerism. Those folks were interesting and later morphed into Urban Outfitters, right Richard?





I can still see that ocean of people, and "feel" that ride on the snaking line of cars as the cops directed traffic good-naturedly.





I remember meeting people from all over the country.





I remember seeing my first Hawaii License plate. (Hawaii!)





I remember the music way way WAY over the sea of people,
and the helicoptered bands landing.





I remember me and my friends being overwhelmed by the throng and leaving on Saturday...but I never tell that part.....