So Sorry

Aloha, Friend

Life has been CRAZY!

"I will try to cram these paragraphs
 full of facts
 and give them a weight and shape
 no greater than that
 of a cloud of blue butterflies."

Brendan Gill 

So Sorry that I haven't visited YOUR Site in WAYYYY

too long!

"If you wouldn't write it 
and sign it,
 don't say it."

Earl Wilson 

Hope you understand! 

 Thanks SO much for YOUR visits & comments here.

I hope to catch up soon.

But YOU are in my thoughts

and in my

HEART!

            Really! cloudia

Naked Without

A l o h a!

Take off your shoes

and come in-

"Two or three things I know for sure,

 and one is that I'd rather go naked

 than wear the coat the world has made for me." 

Dorothy Allison 

"If you wouldn't write it and sign it,
 don't say it."

Earl Wilson 

"The sparrow that is twittering on the edge of my balcony

 is calling up to me this moment

 a world of memories that reach over half my lifetime,

 and a world of hope

 that stretches farther than any flight of sparrows."

Donald G. Mitchell 

<<^*^>>

I feel naked without my camera,

without lipstick,

earrings,

bracelets & rings,

sunglasses,

sun hat or umbrella,

cards, cash

and cell (mobile) phone.

What do YOU need

in order to leave

your home?
             Tell us in comments :-) cloudia

And I Was There

Hawaii Civil Unions Bill

 Wins Final Approval

New Governor Will Sign!

Hawaii State Senate Chamber, Yesterday


Feeling the weight of history on my shoulders,
I was there for all those abused folks
who never lived to see this day.

There had been much contention and hurt feelings. . . Years of sign waving, lobbying,

tears and slurs;

but the day had really come.

After some final speech-i-fying:

 Souls Took Flight!

Song of the Day!

                                 

How Long Has He Waited?  

Will she ever understand

 how it used to be, or 

the battles fought for her?

Those are the people we elect. . . doing our business.

Mahalo - Thank You!

Love Train, Yo!

Aloha!

glad YOU came :-)

Nature is Beautiful. . . 

subtle. . .

"A very subtle difference

 can make the picture or not."

Annie Leibovitz 

Rich in Color & light. . . 

"In the beginning there was nothing.

 God said, 'Let there be light!'

 And there was light.

 There was still nothing,

 but you could see it a whole lot better. "

Ellen DeGeneres 

But without people & creatures. . . .

 Ultimately it feels empty-

Play the song, Yo!

While you see the REAL treasure:

Neighbor Boy

Aloha & Welcome to our Pride Party!!

so play da song!
 Local Boy Makes Good!

Bruno Mars & his Grammy Award
AP Photo Jae C. Hong

Yep, that's our guy! Went to High School
a few miles from here.

AP Photo, Matt Sayles

What a performer!

Hawaii-born Local Guy, Bruno Mars,

 was a Grammy nominee in six categories including: Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Producer of the Year (Non-Classical), Best Rap Song,

 and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Named the winner in the ”Best Male Pop Vocal" category  for his song “Just the Way You Are"

Bruno bested  Michael Buble,

 John Mayer,

 Adam Lambert and even

 the late Michael Jackson!

 Bette Midler was the last artist

 with Hawaii ties to win the

Best New Artist Grammy in 1973.

Back when I was driving a taxi here in Honolulu,

Bruno was performing almost every night

in Waikiki as 

"World's Smallest Elvis Impersonator."

In the spirit of fun,

and "look how far he's come"

here's a clip from a Hollywood

film featuring such a performance:

(and say, why not scroll down

all the way to the cover picture of

my little "taxi novel"

and check it out at Amazon

with a 'click')

?

and now, let the embarrassment begin!

Golden Hour

Aloha Friend!

“My formula for living is quite simple.

 I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night.

 In between,

 I occupy myself as best I can.”

 Cary Grant

"Everything has its beauty

 but not everyone sees it."

Andy Warhol

"In every walk with nature

 one receives far more than he seeks."

  John Muir

“Everyone wants to be.”

 Cary Grant

    ><}}(°>

Seeing your comments,

your posts & photos,

are high points

in my day.

         Thank YOU! cloudia

Then It's OK

You Were Expecting maybe . . . an...

A  L  O  H  A  !? 

Ha!  Ha!

"Those who dwell among the beauties

 and mysteries

 of the earth

 are never alone

 or weary of life."

Rachel Carson

"Youth & Age"

"Old age has its pleasures, 

which, though different,
 are not less than the pleasures of youth."

W. Somerset Maugham 

“To stand at the edge of the sea,  to sense the ebb and flow of the tides. . .  to watch the flight of shore birds  that have swept up and down the surf lines  of the continents for untold thousands of years. . . is to have knowledge of things  that are as nearly eternal  as any earthly life can be.”

Rachel Carson  <<>> Eternal. What a big word. "Always," or "Never;" Never Again: That is eternity. A few years back my dad gave me copy of an old sepia photograph. The people in the picture wear antique clothing, early 20th Century I guess.  It was taken around a hundred years ago! Sticky notes identify the people  in dad's illegible handwriting. But I know that these are my ancestors: Grandparents, uncles; huddled masses looking determined. They are part of me; of dad and me, and they always will be though they are long gone. Ancestors belong in old photographs. The inevitability of that rests easy on our minds. Until the man who gave me the photo is no longer here to give anything anymore. Then 'inevitability' and 'eternity' begin to hurt deeply. They have become more than words. They are an awe-ful truth. BUT Before you CLICK AWAY I recently heard this story from my Mom. She is still in touch with the widow of the couple my parents were closest to. We'll call them Cheyl & Herb. Well Cheryl went to a psychic. And yes, Herb came through. He was very happy. "We're having a wonderful time!" He told his wife. "Milt (my dad) is here and we're laughing all the time."

So throw your head back and join me in a laugh at all that scares us! Today we are all Egyptians! Today we all throw off the yoke of fear! Whatever it is:                  Laugh At IT!   fondly, cloudia