Spring Aloha Blossoms

Pink Lehua

"In dreams begin responsibilities."

Yeats

Iolani Palace

"A baby is God's opinion that life should go on."

Carl Sandburg

Little Red Fellow through a Screen

"Give a person a fish, and you will feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet, and they won't bother you for weeks."

Anonymous

This winter was wet in Waikiki.

Rainy perhaps, but in a beautiful tropical way!

News of blizzards and tornadoes from the "continent" sure put a little sweet rain (`Ua Li`i Li`i) into perspective. And when the skies do clear, WOW!

Today, I saw a city worker mowing the grassy highway median, followed by an assistant: a tall white egret hungry for stirred-up snacks. Ah the smell of fresh-cut grass!

And gingers are suddenly blooming EVERYWHERE; Red Torch Ginger, delicate Pink Shell Ginger. . .

Once again O`ahu dons her Spring aloha wear of blossoms. . .

April is the cruelest month, so the poet claims.

Her fresh green blooming mocks our creaky backs. . .

And we remember

those

who, unlike Persephone,

have not returned,

to us. . .

But do not mourn

for Spring is Born

Again

In our hearts

Wreathed

In gentle

Mists. . .

A L O H A! CLOUDIA

A Small Victory

Click on photos to enlarge!Hawaiian Hawksbill Sea Turtle

"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously."

Hubert Humphrey

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

"The best way to realize the pleasure of feeling rich is to live in a smaller house than your means would entitle you to have."
Edward Clarke

Lunch in Chinatown

"The basic work of health professionals in general, and of psychotheripists in particular, is to become full human beings and to inspire full human-beingness in other people who feel starved about their lives."

Chogyam Trungpa

All those sleepless nights finally paid off. And, honestly, weren't they fun? Camping on remote Big Island (Hawaii) beaches, talking story deep into the night, as the hoku (stars) surge and spiral above. . .

From June to December for 20 years now the volunteers have spent island-hot days in coastal Puna and Ka`u trapping mongoose, feral cats and rats. For these are the culprits who feast on the hatchlings.

Our local population of Hawaiian Hawksbill Sea Turtles was in obvious decline. Finally, the volunteers decided to act; Not only culling predators, but even guarding nest sites for long nights until conditions were fulfilled.

Sometimes, wrapped in purpose & wonder on those velvet nights, the humans even witnessed an immemorial scene: female turtles emerging from the surf, hauling inch by inch, to the high water mark where they lay, and then bury, their 150 eggs. Volunteers listened to their labored breathing in the dark, a sound more ancient than the first baby's cry.

Then the mama turtles resumed their submarine flight, never knowing that guardians were standing by.

Interspecies angels.

But today turtle numbers are climbing again. One small victory in the pilgrimage of conscience. . .

A L O H A! Cloudia

The Queen's Flowers

Click on photos to enlarge! Lotus - by Beth Eisenberg

"This very moment is the perfect teacher, and lucky for us, it's with us wherever we are." Pema Chodron

Queen Lili`uokalani, Last Monarch of Hawaii;

Iolani Palace in Background.

(note the lei & hu`ukupu, "gifts")

“Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship”
Omar Bradley

Racist Political Cartoon of the Queen,

Her Throne Precarious on American Bayonets.

In her hand are papers reading "Scandalous Government"

and "Gross Immorality."

“How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people.”
Albert Einstein

The Beloved Lili`uo Herself

"All things change; nothing perishes."

OVID

When the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown by local American businessmen in 1893 with the tacit backing of U.S. Marines off of the USS Boston, the Queen was imprisoned in Iolani Palace.

In addition to being quarantined from her beloved people, she was also denied any news of the world beyond her window.

The gardener at her gracious Waikiki home, Paokalani, continued to tend her beloved flowers in expectation of her return. Every day he sent the Queen a bouquet of fresh flowers.

And each bouquet was wrapped in fresh newspapers!

The tides of larger events oft rock our little lives. Even a royal ship of state can founder.

But though we experience loss, even the loss of a whole kingdom, there still remain flowers to pause and enjoy.

And those we love will find simple, yet eloquent ways reach out to us.

A L O H A! Cloudia

PS: Yesterday's photo of "mystery fruit" was: MANGO on da tree!

Seasonable Neighbors

Click on Photos to Enlarge!Anuenue (Ah-Neway-Neway) The Rainbow

“The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.”
John Vance Cheney

Ka Iwi Coastline - A Stark & Spiritual Place

“An enchanted life has many moments when the heart is overwhelmed with beauty and the imagination is electrified by some haunting quality in the world or by a spirit or voice speaking from deep within a thing, a place, or a person. Enchantment may be”
Henry Louis Mencken

Gargantuan Child Circumnavigates Oahu Map

“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”
Elizabeth Lawrence

Even here in the middle of Earth's widest ocean, we have neighbors who are seasonal residents. Soon the humpback whales, the kolea (golden plover), and the dear Canadians (Neighboris Northis) will be returning to their winter grounds.

The Whales continued their long economic contribution to Hawaii as stars of film, TV, and tourism - which they undoubtedly enjoy more than the old days of whale hunting. The gentle Canadians too, contribute much to the economy and ecology of Waikiki. These affable creatures often return to the same nest (condo) year after year, building warm relationships with us year-rounders. Then you wake up one morning and they've taken wing!

The Kolea arrive from Alaska as skinny as homeless men, spend the winter foraging, and leave fat and happy in the Spring. Thanks for nothing, freeloaders! In Hawaiian Olelo (Sayings, Proverbs & Aphorisms) the Kolea is representative of an interloper who takes & takes without contributing to the common welfare - you know, like Wall Street bankers. . .

This Winter's theme? Whales gone wild! Our visiting cetaceans flipped, flapped and slapped the waters rather close to shore this season. Visitors to the Diamond Head Lookout, or the Lanai Lookout beside the Blow Hole by Sandy’s Beach (Ka Iwi, above) have been treated to some extra exuberant displays this winter. Glad the visitors AND the humpbacks enjoyed their Hawaii winter sojourns! The little girl in the picture above was too busy running around Oahu to notice. . .

The Canadians seemed to have a lovely time this year as well. The Kolea? Who cares? They keep to themselves. Hope you won't! Please stop by here often. E Komo Mai - You Are Most Welcome.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Mango Tango

“To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower

Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour.”
William Blake

“Beautiful must be the mountains whence ye come,

And bright in the fruitful valleys the streams, wherefrom

Ye learn your song.”
Robert Bridges

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." Albert Einstein

My Sunday Wish For You

Resolve today

to muse & dream;

Be anything

but "realistic"

A sabbath of peace

of sugar & grease

The mundane

morphed to mystic.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Pearls for Breakfast

Click on photos to enlarge! Waikiki Morning Skies

"Be pleasant until ten o'clock in the morning and the rest of the day will take care of itself."

Elbert Hubbard

"There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast".

Author Unknown (Sepiru Chris?)

A Luxuriance of Palm Fronds

"Luxury is an ancient notion. There was once a Chinese mandarin who had himself wakened three times every morning simply for the pleasure of being told it was not yet time to get up."

Argosy

Friends on a walk

"The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth."

Chinese Proverb

It seems an important article of my faith to prefer the individual, the unique, and the "one-off" over the mass produced and the popular.

Perhaps that's what I love about the cacophony of the blogosphere - it's the individuated voices that all of YOU one-offs bring into my world!

Then again, routine can be a balm. Like my habit of looking in on YOUR blogs as often as I am able. So even though I'm no fan of the world-wide uniformity (or food choices) of McDonalds, it seems that breakfast at the Golden Arches has become a some-time morning ritual that grounds me in my day - and in a particular time and place.

This morning I walked Waikiki beach, stopping for breakfast at "Micky D's" on Kuhio Avenue. Spearing a slice of only-at-McD's-of Hawaii pineapple, listening to the babble of Japanese tourist families, and humming along with the piped-in Hawaiian music, my mind went back to other mornings long ago. . .

The Philadelphia of almost 30 years ago was very different from the Waikiki of today. And the struggling young Me was certainly very different from the Cloudia writing this today. I lived then with my gelical cat, Jennifer, in a hundred year old church bell tower. Looking back now, I realize that I was a sort of "project" for the intellectual, Epicopalian congregation. Eating take-away McMuffins and gazing out over the wide stone parapets

was a peaceful moment for kitty & me in an otherwise hectic time.

Resources were thin, and the ultimate recognition of my genius uncertain, but I had a few, dear, twisted friends, and my favorite used-book store was open till midnight. The city of my birth was then a playground of bohemian possibility. One block from the over-stuffed couches of Book Trader, a young guy named Bruce Springsteen was packing them in at a tiny South Street bar called Grendel's Lair.

Struggle is romantic in retrospect. But at least one close friend was hip to the jive even way back then. "Life is such a struggle, Jim," I said to my partner in crime and hope. "Better days are sure to come."

"Cloudy," He said,

"These are the good days!"

Who would have guessed, all those struggles ago, that someday I'd be wielding my plastic fork here in the 21st Century? That I'd walk in Waikiki and look back over my many, many Egg Mc Muffins. . .

. . . Thinking of a dear friend many years gone. . .

"They're ALL good days, Jimmy," I thought with deep gratitude,

sipping not- bad hot coffee.

"But you were right all those breakfasts ago. Those days of doubt, discovery, struggle & ecstasy were in a real sense our "Glory Days."

I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Here's to many more - with thanks to all of YOU for strolling along.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Sunsets

Click on Photos to enlarge!

“Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven.”
John Lubbock

“Loneliness adds beauty to life. It puts a special burn on sunsets and makes night air smell better.”
Henry Rollins

“If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God.”
G. K. Chesterton



“Once I saw a chimpanzee gaze at a particularly beautiful sunset for a full 15 minutes, watching the changing colors [and then] retire to the forest without picking a pawpaw for supper.”
Adriaan Kortlandt

“How strange this fear of death is! We are never frightened at a sunset.”
George MacDonald

May these sunsets paint your day with calm optimism. We made it through another week. Let us rest & recreate. Easter resurrection, Passover liberation, and daffodil silliness await us!

Aloha, Friends, Cloudia