Flagrant Flamingo

Sunday Aloha

in

Waikiki

click on the childhood idyl

"I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things. . . I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind." Leo Buscaglia

"God has given you one face, and you make yourself another."

William Shakespeare

Rambutan close up

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When I was very young

each day seemed a

bead

strung on the string

of my life.

Smooth beads,

happy,

filigreed,

still-soft clay;

and some were

hot

with the passions

and recriminations of

youth.

Perfectly round,

imperfectly rounded out,

one by one

each day-bead

is strung

on the narrative thread

of my life.

And now I replay them

passing the beads through my fingers

like a rosary of regret, satisfaction,

and sudden realization.

It seems that each day

one bead is contemplated,

and removed,

until I shall wear

the choker of age.

And then one day

the last burnished bead

will slip from my hands at last;

rolling along the floor of our being,

then disappearing down the wormhole

of another jeweled path

ALOHA, cloudia

Big Artist

Saturday!
Aloha-aaaaAAAAAH


click on the clouds for glory

"Nothing can undo the movies we are led to in our youth,
or the skein of impressions that they leave."
Anthony Lane

"Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere."

George Washington, 1st US President

"For every person who has ever lived there will come, at last,

a Spring he will never see.

Glory then in the Springs that are yours."

Pam Brown

"A professional is someone who can do his best work

when he doesn't feel like it."

Alistair Cooke

The video above is not a hoax.

My research indicates that these elephants are taught some basics,

but they seem to enjoy what they are doing.

Watch!

ALOHA, cloudia

Roo on da Beach

ALOHA

Friends!

it's

FRIDAY

in

W A I K I K I

"Pleasure is spread through the earth
In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find."
-William Wordsworth, 1806

click on the happy dog!

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"Be a fountain,
not a drain."
Rex Hudler

<><

"Beginning today
treat everyone you meet
as if they will be dead by midnight.
Extend them all the care,
kindness, and understanding
you can muster.
Your life will never be the same again."
Og Mandino


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Ah, Friday.
Don't we love it!
They say that the "eagle flies on Friday"
the eagle on the US Dollar, that is:
Pay Day!

What does your pay consist of?

In many ways, we are raised to equate our value with money.
Our legal systems certainly compensate high earners
above home makers and artists
in any law suit;
Just my bad luck to be both at once!

"All men (humans) are created equal."
That's what our constitution says.
So why are a few humans considered to be worth
millions,
or even billions,
when hard working people
are valued at a few thousand dollars?

Why can some,
who have way more than "enough"
play ego games with wealth on a page,
while others lack basic dignity?

Are children then worth nothing?
Wait, that's right:
Many states are cutting basic services to children
right now:
medical, educational, school buses, lunches, programs.
That will teach them!

But before I get too gloomy,
let's remember that `twas ever thus.
It's an ongoing climb up the hill of truth;
Of simple justice.

But certain people come along
who show the nakedness,
the poverty, if you will,
of our usual thinking.

Sometimes the light in our heart goes on
and we know with a warm confidence
that God is love,
and all the material world but our theatrical props,
even if we have the freedom to act badly.

One standing with love, in what is right,
is a majority.
Don't ever forget that.
You and I are already wealthy beyond measure.
All the world's gold
cannot buy a drop of the sun's golden energy.

Standing here, sitting here,
right NOW,
you breathe, and move, and have your singular
be-ing.
There is no other YOU.

No one else can touch the lives
and make the choices
that come your singular way.

So spread the wealth.
You and me.
And our pets;
most important to recognize THEIR singular value
in our lives.

Speak up for what is right.
Do what you can.

Be a humble winner,
frolic like Miss Roo on your own beach:
snow covered field, or city street-scape.

You ARE a winner.

I hope coming here is one small reward,
because I value this relationship that we have.
Friday!



ALOHA, cloudia

The Ego Has Landed

ALOHA
it's
Thursday in
W A I K I K I

click on the clouds for revelation

"A book (or a blog?) is a mirror:
If an ape looks into it,
and apostle is unlikely to look out."
George Christoph Lichtenberg

The oldest part of Honolulu, with Punchbowl (Puowaina) presiding to the upper left.



"A man can't ride your back
unless it's bent."
Martin Luther King

"It's not what he's doing to you.
It's what you're not doing for yourself."
Bill Cosby


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Love means to "let be."
My ministry
is to love the person in front of me
to meet them where they are
and any preaching I do
is to express appreciation
for all that person does.
God says:
"Thank You."
That's the message I've been given.


I realize this is very different
from those who tell victims
of a disaster
that it was meant as divine punishment.


I'm OK
with that.


Amen.


cloudia

Aloha!
Welcome to "Hump Day" Wednesday
in
Waikiki


click on the visual glories

I Think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
Joyce Kilmer

"The cat is above all things, a dramatist"
Margaret Benson

"Cats are dangerous companions for writers
because cat watching is a near-perfect method
of writing avoidance."

Dan Greenburg


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There's never any awkwardness;
I think I love Kitty's
sincerity
most of all.



ALOHA, cloudia

Tuesday Afternoon

ALOHA,
Friend
it's
TUESDAY in WAIKIKI



Ever had a song stuck in your head?
This one has been with me for decades.
Click on the song, as we wander Tuesday together.

now click on the photos for visual enticement

"Recent findings prove the brain is more flexible than we used to think.
With practice, we can change our habits

and even our natural disposition."

Tal Ben-Shahar (Italics mine)

Hawaiian Spotted Eagle Ray



"The number one predictor for general well being is not money or prestige but the time we spend with those that are near and dear to us.

Enjoying close and intimate relationships with those who care about us

is an absolute prerequisite of happiness.

But it is precisely these relationships that suffer most

in our hectic modern life."
Ben-Shahar

(I believe that our blogging relationships qualify!)

"We've all been trained to maximize every minute of our day.
But people who are able to focus on just one thing-
even for one or two hours a day-
are not only happier in their work,
they're also more productive and creative.
Less can be more."

Tal Ben-Shahar is the author of the books:

Happier
and
The Pursuit of Perfect




"Less can be more."

I like that.
How about
Y O U
?



ALOHA, cloudia

Narrative Emerging

ALOHA!

Even Monday is Beautiful

here in

WAIKIKI

click on the golden beauty

Another Waikiki sunset



"There is no pleasure in having nothing to do;
the fun is in having lots to do
and not doing it."
May Wilson Little

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I was interviewed by the very cool Webneetech.com!

You can see it by clicking HERE.

This guy carries a spare (hand)!

"A criminal is a person with predatory instincts
who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation."
Howard Scott, economist

Two yellow trees converse


"Goodwill is the only asset
that competition cannot
undersell or destroy."
Marshall Field

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We have come to the end of one narrative.

No one really knows

what the next storyline will be.

But there are some new themes

emerging;

Elite panic plays in counterpoint

to the innate humanity, resourcefulness,

local knowledge

and skills

of

average people

(like you and me).

And you know what?

I'm sure that we have

what it takes!

Glad to share this moment in history with

YOU!

ALOHA, cloudia

If you have the time check out an extraordinary blog post HERE