A Meme

ALOHA, Friends

Our great blogging friend MAGIC EYE of MUMBAI DAILY PHOTO
has published a "mate" to the photo below
that I took on Wong Ho Lane here in Honolulu.
You can see his twin HERE.

Opposite Sides of the Pacific, Yet One World

I talk to the Trees

ALOHA
There is Warmth Here for
YOU!
it's
Thursday in WAIKIKI

Today's background music:

click on photos to get elevated

When you think of Hawaii,
these are probably the trees that come to mind.

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"The trees are God's great alphabet:

With them He writes in shining green

Across the world His thoughts serene."

~Leonora Speyer

But we have much leafy treasure, both native and introduced.
Here is a tamarind tree, a member of the bean family Fabacceae:
Tamarindus Indica

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"If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day,
he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer.
But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods
and making the earth bald before her time,
he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen."
Henry David Thoreau

Here is a cool historical illustration
of the flowers, leaves & pods of the tamarind.

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"You can live for years next door to a big pine tree,
honored to have so venerable a neighbor,
even when it sheds needles all over your flowers or wakes you,
dropping big cones onto your deck at still of night."
Denise Levertov

Try living under a coconut palm: *BOOM!*

Here is the Manu O Ku (White Tern) the official Honolulu bird
that oft lays it's single egg in the crook of the tamarind.

Photo Source


"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt,
finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
sermons in stones, and good in everything."
William Shakespeare


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(Note: As I write this, it is a chilly morning.
We expect today's temps to reach only 76 degrees, Fahrenheit!
The air is "cool" and dry, but the sun is most pleasant.
Kitty is laying against me for warmth.
We send this dispatch to you with love!)



A Tamarind tree was planted in Hawaiian traditional
over the PIKO (umbilical cord)
of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop
in what is now called Tamarind Square in Downtown Honolulu.
We nourish the`Aina (land) just as it nourishes us.




As we live on the `Aina, we "make our bones" or Iwi
which should be returned to it. The bones have Mana (spiritual power)
and so are hidden away from those who might wish to use that power.
No one knows where Kamehameha the Great lays for this reason.
We honor him at his statue outside the Hawaii Supreme Court,
but do not visit a grave or tomb.




Hawaiians called the tamarind, introduced from Asia or Africa,
Wi Awa Awa.
Awa Awa means "sour" or "tart,"
which fits since the tree has both sweet and sour varieties.





It is said that this tree was brought to our shores by
Don Francisco de Paula Marin who also introduced mangos,
grapes, even the plumeria as well as many other "local" favorites.
The first tamarinds were planted near what is today's
Foster Botanical Garden.






Most of our tamarinds are old trees found in dry places
where Hawaiians used to live in traditional fashion.





Some Chinatown markets sell the tamarind fruit,
we also see it dried, canned,
or preserved with rock salt and wrapped in yellow cellophane as a sweet.





OH sweet trees!
I love you-
and I don't care who knows it!


What the?!
A local food columnist coincidentally wrote about isle cooking with tamarind HERE.


ALOHA, cloudia

Wintery Wah Wah

ALOHA
Friend!

Wednesday has come to
W A I K I K I

Click on the photos for eye-popping pulchritude

"A man (sic) has not begun to live until he can rise above the narrow confines of his own individual concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." Martin Luther King

"The propagandist's purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human." Aldous Huxley

"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible." Jonathan Swift

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Winter has come to Waikiki. . .
The nights are cooling, and it is time to bring out the quilts after months of sleeping only under a thin, rayon pareau (sarong).

There is snow atop the Big Island's Maunakea and Miss Kitty's fur is regal & thick once again. Visitors may only feel the relative mildness but we who live here, Kitty & I, we know the changes of this `Aina (land/country) in our bones and in our noses.

Crystal sharp trade winds bear the scent of Alaska, of thousands of open ocean miles, and vast empires of sky. They pause to pick up smells from yellow ginger, hidden mosses, and tropical soil, as they push themselves over the green Ko`olau mountains that backdrop our toy city like a misty Asian scroll painting.


The character of the clouds tells me it's winter.
Is it their shape, activity & color? Or is it their sense of humor as they tumble mumble and disassemble like Circe de Soliel acrobats above us? The Hawaiians of old found ready messages and wisdom in the clouds. Knowing their love of fun and word-play, I think certain funny-clouds rained punchlines that made the Kahuna chuckle all day. . . their cirrus & cumulus descendants are not telling; Not even me, their cousin Cloudia. . .

. . . So Take a moment.
Just a moment to stop & take a moment.
Close your eyes. Take a deep breath.
Another.
Exhale ALL the way.
Repeat.
Notice the un-noticed sounds surrounding you.
Are you cool? Warm? Secretly happy?
The clouds won't tell ;-)

Just let the thought-express rattle on without you for a while, who cares? YOU don't!
Just for a moment. . .
Breathe and Be.
The moment of calm clarity that arises is yours to keep.
Will you?

A L O H A! cloudia

Here's a Waikiki sunset for you to enjoy:

LOST Waikiki Premier

LOST premier video: HERE

Back!

ALOHA, Friend!
it's
TUESDAY
here in
W A I K I K I



click on photos to enjoy

"We must live today by what truth we can get today,
and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood."

William James

"Compromise, if not the spice of life, is its solidity.
It is what makes nations great and marriages happy."
Phyllis McGinley

"All appears to change when we change."
Henri-Frederic Amiel

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It felt weird.
But I had to do it.
Plans were made,
greeting snacks and pictures
were carefully scheduled to
post.

Then I put my computer away
for a few days.

Like an addict
my thoughts turned to all the juicy
blogs
and bloggers
that I was missing.

Was Walking Man
awake through the Detroit night
channeling poetry?

How is Daryl's new promotion going?
Is she still visiting so many blogs?

Is Weaver still coping with English snow?

Is Wenn posting from Malaysia today?
Dina from Jerusalem?
Marguerite from Cajun Country,
Reader from Holland,
Claude from France?
And what of Akemalu's cruise pictures?

It doesn't feel right
to miss your wonderful blogs,
and yes, that includes YOU
SHAY,
and all the others
who I will
groan
to have left unmentioned here.

Each of you has become an important part of my day,
my life,
my heart.


Thank you for visiting me here,
and for your kind indulgence
even when I run into the jungle
and disappear from the web
for a few days.

Everything
is OK.

Except that I missed you!

Now I'm off to catch up. . .

ALOHA! cloudia

Monday Shmonday

ALOHA
Friend


click on photos

"As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Nelson Mandela

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"The only normal people

are folks you don't really know yet."

-Gerald McBoingBoing

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"Until you've lost your reputation,

you never realize what a burden it was

or what freedom is all about."

-Margaret Mitchell

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Anxiety comes from past regrets or future anticipation.
Pausing to inhabit THIS moment, just being in your skin, saves so much energy
that it becomes noticeable.

Let go of responsibility for the words and attitudes of others.
Just love them and let them be.
Tolerance for others and for yourself
are inextricably bound together.

Notice how much of your inner dialogue is judgments.
Are you being paid to be a judge? It's hard work!

Try this: When you notice judgments arising: stop and smile and breathe.
Notice your surroundings. Your only dogma: DE-ESCALATE.
Think: "So what, who cares?"
Even driving will get smoother and your gas mileage will improve!
You'll build an energy surplus.

Watch how you "take the bait" of daily life.
And SURPRISE: you will make better choices from a place of wisdom,
instead of being a reaction robot.

Aloha! cloudia



bouus:

Behold da Mighty Land