Wonderful New Day

Aloha

Welcome to a New Day for Hawaii!

"I absolutely believe in revenge.

A dish best served cold?

I say: get it any way you can."

Fran Lebowitz

 

"Smiles

are the soul's

party dresses."

Cloudia

 

"Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane. . . "

John Denver

"Be to her virtues very kind,
Be to her faults a little blind."

Matthew Prior

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Today, the team I have supported

is being sworn in as Governor

and lieutenant Governor

of the State of Hawaii.

 

 

A ticket to the proceedings

sits right here beside my keyboard.

 

There is a concept in the Hawaiian Culture:

PONO.

According to the authoritative 

Pukui/Elbert Hawaiian Dictionary,

Pono means:  goodness, uprightness, morality, moral qualities, correct or proper procedure, excellence, well-being, prosperity, welfare, benefit, behalf, equity, proper, righteous, right, upright, just, virtuous, fair, beneficial, successful...and so much more.

Things in our islands

have been in disharmony

for eight years.

With all the problems we face today

a new, inclusive, regime is needed.

By all appearances,

that new regime is now come.

Humans will never be perfect

and I don't expect to agree

with every move "my" guys make.

But that longed-for inclusiveness is afoot,

as seen in the recent proposed appointments

of good people.

I have a confession to make.

A very rude and inflexible person

has been in charge of the State Department

that over-sees the State Harbors.

As residents of a State Harbor,

my neighbors and I have been under assault

by an antagonistic, pre-determined process

that has made us unwelcome

in our own beloved neighborhood.

The other day,

I saw that rude woman,

who had hurt so many peoples' feelings

(and made some boaters homeless)

crying before the TV News cameras.

Bullies always cry 

when they finally get the punch in the nose

that they have courted.

I felt a satisfaction,

an ancient one.

It's good to see those

who have made themselves 

you enemies

CRY.

Even better:

We welcome Pono Hawaiian Gentleman,

William Aila

Waianae Boat Harbor Master,

Hawaiian Activist,

& gadfly for what is right,

as our NEW 

DIRECTOR, Dept. Of Land & Natural Resources.

He is expected to be confirmed easily.

The war is over.

Now there's LOTS to be done.

But we the people of Hawaii

will do it together.

It's a wonderful day.

             What is pleasing YOU today? cloudia

BONUS:

Stroll around Honolulu @ Christmas Time!

Ford Deluxe

"A L O H A !

click on the photos

We are all together in the canoe.

To move forward,

 we must work

together.

"A business that makes nothing but money

 is a poor business."

 Henry Ford 

"Whither goest thou, America,

 in thy shiny car in the night?"

Jack Kerouac

"Coming together is a beginning;

 keeping together is progress;

 working together is success."

Henry Ford 

"Don't find fault,

 find a remedy."

Henry Ford

"If there is any one secret of success,
 it lies in the ability
 to get the other person's point of view
 and see things
 from that person's angle
 as well as from your own."
Henry Ford 

If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability."
Henry Ford

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Been thinking about my dad.

He's been gone over a year now.

"Iron sharpens iron,

 and one person sharpens the wits of another."

Proverbs 27:17

He always seemed to be trying to 'teach me a lesson'

and I guess he did.

Intentional ones, but mostly unintentional lessons.

One day, he was driving Carl & I home from high school.

We passed through North Philadelphia

a tough, threadbare neighborhood.

As we passed a corner

Dad pointed out a derelict and asked:

"Friend of yours, Cloudia?"

Carl never forgot that.

It was clear evidence

of the divide

between my father

and

I.

Thinking on it the other day

I realized that my father

had defined me.

That story is part of my identity.

Yes, 

that is my friend.

Always.

But rather than seeing my Dad as an

adversary in this episode

as I always have

I realized that he helped me

to understand who I am.

Sometimes it was in

contrast to him-

-  but not always.

Thanks for the gift

of struggling together,

Dad.

You made me who I

Am.

"When you have brought up kids,

 there are memories

 you store directly in your tear ducts."

  Robert Brault

Nothing is Easy

A L O H A

Today's song

 was my "theme-song" for so long.

NOTHING is easy.

Micronesian Ladies Wait for the Bus.

Scooter girl takes this shot.

She her reflection?

"The detached observer's view

 is one window on the world."

Kenneth L. Pike 

"Character is what you are in the dark."

-Dwight L. Moody

Riding Along With Dad

"He opened the jar of pickles when no one else could.

 He was the only one in the house who wasn't afraid to into the basement by himself.

 He cut himself shaving, but no one kissed it or got excited about it.

 It was understood when it rained, he got the car and brought it around to the door. 

When anyone was sick, he went out to get the prescription filled. He took lots of pictures ...

 but he was never in them."

-- Erma Bombeck 

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Hannukah

is a holiday of LIGHT

like Diwali.

Tonight is the second night.

The war was over:

the Earthly Power

had won.

Yet

a dark lamp

remained in the

defiled

temple.

Rebels lit that lamp,

the light that should never

go out.

And though it

"shouldn't have"

it shined

eight days

and eight

crazy nights.

Let's celebrate

the improbable 

victory

of delight

just when

grim problems

seem to have

"won."

Miracles can happen.

You are one.

I am another.

Tomorrow

is

another.

From one miracle to another:

Don't give up the faith,

your faith

that the 

BEST

can happen.

It often does.

Celebrate!

Believe

that all can be

easy,

dare to believe it,

and it will be

so!

Thanks for coming by,

and please leave the gift

of your "hello"

       in comments.  cloudia

November Skies, Waikiki

ALOHA

 

Today is World Aids Day.

Here's to friends not present.

"What a privilege to be here on the planet

to contribute your unique donation to humankind.

Each face in the rainbow of colors that populate our world

is precious and special."

Amber Simmons
                                                            



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“No man is rich enough to buy back his past.”
 Oscar Wilde 

Here is the song. . .

. . . And here is the show:

Big Buddha

Aloha & Thanks for Visiting Today!

First Hawaiian Bank Headquarters, Honolulu

There are many kinds of idols

On Saturday

 I went to visit what some might call an idol.

"Better than a thousand hollow words,

 is one word that brings peace."

Buddha 

The Jade Buddha for Universal Peace & Happiness

 was visiting Honolulu for two days this past weekend.

 The giant bodhisattva (Sanskrit: बोधिसत्त्व)

 stands at almost 9 feet tall and weighs around 4 tons.

  It was carved from the world's largest jade gemstone known as the "Polar Jade" and  is valued at $5 million.

"Just as treasures are uncovered

 from the earth,

 so virtue appears from good deeds,

 and wisdom appears

 from a pure and peaceful mind."

Buddha

I felt very polite and respectful.

 This was a religious experience for some, after all.

"The way is not in the sky.

 The way is in the heart."
Buddha 

But it was far from solemn.

  It was more like a family reunion, said to bring

 spiritual riches

for believer and non-believer alike

 who came into the presence.

"Thousands of candles can be lit

from a single candle,

and the life of the candle will not be shortened.

Happiness never decreases by being shared."

Buddha

I came to see the Buddha,

but found myself EXPERIENCING something

on an energetic level.

These photos don't convey

 the amazing scale of the object.

I felt very touched and uplifted.

A female Buddhist monk

came up to me and gave me the photo

I have reproduced above.

The orbs appearing around the statue

are said to be angels and such

celebrating

Universal Peace & Happiness!

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       Wishing you all the best, cloudia