Blessings of a Hellish Childhood

A  L  O  H  A !

" Keep 

your fears

 to yourself, 

but share 

your inspiration

 with others. "

Robert Louis Stevenson

Suspended Pearl

" It's wonderful to climb

 the liquid mountains 

of the sky. 

Behind me 

and before me 

is God 

and I have

 no fears. "

Helen Keller 

Black Pearl

" Who would search

 for pearls 

must dive below. "

John Dryden

" Pearls 

mean tears. "

Doris Lessing 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Scientists continue to demonstrate

 that stress and abuse leave their traces

upon us,

our nervous system,

even Soul,

 in measurable and

 troubling ways,

troubling especially

 to survivors of early stress 

like myself.

We live(d) with a legacy: 

anxiety & depression 

seemingly hard-wired 

into our nervous system.

There are compensations.

Pressure the carbon of a child

long enough

and one may produce

unknowingly

a fiercely concentrated 

Attention,

tested self-reliance,

and a sort of 

dark resilience

of gallows swagger, 

a sense of

humor that grows out of

one unsurprising slight

after another.

Any catharsis is good, really.

Me, age 5: 

I lay in the dark

and wrestled with

humankind's oldest,

deepest fears,

questions.

When you wrestle

with the finality,

the inevitability of 

DEATH

as a five year old

alone in the dark,

you build capacity

for great Philosophy,

Art, or Crime.

Early, such a one 

has intimately

known 

this life's grime.

Those lucky protected,

with childhood memories

of gold,

live unexamined

enchantment - 

at least until 

becoming old.

The Solitude

 We Each Must Face,

to the adult unprepared

is a bit,

sometimes WAY

too much!

But 

unhappy children

have long

made friends

of death;

Mature years,

 to us,

are good years,

full of surprise!

Windfallen fruit!

No shadow now

upon us

of bully, 

or galoot.

Enjoying my sweets

at the end of the meal;

Deeply Grateful,

Surprised,

at such full beauty,

pleasure,
Light,

and love - 

Today

that is All

That I

Feel.

"Just desserts!"

the Pixies

squeal!

:-)

So Pleased that

Y O U

come here to play

with us!

Scrawl YOUr comment,

joke, or graffito,

on the comment wall,

y'all.

                                   "Spoiled" Cloudia

Phantom Mall-Wing Syndrome at Ala Moana

A  L  O  H  A !

" The evening sings

 in a voice of amber, 

the dawn

 is surely coming. "


Al Stewart 

" Every generation laughs

 at the old fashions, 

but follows religiously 

the new. "


Henry David Thoreau

" The love we have

 in our youth 

is superficial compared 

to the love that

 an old man has

 for his old wife. "

Will Durant

><}}(°> ~

Sears came to Hawaii back in Territorial

 (pre-statehood) days,

installing the islands' first escalator

(in the 1930's)

in the building I knew

 as Honolulu Police Headquarters

where I obtained my
 taxi driving license.
(late 1980's)

Sears had left that building
in 1959

to move into the exciting 

New Shopping Center

(Mall was not a concept yet)

whose opening coincided with

S T A T E H O O D!

It was a booming hopeful time

for Hawaii, for Honolulu,

and for "Hawaii's Center"

Ala Moana Shopping Center.

(LINK)

As in most other cities

people stopped shopping

Downtown (Fort St; King St)

and drove to the 

exciting new big center.

Sears and Ala Moana flourished

together, creating jobs

and memories

for generations of

Island folks, and 

our visitors.

Your childhood presents,

school clothes,

prom-wear, homegoods,

all from Sears.

And your Auntie or Uncle

probably worked there.

Ala Moana 

'World's Largest Open Air Center'

has always been great 
for people watching,

and has grown in phases.

But lately locals are grumbling

that the old standards,

Like Slipper House (sandals)

that opened AMSC have

disappeared one by one.

Now there is new development.

Sears has left AMSC!

(Stores remain in two other

Oahu locations FAR from town)

No more quick appliance parts,

car brakes, or car battery installed,

no eyeglass shop,
no watch repair 
(world class, alas!).

We're all nostalgic for Sears.

That wing of the mall will become

a Bloomingdales

and lots of other

"Cool New Shops"

But right now

that Mall Wing

feels haunted.

"Sad, yeah?" local faces

reaching "The Wall"

seem to express.

Oh well.

Things that seemed

permanent when we were kids

are revealed to be changing,

passing.

People too.

Us too.

There are so many choices

on Oahu today!

But something laments

the passing of familiar things.

"Aloha, Sears;

Now we going drive

Windward or Pearl City

for buy tools!"

Thanks for Walking the Mall
With Us Today!

                              Warmly, cloudia

Climbing and Arriving

A  L  O  H  A !

What Keeps the Clouds Aloft?

" I want to make

 exalted art. 

A successful image 

has pictorial lift. 

I am looking for 

whatever is up there. "

Frank Stella 

" When preparing

 to climb a mountain -

pack a light heart. "

Dan May 

Take My Hand

"Choose people 

who lift you up. "

Michelle Obama 

=^..^=

Someday is here. 

Deferring gratification 

served you well; 

Now 

it is late afternoon, 

golden time. 

Break out the ambrosia, 

distilled of your prudence.

Don't miss the savoring

of your laboring.

Thank You

for sharing this drink;

*C L I N K*

!

> < } } (°>

Leave Your 

Comment Hors d`oeuvre

MMMMM! Tasty!

                           Fondly, cloudia

Flavors of Favors

A  L  O  H  A !

It can be

 fun

to do an 

unexpected favor;

Loud, rude people

demanding 

their rights

are not.

No one

wants to be

corrected, or

 instructed,

but most of us

enjoy helping

nice people

when we can.

Life

is a passion vine,

sometimes blocked,

but always

fine!

Palms or Buildings?

Choice

is the motive force

of the Universe;

Love

is the narrative,

returning home,

is the plot.

 =^..^=

                  > < } } (°>

' Take Peace & Smiles - 

                                     I Adore Your Comments '

Thanks for visiting!

                            Warmly, cloudia

Coach Shoji

A  L  O  H  A !

 “ Some people say 

I have attitude- 

maybe I do…

but I think you have to. 

You have to believe in yourself 

when no one else does

 – that makes you 

a winner right there.” 

 Venus Williams

“ Girls playing sports

 is not about winning

 gold medals.

 It’s about self-esteem, 

learning to compete 

and learning how hard 

you have to work

 in order to achieve

 your goals. ” 

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 

Three-time Olympic gold medalist

In 1981,

 Dave Shoji became 

the first full-time coach

 of the University of Hawaii's

 women's volleyball program:

 Our beloved Rainbow Wahine.

 What an amazing ride it's been!

On friday night Coach Shoji

 achieved 

his 1,107th career win

 - an all time 

NCAA Division 1 record!

And Dave's not done yet.

So congrats to a person

 that causes all Hawaii to smile.

Thanks to all the memorable players

 for all the thrills

and championships over the years.

GO BOWS!

Thanks for visiting today!

What local thing,

or person,

are YOU

proud to share today?

Tell us in comments!

                         fondly, cloudia

As You Once Did

A L O H A !

DO Listen [Trust Me]

" If 

you pass 

by the colour purple

 in a field 

and don't notice it, 

God gets 

real pissed off. "

Alice Walker

" Are not flowers

 the stars of the earth,

 and are not our stars

 the flowers

 of the heaven? "

A.J. Balfour 

" All objects lose

 by too familiar

 a view. "

John Dryden 

What Familiar person,
thing, or situation
do YOU no longer
appreciate
as you once did?

Is it Yourself?

" If seeds 

in the black earth

 can turn into such

 beautiful roses,

 what might not

 the heart of man become

 in its long journey

 toward the stars?  "

G.K. Chesterton

=^..^=

 > < } } (°>

' Take Peace & Smiles - 
Leave Your Comment Dear Friend '

Thanks for visiting!

                       Warmly, cloudia