Paddling Children

A  L  O  H  A !

Feel Better about that Provocative Title now?

" The whole is simpler 

than the sum of its parts. "

                    Willard Gibbs

Some Hawaii kids

learn to co-operate 

through paddling.

It is healthy for 

mind & body.

The first Hawaiians

came to these islands

in great voyaging canoes.

So this is meaningful

too, as we honor our

host culture.

Ho'okahi ka 'ilau like ana.

 "Wield the paddles together." 

Launching Place

" You must live 

in the present, 

launch yourself 

on every wave, 

find your eternity 

in each moment. "

                 Henry David Thoreau

" Many hands make light work. "

The large heavy 

wooden canoes,

with their

cross pieces 

and the outrigger

called the "Ama"

are lovingly carried

to and from the water

by the crew

" Respect yourself 

and others will 

respect you. "

                   Confucius

['^']

Thank You

for pulling into

our cove!

               Warmly, cloudia

Introduced Hawaiian

A L O H A !

 Brazilian Cardinal, 

Paroaria coronata

- Introduced to Hawaii 

early 1930's;

 Insects, fruit & seeds 

are this bird's meat -

Linking to

Wild Bird Wednesday

['^']

Thank You!

               Warmly, cloudia

Sunny & Breezy 81F/27C

A  L  O  H  A !

" The day, 

water, sun, moon,

 night - 

I do not have to 

purchase these things 

with money. "

                      Plautus

 Treat children 

like adults,

 and adults like

 children. 

                      cloudia

Royal Hawaiian Hotel
"You only 
live once - 
but if you 
work it right, 
once 
is enough."
                        Joe E. Lewis


Nothing says NATURE
Like the beach!
Linking to 
Nature Notes

['^']

Thank YOU
for lazing with us!
                     Fondly, cloudia

Images of Woman

A  L  O  H  A !

Ladies Passing

" We are all looking 

for something 

of extraordinary importance 

whose nature

 we have forgotten. "

                                   Ionesco

" There is no such thing

 as an ugly woman. "

                                                                Vincent Van Gogh

" Person to person,

 moment to moment, 

as we love, we 

change the world. "

                  Samahria Lyte Kaufman

" If a woman has to choose

 between catching a fly ball 

and saving an infant's life, 

she will choose to 

save the infant's life 

without even considering 

if there are men on base. "

                                Dave Barry

" Our wrinkles are our medals

 of the passage of life. 

They are 

what we have been through 

and who we want to be. "

                               Lauren Hutton

['^']

Thank You!

Fondly, 

                  cloudia

Street Smarts

A L O H A !

" We never really grow up, 
we only learn how 
to act in public. "
Bryan White

" Enjoy

 the little things, 

for one day 

you may look back 

and realize they 

were the big things. "

                         Robert Brault

A perennial quote 

well worth repeating. 

Like a mantra. 

cloudia 

" You get tough 

when you grow up 

unloved. 

People described me 

as a boyish girl - 

rather shy, but I didn't show it. 

I had an attitude. 

I was rather wild. "

                       Maj Sjowall

As an adult,  

I realize that  

 though I was not  
loved as I wanted, 

or needed at the time. 

I WAS loved. 

cloudia  

" The greatest day in your life 

and mine is when we take total 

responsibility for our attitudes. 

That's the day we truly grow up. "

                                    John C. Maxwell

['^']

Are You street smart,

do you look both ways?

That's one kind.

The deeper ways

of Street Smart

were taught me

young

by my father,

a city boy

who was in WWII

and raised me

in a new suburban home

on a new street

in a new subdivision

where I went

to a new school

outside his old City.

The new adventure:

SPACE.

[God Speed John Glenn!]

So I'm walking in

The City

with my dad,

down a gritty sidewalk

wider than our street.

The air is full

of sounds and smells.

Nothing is new.

Buildings various

in age, style, height,

profused

before my green 
suburban eyes.

Classic rube pose:

eyes up high.

Classic line:

"Lookit all them 

tall bildins!"

Dad didn't smack me

on the back of the head,

but he didn't have to.

His reaction

and horror

were imprint enough

[this is over 50 years ago]

" You DON'T walk

on the sidewalk

looking UP!"

He said.

I can hear

his inflection.

"Look like you

know where you are,

like you belong there,

like you know

where you are going,

Don't stand out 

as a stranger."

To this day,

I behave

as if I belong

everywhere I go

no matter 

how different

in geography

or culture.

This trait

has gotten me

into some 
really

cool places.

It must have 
gotten me

into a few

rough places

and close calls

as well.
But I can't recall any!

Oh well,

such is vie!

I traveled by train

into the city

by age 14,

disappearing 

for the day.

[before mobile phones

and helicopter parents].

I made the City

mine too

with knowledge

and experience,

places and people.

Today, "children"

skype parents daily

from college!

I had my own apt

at age 16.

Maybe I grew up

too fast.

But dad respected

people who worked,

and paid their way.

I always will too.

Some of us

contribute else

than paychecks now.

I prepare

a modest feast

for Friends.

And YOU

make it so

by visiting!

Thank You Friend!

                       Fondly, cloudia

Murality

A  L  O  H  A !

Walking along a 

construction fence

I was beckoned-

There he is 

in all his 

tentacled glory!

Linking to

Monday Murals

['^']

Thank You

for swimming by!

                 Warmly, cloudia

Honolulu Temples

A  L  O  H  A !

Shinto Temple

Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii, 

215 N. Kukui St., Honolulu

" Even the wishes of 

an ant reach to heaven. "

Common Shinto Prayer:

"Our eyes may see some uncleanliness, 

but let not our mind see things that are not clean. 

Our ears may hear some uncleanliness, 

but let not our mind hear things that are not clean".

Shinto Sayings -

" The heart of the person before you 

is a mirror. 

See there your own form.

.

A single sincere prayer moves heaven. 

You will surely realize 

the divine presence through sincere prayer.

Where you have sincerity, there also is virtue. 

Sincerity is a witness to truth. 

Sincerity is the mother of knowledge. 

Sincerity is a single virtue 

that binds Divinity and man in one.

Retribution for good or ill 

is as sure as the shadow after substance.

To do good is to be pure. 

To commit evil is to be impure.

To admit a fault is the beginning of righteousness.

If you pray to a deity with sincerity, 

you will surely feel the divine presence.

Link

Turn Around to see 

this Chinese Temple

"Founded in 1899, the Lum Sai Ho Tong Society was one of more than 100 societies started by Chinese immigrants in Hawaii to help preserve their cultural identity. This one was for the Lum clan hailing from west of the Yellow River. The society’s Taoist temple honors the goddess Tin Hau, a legendary child who rescued her father from drowning and was later deified. Some claim to see her apparition when they travel by boat. "

Lonely Planet

Linking to

InSPIRED Sunday

Thank You!

                Warmly, cloudia