Honolulu Nights

AhiAhi - Night.


It is the time of PO: darkness & mystery.

"Night, the beloved. Night, when words fade and things come alive. When the destructive analysis of day is done, and all that is truly important becomes whole and sound again. When man reassembles his fragmentary self and grows with the calm of a tree." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

"There they stand, the innumerable stars, shining in order like a living hymn, written in light." - N.P. Willis

"Cities, like cats, will reveal themselves at night." - Rupert Brooke

On the 'mainland', night skies are all about astronomy, science fiction and space travel; but in Hawaii star filled nights are redolent of myth and cultural memory. Hoku Lei`a (the star of gladness) led the people here to these islands in their voyaging canoes. The night sky speaks of voyages, but ancient ones. It is a map across time and the sea. Ancestors and gods, akua and amakua, look down here where all the action is. Jump in! Ahui Ho - We Go!

A L O H A!

Cloudia

Yes We CAN!

"You can always count on the U.S. to do the right thing - once it has exhausted the alternatives." - Winston Churchill

"It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."

- Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt

In the days when the U.S. was being born through a declaration of independence, and a groundbreaking Constitution, one of our founding statesmen was scientist, thinker, inventor, writer/publisher, and bon vivant, Benjamin Franklin.

One afternoon, upon leaving the Pennsylvania Statehouse (which we call Independence Hall today) a passing tradesman asked him what was going on inside. Dr. Franklin told about a chair in the statehouse which had a half-sun carved upon it. "I look at that sun and ask myself if it is a rising, or a setting sun. Today I know that it is a rising sun. We have a free country, a democracy . . . if we can keep it."

I love the land of my birth; it's a natural way to feel. But lately I, and many other citizens, have been made to feel disloyal for calling our country back to it's better angels. My entire life has been lived in a time of culture war. Liberty, free opinion, civility, have all been damaged in some deep way. But now those warriors are getting on in age. A new generation of pragmatism, one motivated by high ideals, prepares to take center stage.

I have seen JFK rise and fall. Dr. King inspire and fall. I have seen humans walk on the moon, polio defeated, the Berlin wall's demise, and the turn of a century from "19" to "20". But NEVER have I experienced a moment in history like this one.

Last night's weather forecast: "High Clouds Clearing Tomorrow."

Perhaps the Hawaiian way has rubbed off on me, but I can read messages in those skies:

Yes. The shadow will be off of our high places soon. The sun seems to be rising.

We know that trauma lives on in the body and the mind, and that it can span generations ("The sins of the father"). Today the brow of every American of color is smoother. The conscience of every European-American is lighter. My bi-racial nephew will grow up in a changed world. Dr. King did not live to get here with us, but WE AS A PEOPLE are entering a promised land. A land where the great ideals of America are a little more tangible. Where we listen to each other "especially when we disagree." Where the 'heavy lifting' can begin.

"Free at last, Free at last. Thank God almighty we're free at last."

Today my flag is wholly sweet to me again; once more it represents values higher than torture, and endless war. It belongs to me as a citizen, representing my fondest ideals and aspirations again. New solutions are at hand and we are all a part of them.

This morning George W. Bush made a gracious, articulate speech that I listened to without rising blood pressure. It was addressed to me, to all of us as one people.

English drinking song during the American Revolution: "The world turned upside down."

An age of Miracles has begun! A L O H A! Cloudia

Bitter Sweet

At Indianapolis rally from which Obama returned to Honolulu for his final visit with dear "Toots."
courtesy of Dan Axler













Ted Trimmer Photo (middle)

Just so we can vote.

Young Barry Obama's Young Street between his home and school. (below)

Madelyn Payne Dunham

1922 - 2008

"From clerk to vice president of Bank of Hawaii (1970); The Tutu (grandmother) called 'Toot' who largely raised young Barry (Barak) Obama."

[She] "was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She ... left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring," said Obama and his sister, Honolulu teacher Maya Soetoro-Ng, in a statement yesterday.

Victorious Roman generals rode through the imperial city amidst a great public celebration called a "triumph." To remind them of the passing nature of all earthly glory, and to keep them grounded, someone rode in the chariot just behind them, every so often whispering in their ear: "This too shall pass." Let's celebrate this election day by honoring the hopes and sacrifices of those who came before us. Let's honor our children; and their children too with our vote. For today, history is being made; even as those who helped bring it about take their leave . . .

Warm ALOHA to you this day! Cloudia

Self Portraits

top: Ted Trimmer

Chinese Christian Church

Young St. shops

"The stone said to the cloud: "You are not strong like me, or hard. What good are you?" -Annonymous

"A book is a mirror: if an ape looks into it, an apostle is unlikely to look out." -George C. Lichtenberg

". . . errors are [his] portals of discovery." - James Joyce

"It's OK to be different. Isn't it?" - A 6 year old

Your life is a work of art

a self-portrait in fact and deed.

Things that happen, "good" and "bad"

are just the artists material.

One's life is a self portrait

what does yours look like?

Dedicated to Studs Turkel, who showed the beauty and power of "average" lives.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Politics

Pauoa Valley

3 guys, oh, and Diamond Head too. A Ted Trimmer photo.

It's ME!

"What experience and history teach is that people and governments have never learned anything from history." - G.W.F. Hegel

"Few people can be happy unless they hate some other person, nation, or creed." - Bertrand Russell

"People who pin their faith to a catchword never feel the necessity of understanding anything," - Agnes Repplier

Aren't YOU tired of slogans, endless "gotcha" politics, and false ideological dichotomies? Public affairs are not a game, but those who've made a good living "gaming" the system won't lead us out of this mess. It is up to ALL OF US to stop arguing about talking-points; there are too many important conversations we need to start having at last.

Listening to anothers' point of view with civility and tolerance doesn't mean that you approve of their viewpoint. In a democracy we are all free to live our values and traditions, and our country is unique and wonderful because of this diversity.

There are more of US than their are of THEM, the "insiders." Let's take back our nation and it's wealth for our kids, for infrastructure repair, and for real defense, not more hand-outs to the fabulously wealthy. Please don't 'trickle down' on me - create a level playing field where we ALL can contribute and compete fairly. Please VOTE!

A L O H A! Cloudia

CEOs, lobbyists, pundits, and millionaires have forgotten what life is really like for

Ghosts of Honolulu

"Aumakua in the clouds"

ghost image

RIP

Moe (Sleep) Mahuhia (peaceful)

Breadfruit

"Family ties in the after-world remain unbroken, and all Hawaiians believe in the power of spirits to return to the scenes they knew on earth in the form in which they appeared while the were alive. Especially is this true of the procession of gods and spirits who come on certain sacred nights to visit the sacred places, or to welcome a dying relative and conduct him to the `Aumakua (ancestral spirit) world."

- Martha Beckworth, "Hawaiian Mythology"

". . . I was allowed a glimpse of a world where the spirits were so ever-present, their manifestations so powerful, that the living and the dead knew no separation...The first direct assault on this [Hawaiian] world of spirit came from the materialism of Westerners who did not recognize the sacredness of all life, animate and inanimate. . . When the Hawaiian spiritual world was altered with the coming of merchants and missionaries, (Samuel M.) Kamakau wrote that much of the Mana left the islands, as new religions, economic systems and attitudes prevailed. In the ancient days, the `Aumakua, family spirits, were healers and 'havens of forgiveness.' They guided the living and even restored life to the dead. 'In this new era,' Kamakau noted, 'the `aumakua have become bitter enemies who punish severely the faults of their descendants when they break a vow they have sworn in their names; . . who break laws, commit adultery, and disregard the laws of God, of the land, of parents, husbands, wives, children and relatives.' "

- Glen Grant, Obake Files: Ghostly Encounters of Supernatural Hawaii, Mutual Publishing

"We must be skeptical about everything, even skepticism" - Cornell West

Spiritual energy seems almost tangible here in the Islands of Hawaii. The seas, skies, and mountain forests are rich with presence; perhaps it is the Mana, the spiritual "force" that animates every pebble, every boulder, every plant on these islands. In this magic land, this `Aina, it is very easy to believe in spirits. The soil itself seems alive.

Watching the volcano fountaining one night years ago, my brother suddenly saw Madame Pele, the volcano goddess dancing hula and surfing on the molten lava. He immediately turned to his friend (who turned to him at the same second) and they both blurted out: "Do you see that?!!!!!" Stories of an old woman hitching rides at night, lighting proffered cigarettes with the tip of her finger, and then disappearing after lengthy conversations, are not uncommon, and the drivers SWEAR that it happened; in some cases thanking Pele for keeping them awake and away from the sea cliffs as they drove home drunk in the wee hours.

I myself have experienced the mischievous spirits of our wilder places. One night they awakened me in my Kona coffee shack, way up on the mountainside. I thought it was a large group of partiers approaching. As I awoke completely, I still heard the voices and I saw darting lights about the shack, but I knew that these were not living visitors. After a few moments they disappeared into the silence of a moonlit night. And no, it wasn't a dream . . .

. . . As Glen Grant wrote, the torches still burn right here in Waikiki too! One Christmas eve a few years ago my husband and I were walking along the bustling, crowded, festive sidewalk of Kalakaua Avenue when I looked beyond the beach and out to the dark ocean to see a procession of torches moving slowly along the shoreline. Never had I seen anything like this: not lights, but torches. No one else seemed to notice, and my husband gave only a perfunctory response when I pointed them out to him. He didn't seem to see what I was talking about. Only later did I learn that processions of Hawaiian spirits are thought to travel from Diamond Head to visit the downtown tombs of ancient of chiefs, kings and kahuna. . .

. . .Diamond Head itself once had a Heiau, (temple) called: Papa-ena-ena which was known as a place of processions and occasional human sacrifice. Mark Twain wrote of visiting it's crumbling walls and of the human bones still interred there. In 1874 Queen Emma (brave lady!) used rocks from the site on her Waikiki property, where they remain today at the International Market Place. Maybe that's why it's so easy to get lost in that warren of shops, carts, and bargains? By 1920 all traces of the temple were erased, and a noted girls' school now thrives on that particular slope of Diamond Head. . .

. . .Downtown Honolulu has always been rife with ghosts and their stories. The voices of crying children are heard in the night where the old orphanage was. A young wahine (woman) is seen at dusk on the grounds of Iolani Palace. Its grounds have long been considered a portal to the world of Po (darkness, night). Queen Liliuokalani herself is seen to patrol the precincts of her capitol (and ours!) keeping a watchful eye on the idiocy of our elected officials who bear her Kuleana (responsibilities) today. . .

. . . Honolulu's most famous ghost story was even reported in the newspapers! When King Lunalilo died in 1874 he was buried at midnight (the custom) at the Royal Mausoleum in Nu`uanu Valley above town. His father, however, asked King Kalakaua to remove his sons royal remains to Kawaiaha`o Church where the first elected Hawaiian king could lie with his people. The King acceded to the families wishes deciding, however, that no cannons would sound the 21 gun salute for the procession and re-burial; it seemed inappropriate under the circumstances. So the Punchbowl cannons were ordered to remain silent. As the procession of torches and high Kahili (feathered staff, emblems of High Chiefs and Royalty) approached the city a slight rain (a blessing) baptized the mourners and coffin. Then they heard the first "boom!" Had the King changed his mind about the artillery salute? No! It was thunder from on high! 21 loud, distinct claps of thunder were heard over the town. The clouds parted to reveal a brilliant star-filled tropic sky only as the coffin was re interred. "Thus did the gods overrule the will of a mortal." reported a local paper of the day. I have been to Lunalilo's tomb in the historic churchyard. Locals say that in the depths of night a voice is sometimes heard calling from the tomb, calling for "paka" (tobacco) of which the the King was very fond.

Photos above are from the Kawaiahao churchyard, and the old King Street Cemetery at Ward Avenue. If you are a serious ghost fan, your library MUST contain at least one book by Glen Grant (RIP)! oh, and . . . . . . . .

BOO!!!!!!!!!!

A L O H A, CLOUDIA

Obama's Back Lanes

top: courtesy of Ted Trimmer

Walking in Waikiki

"Obama's Back Lanes"

I love little Young Street in Waikiki’s neighboring Makiki district. A one-time ‘carriage lane’ it is the quiet back street between urgent King Street and stately, rushed Beretania. Here, away from the main-stream are small, long-time businesses, the back side of office buildings, garages, small apartment buildings, and the occasional tiny, perfect Hawaii bungalow with mynah birds and doves singing in a front yard plumeria tree. On Young street you can hear your thoughts. Young Barry (Barack) Obama, whose childhood apartment is adjacent to Young street, must have walked the lane many times to collect his thoughts while growing up. And there he was again, during his most recent visit with the ailing Tutu (grandmother) he so often speaks of. No Michelle, no Sasha & Malia giggling this time; just a guy coming home, perhaps for the last time, to the rooms he grew up in, and the accomplished woman from Kansas who, he says, made him what he is today. One afternoon, the presidential candidate strolled down Young Street with the Secret Service at a respectable distance. The young guy with the basketball is now a family man with much more important contests to win, but the passing of an age, of those we love, puts things into perspective doesn’t it? He must have been enjoying the perspective of Young Street till the cameras found him. Pensively he rejoined the caravan. It’s a shame that his privacy was broached, but I am grateful for the few moments’ tape of him walking alone. A local guy walking down the back street, with miles yet to go. . . And speaking of local pride! My childhood Phillies have won the World Series with the help of local hero, Maui Boy, the "Flyin’ Hawaiian" Shane Victorino! In his ballpark locker, Shane has a news article headlined: “Hawaii Wins Little League World Series 08.” Our keiki (kids) inspire us, and now the Big League Bruddah is returning the favor. These tiny specks of island also produced the Beijing Olympics’ “greatest athlete,” decathlon gold medallist, Bryan Clay, soccer golden girl Natasha Kai (I know I’m forgetting others!) plus NFL players like kicker Jason Elam, and Washington quarterback Colt Brennan of last season’s WAC champion, yep, UH . . . (and let’s not forget Jack Johnson) But enough boasting! The Hilton’s Luau on the Lagoon looks to be getting very popular. You can now save yourself a bus ride far out of Waikiki (though Paradise Cove is a great place) while still enjoying torches, hula, games, and too much good food in a lovely setting . . . Jimmy Buffet is opening a huge-mungous restaurant at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel early next year. Don Ho’s old showroom was right there, so the atmosphere and acoustics should be right for a little pickin’ & singin’ eh Mr. Margaritaville? Swanning about: Four black swans mysteriously appeared recently at Ala Moana Beach Park. Sunday park goers were astonished at the sight; old-timers (and we get some OOOOLD-timahs) had never seen the like. Stately, poised and grand, the red-billed beauties glided in formation while swimmers kept a respectful distance. They seemed calm and tolerant of humans – though no one knows WHERE they came from! All the nearby Hilton’s wildlife was accounted for. (I mean, hey, would YOU leave free lifetime digs at a destination resort?) And then, as mysteriously as they had appeared . . . they were . . .gone. . . Maunakea, the Big Island’s ‘white mountain’ is once again tipped with snow. The far off white peak viewed against a blue tropic sky and wreathed in green swaying palms is one of the eternal images of Hawaii. Where else can you sled in the morning, ride a fine horse over the high, open range of cowboy Waimea in the afternoon, and surf Kohala’s gold-coast at Pau Hana (happy hour!) time? November 7 – 10th would be a perfect time to fly into Kona International Airport for the annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. Small town parades, beauty pageants, tastings, gourmet food events, art exhibitions, AND a coffee picking contest will showcase this unique region. You may even hear a “Kona Nightingale” (mule) braying on the hillside. Red coffee “cherries” falling into a canvas sack on a small family farm or coffee estate, still mean an awful lot to the people and economy of Kona. You can visit the picturesque town of Holualoa on the volcanic slope above Kailua Town, where you’ll find little shops, a small post office, art galleries, and you might even see wisps of volcanic steam arising from vents in the “resting” Hualalai volcano . . . Watching Oscar winner Chloris Leachman gamely dancing on TV got me thinking. It was sort of jarring to see a mature woman being thrown around like that. I started musing about all the times I have seen very old, or very heavy women (and men!) dance hula in public. They moved gracefully (or funny – Uncle!) and have never looked anything less than dignified and beautiful. Sorry for the clichés, but they fit this time. Our mature adults are graceful. They don’t try to copy the moves of the young. They express their Aloha, and have learned the timeless choreography that hula shares with nature: swaying, reaching, and embracing. In Hawaii, everyone is beautiful; and it has zero to do with make-up, a perfect outfit, or conventional “beauty.” Our tropic sun melts all pretension. Here, your posture, grooming, Aloha, and facial expression are your essential wardrobe. So come over to see granny dance, sometime. . . Diamond Head summit, that famous and rewarding hike, will be closed until November 20th. I really should make it up there someday, but it’s been a busy 20 years in Waikiki! Don’t worry: I’ll remember da camera ;-) . . . analog TV will be switched ‘off’ a bit early in the Islands (January 15th) out of respect for the `Ua`u bird (Hawaiian Petrel) which breeds up on the mountain tops in February, and might be disturbed by the dismantling of analog power equipment in those wild places. Good News: a new study has determined that our “deep seven” bottomfish species (Ehu, Gindai, Hapu`upu`u, Kalekale, Lehi, Onaga, and famous Opakapaka) remain more plentiful than previously feared! This means bigger limits for fishermen when the season opens November 15th. The fishery was “closed” last April when the standing ‘catch limit’ was met . . . In 1904 an abandoned Hale Pili (grass shack) from Kauai was shipped to Oahu. The popular Bishop Museum exhibit is being refurbished with now-rare Island Naio, Kauila, Uhiuhi, and Lama woods. So if you ‘wanna go back to a little grass shack’ pay a visit to the museum, which is a world center of Polynesian Studies and a fun place to spend an afternoon. Shout out: Big mahalos to Kaye-Lani and Mr. Wing Chan at Hawaiian Telcom who efficiently swapped my dead computer modem for a lively one with professionalism and aloha. Thanks folks, you made it almost fun! The other day I was putting coins in the meter at Kapiolani Park when a car pulled up in the adjacent spot. As the driver approached, digging in his pockets, I put a nickel in his meter and smiled. He looked pleasantly surprised and thanked me simply as I walked away. The best investment I’ve made in a while! There’s little market risk in paying it forward . . . when you’re walking in Waikiki . . . ALOHA! cloudia


Want to enjoy more Waikiki “street” life? Check out my Hawaii “Taxi Cab” Novel: “Aloha Where You Like Go?” at Amazon.com, local bookstores, or the Hawaii State Library branch near you!