Flying!

Aloha! Thanks for Visiting Today!

Click on photos to enlarge Fading Glories

“To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.”
Lord Byron

Mango Mob

“One way can be learned by starting to see the magic in everything. Sometimes it seems to be hiding but it is always there. The more we can see the magic in one thing, a tiny flower, a mango, someone we love, then the more we are able to see the magic in everything and in everyone. Where does the mango stop and the sky begin?”

Joshua Kadison

Froggy on Vacation

“Is there anything more beautiful than a beautiful, beautiful flamingo, flying across in front of a beautiful sunset? And he's carrying a beautiful rose in his beak, and also he's carrying a very beautiful painting with his feet. And also, you're drunk.”

Jack Handy

Looking at the top photo above got me thinking about flying.

Running through Honolulu Airport is a street called: Aolele, "Cloud Jumping" Street. As a child I dreamt copiously of swimming among the clouds, my namesakes. Perhaps my first longing.

"I've looked at clouds from both sides now" sang Joni Mitchell. I used to take that song rather personally. Who doesn't have (at least) two sides?

Yes, we flightless bi-peds have longed to soar since forever. The gods, the bewailed ancestors, and all good things await us up there. Don't all of our pie-in-da-sky dreams promise so?

We routinely sip, and flip through magazines as we ignore the deathless dream of flight among the clouds playing out just beyond the funny, double window. But if you prefer to ponder by that un-shaded window, your cabin-mates might complain about their b-movie being "spoiled" by your transcendent reverie. "How dare you converse with eternal imponderables (you weirdo) when there's freeze-dried amusement right over here?!"

I treasure certain airplane memories; the setting sun that I chased all the way west from San Francisco, home to Honolulu; the entire flight suspended in a single golden moment of painterly glory.

The astonishing lace of lakes below proclaiming "Minnesota" truly a "Land O` Lakes." Just LOOK at it!

Baja California, cranked out between two seas. . . The infernal night industries of North Jersey, and the twinkly, inviting fairy lights of San Francisco's pleasure-land beckoning below.

The endless flight over ocean that "raised" a low cloud, a somehow change, that heralded my isles ahead. And then a peninsula and a cliff. "Molokai!" I realized, just before the captain announced it. . . Landing on the Big Island amid gray vast lava deserts of stone, and secretly enjoying the dismay of first time visitors who expected Disney Land (knowing they'd find the beauty after all). . .

The darkened airport "out lands" beyond the fields and fences, where my boyfriend and I would park and feel the planes taking off too close above - overwhelming as the emotions we explored. . .

I want to fly like Sky King and Penny, or Whirly Girl in her Sikorsky. To flutter ever higher like an effortless feather, or jump way up among my cousin clouds who wander lonely in their crowd.

I long to fly, though this earth is dear;

Though losing her beneath my feet

is a special and final fear.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Time's Bottom

Aloha - Welcome!

Click on photos to enlarge

Iolani Palace Palms

"One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things."
Henry Miller

Chinatown Puggy

"When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth."
George Bernard Shaw

Baby Coconuts!

"Admiration, n.: Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves."
Ambrose Bierce

Today I would like to share one of my favourite poems with you. Here we "see to the bottom of time." Thank you for your visit. You are much appreciated!

To Say Before Going to Sleep

by Rilke

I would like to sing someone to sleep,
have someone to sit by and be with.
I would like to cradle you and softly sing,
be your companion while you sleep or wake.
I would like to be the only person
in the house who knew: the night outside was cold.
And would like to listen to you
and outside to the world and to the woods.
The clocks are striking, calling to eachother,
and one can see right to the bottom of time.
Outside the house a strange man is afoot
and a strange dog barks, wakened from his sleep.
Beyond that there is silence.
My eyes rest upon your face wide-open;
and they hold you gently, letting you go
when something in the dark begins to move.

Translated by Albert Ernest Flemming, except where he uses: "edge" of time, while I prefer other translators' use of the word "bottom."

A L O H A! Cloudia

Feathered Friends

Aloha! Welcome!

Click on photos to enlarge"Life is like getting dropped off in the middle of the woods, and then year by year, gradually walking home."
April Foiles


"We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse."
Anne-Sophie Swetchine

"Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such." Henry Miller

"While we have the gift of life, it seems to me that only tragedy is to allow part of us to die - whether it is our spirit, our creativity, or our glorious uniqueness."
Gilda Radner

Today I will tell you an old legend of Waikiki: The War with the Owls.

A proud young Ali`i was walking one day near Waikiki and disturbed a nest of baby owls. The mother claimed her rights and demanded that the impetuous young chief apologize, but he refused and even insulted the mother owl. These were the days when humans were still a part of nature, and guardians of the `aina, the sacred land of Hawaii - especially the Ali`i!

This mother owl was righteous in her
indignation and took her offended righteousness to the
King of the Owls. "Hear me!" she implored. "Humans no longer respect us as cousins. We must act before they all become like this impudent young fool, chief or not!" The Owl king listened to her plea with the gravity of a high chief - then he spoke his decision: "Hear Me our
people! The time has come when our treaty of peace
with the humans has been abrogated. WAR!"

All the owls (and, some say,other birds nursing grievances against disrespectful humans) took to the air. From every part of the island of O`ahu, and perhaps Maui and
Molokai as well, vast clouds of angry birds circled higher and higher over Manoa. They darkened the tropic skies and filled the space under heaven with the voices of angry, righteous multitudes. It didn't take long for them to get to Waikiki, home of the foolish young chief. The carnage was ugly, frightening, and - um-messy.

"Why is this happening?" asked the chief of Waikiki,
father of a certain young fool. An unsettled young chief had to humble himself before his father and his people (and in front of Lani who he loved). His humiliation was eloquent, his bold stupidity was being repaid and everyone in his life knew it. finally his father's Kahuna
chanted apology and respect to the feathered cousins,
inviting them to a great feast at the ancient heiau (temple) on the slopes of Diamond Head. Peace was reestablished and has held to this day. You haven't been mugged by an owl, have you?

So the treaty holds!

A L O H A! Cloudia

My 30 Years Younger Twin

Aloha - Welcome - Come Inside ;-)

Click on Photos to Enlarge! "I always bear in mind that my mission is to leave behind me the kind of impression that will make it easier for those who follow."

Marian Anderson



"I demand a life, not a lifestyle, for everyone!"

Cloudia *Blush*



Da Yellow Hibiscus of Honolulu

"Man (sic) is what he thinks about all day long."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I remember the cold water flat. All mine. At end of day, I could repair to my stacks of books, terrarium and experiments in living.

This was many years before "The Secret" but I was lucky enough to stumble across Dr. Joseph Murphy's gem The Power of Your Subconscious Mind (Prentice-Hall, (c) 1963). I'm happy to see that he's back in print.

I was intrigued by his idea that what we plant in our subconscious, blossoms in our lives every day.

Last night, lying in my bunk as the spouting waters of Waikiki rocked me to sleep, my mind ran back to those old days of radiators, frozen toes, and untamed anxieties.

How, turning off the lamp, all those years ago; lying Dr. Murphy's book aside, I settled back and wondered about the power of

my subconscious.

As I tried to say affirmations back then

(purely as an experiment

in the privacy of the dark)

I found I could not simply state:

"I am beautiful. I am loved and liked. I have enough of what I need."

Even the experiment felt fraudulent.

A huge resistance welled up within

accusing:

"You are beautiful?!" "You are liked?!" You are happy with your life?!"

That was my first lesson

in the power overwhelming of

my

subconscious

!

Slowly I saw (don't look away!)

the fearful

self-hating

creature

I

was

back then

.

Last night I remembered

how I used to close my eyes

in that cold water flat in February,

and how assiduously I imagined

Hawaii and myself

there/then

here/now

.

I felt myself,

really felt it then

true in my subconscious:

lying in Waikiki

rocking to sleep

in the arms of the life I have made.

In that moment last night

I was both:

the adolescent in the walk-up,

cooking up another existence,

and now I'm the lady

living it.

We smiled across the gulf.

You GO girl

!

A L O H A! Cloudia

About Marian Anderson:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Anderson

Joseph Murphy:

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Your-Subconscious-Mind/dp/0553583182

Specimen Suite

Aloha, Namaste, Welcome!

Click on photos to enlarge "A person isn't who they are during the last conversation you had with them - they're who they've been throughout your whole relationship."

Rainer Maria Rilke

"Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other."

Rainer Maria Rilke

Dina (http://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.com/) What does this say?"

"Perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave."

"Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us."

"Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems."

Rainer Maria Rilke

A Poet is "a Maker."

Who builds a little machine;

Seasons with surprise

Bringing illumination

a tiny, repeatable form.

Bottled sunrise

Cultured yet direct

Words like precious pebbles

Surface planes and textures,

Angles perfect to the hand

like cherished memories.

This is the golden moment.

"Thank you"

bubbles up

like contentment soup.

This is the Golden

Moment.

Come

let us teach

each other

to live.

Inspired by the poetry of Joe Saling.

A L O H A! Cloudia

MTM: Shangrila Part 2

Aloha! Welcome to Shangrila!

Click on photos to enlargeWhat a view! Yes, that's Diamond Head on the right.

Don't YOU have a waterfall on your lawn?

No one swims here now.


Welcome back to Doris Duke's Hawaii home, Shangrila. It is a treasure chest of Islamic art and culture, now operated by the Honolulu Academy of Arts. You may visit the home if you visit us here in Honolulu. Check their website: www.shangrilahawaii.org

And if you haven't seen it, scroll down to Part 1 below.

Cookies at Shangrila

Aloha! Salaam! Welcome!

Click on photos to enlarge A modest entrance flanked by camels as one might see in Morocco

Is Camel Cigarettes a family brand?


The foyer boasts a cedar ceiling and stained glass by Rene` Martin.
A Jali (stone screen) lets in light & air while maintaining privacy. Photography is forbidden inside the home, so I cannot show you the "Turkish Room" at the foot of the stairs. It contains a historical Mihab, a tiled wall piece showing the direction of Mecca. It cost $100,000 in 1940. Museums couldn't afford it, Doris could. Being a decorative element, it is not aligned to it's religious purpose, as Miss Duke was not a practicing Muslim. (The mihab was de-installed, dismantled, and hidden underground after the Pearl Harbor attack till the end of WWII.)



Outside, one finds this extraordinary tile doorway!

Shangrila's "Play House" stands above a sea wall. Tomorrow: the pool, waterfall & ocean views!



How do you get to Shangrila?

You can't just drive there. Even if you knew the way, there's no parking outside the tall, anonymous iron gate. So us lucky few waited behind Diamond Head in the parking lot of Kapiolani Community College. There a friendly guard checked our names off of a clip board list and told us the bus would be along directly. A magical mystery tour-bus? The Cat Bus?

No, just a normal smallish tour bus.


We drove `round the venerable crater to the choice Makai (ocean) side, and turned into a normal looking street that I've driven past without a glance for twenty years. But that was before I knew that one of the most celebrated women of the 20th Century, Doris Duke, had created the jewel of her world-spanning collection of 5 mansions in this choicest of legendary locations.



Welcome to Shangrila!



Miss Duke, known to tabloid headlines from childhood as The Poor Little Rich Girl, had come by her zillion$ honestly; She was the only child of tobacco baron, James Duke (American Tobacco). Born in 1912, her life was one of unparalleled wealth and access. And during her lifetime she even quadrupled that vast fortune. It was a "pile" so significant that when she re-married with a foreign national during the 1940's (her second and last marriage) the United States government drew up their pre-nuptial agreement! When her husband saw the amounts involved he fainted.



Just before her beloved father died, he had told the 12 year old Doris to "trust no one." Such are the glories of great wealth. He meant well, no doubt. At 14 Doris was forced to sue her own mother over the sale of family assets. Forbidden to attend college, she was instead groomed and presented as a debutante, as the Great Depression gripped the world. The public was more fascinated than ever with the rich, most notably by Miss Duke herself. At 22 Doris married an older man. After their 2 year, world spanning honeymoon they built a home in sweet Hawaii. The year was 1939. They called it Shangrila. It was built with an Islamic aspect, and Miss Duke spent her life collecting art and objects from Muslim cultures to fill it with.



Shangrila is today a treasure box of fine art that is administered by the Honolulu Academy of Arts. We guests had come not only to admire this fine home and it's grounds, but to hear an esteemed scholar present her work about the women of early Islam.



The 1000 square foot living room had a glass wall that lowers into the ground! Quite advanced for 1939 - and it still works, they even showed us. Miss Duke liked it raised only to shoulder height so as to keep out the 20 or so large dogs she kept on the property!



This was always Miss Duke's favourite place - and she could go anywhere!



I was just blown away by the place and by it's very professional staff. Lucky we stay Hawaii.



Tomorrow, more of Shangrila!



A L O H A ! Cloudia

http://www.shangrilahawaii.org/