Celebrity Thursday

Aloha, Friend!

Welcome to Celebrity Thursday

in

W A I K I K I

click on the faces

Yes, that's Morgan Freeman

being kind to a complete stranger

in Honolulu's Chinatown at midnight. Long story. . .

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"Happiness comes from the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed." Storm Jameson

"Enjoy the little things for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

Robert Brault

"I know everybody dies, but I thought I was an exception."

William Styron

"The essence of immortality

is the tendency to make an exception of one's self."

Jane Addams

"Not what we have but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance." Epicurus

To a kid
20 years is an unimaginably
long time.


The older we get
the more comprehensible
it becomes.

At 50
we can believe
in 70.

Approaching 60
we begin to believe
in our own
mortality.

So what to think?
What to do?

The other evening
I attended a party
with old friends and colleagues.

Talk was convivial
as it is among friends
turning to wine,
to travel,
to enjoying life.

"After all, how long have I got."
said one
to a murmur of assent
by all.

You may be wondering
why I'm writing on this topic
during the holidays.
It might seem depressing

But my intent
is exactly the opposite,
echoing my friend at the party.

I want to cherish
my hours, my days
and I want the same
for you.

Let's liberate ourselves
from what are really
petty annoyances.

Don't sweat the small stuff,
and it's ALL small stuff
compared to the treasure
we possess.


ALOHA, cloudia

Rambles

It's
ALOHA Wednesday
here in
W A I K I K I

come in, rest your fingers, click on a photo or two; pop open a treat!

"By the river the blue heron stands
and waits, poised in the long patience.
Here the world offers itself, wave after wave
of mountains washing across the miles.
Here the sparrow sings from the sycamore.
I lift my voice
and come down to earth
here."

Jeff Daniel Marion

"A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world."
Leo Buscaglia

I remember the temple, this route I've traveled before,
I recall the bridge as I cross it again.
It seems the hills and rivers have been waiting,
The flowers and willows all are selfless now.
The field is sleek and vivid, thin mist shines,
On soft sand, the sunlight's colour shows it's late.
All the traveler's sorrow fades away,
What better place to rest than this?

Tu Fu


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Some days
there is nothing I want to say.
Then it is good
to remain
silent;
Yet
I long to reach out
and say:
"Aloha"
to you
my friends.
And so a picture,
a flower,
a quote.
Will be the token
I leave here for
you.

Thank YOU so much for taking the time to visit today!
ALOHA, cloudia

Childhood Cleanup

Welcome Friend!

it's

Aloha Tuesday

in

W A I K I K I

click on photos for all the usual reasons

Marsha Marsha MARSHA!

Yep, that's cultural icon Maureen McCormick of TV's Brady Bunch.

You can listen to the theme song here.

Warning: It will probably stick in

your head ALL day.

"Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them."

Albert Einstein

"I'd feared surrender would sand me down to nothing.

Now I've started to believe it can bloom me more solidly into myself."

Mary Karr

"The chill of suspicion and incomprehension came between me and humankind when I was sixteen. . . it wasn't possible to live among other people if all of a sudden they could attack one another with such ferocity.""

Romano Bilenchi

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"If we learn to open our hearts, anyone,

including the people who drive us crazy,

can be our teacher."

Pema Chodron

<><

Young children are sponges

they thrive

or fail

on the input, especially the

emotional stimulus,

from their parents.

In my case

there was an over abundance of stimulation

from which I learned

to filter

and to cushion myself

in order to survive

the big waves

of emotion.

Now I realize

that this has always made me

defensively critical

of new things

and people.

I need to absorb the New

in digestible bites,

or bytes.

It's sad to think

of all the opportunities

that I have "defended" myself against.

But I'm learning to trust myself

and to open up to

Possibilities.

The holidays are the time

when we reflect on where we've been

and often reconnect

with the people who've loved

and failed us

the most.

My Holiday Wish for you:

Trust the adult that you have become.

Don't rise to the usual bait.

You deserve to enjoy your holidays,

and to forgive.

Epecially

yourself.

ALOHA & THANK YOU!! cloudia

Here Comes Santa - In a Canoe!

Aloha & Welcome to

Monday in Waikiki

FRIEND!

click on photos to feel some sunshine

Saturday.

The morning moon was high in the sky. . .

“Who knows if the moon's a balloon, coming out of a keen city in the sky - filled with pretty people?”

E. E. Cummings

The Pink Hibiscus lured me in for a closer look. . .

"Earth laughs in flowers."

Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"

The keiki (the children) had practiced for this day. . .

"There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child."

Erma Bombeck

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Huffing and puffing

I made it to the appointed spot on da beach.

Then we spotted him,

far out past the breakers.

Was it really him?

As he drew closer,

all doubt fled.

Wearing his tropic-weight outfit

and happily barefoot:

Santa is in Waikiki!

our blog friend ART RAN the Honolulu Marathon yesterday! Check it out here:

Aloha, fellow children.....cloudia

Neighbor Art Ran the Marathon!

Our friend Kay of "Musings" posted a great account of husband Art's Honolulu Marathon run:

http://travelerswife.blogspot.com/2009/12/honolulu-marathon-2009-he-did-it.html

I Am

Aloha, Friend

It's
Sunday in Hawaii

Let's go for a drive. . . .




click on windshield for a better view

On the bottom of the island, on the right side,
you can see Diamond Head.
Waikiki is to the left of the venerable crater.
But there are other Oahus,
far from where most visitors play.
Follow the map to the left,
past the airport,
past Barbers Point,
ALLLL the way to Kahe Point.
In real life you'll see the tall stacks
of the Kahe Power Plant.
That's the beginning of the
West Side.
This is where many Hawaiians live.
This is where poverty
and social problems
are said to run rampant
and I guess they do. . .

But there are reasons for all that.
And it's not everybody out here like the news implies.

There is much richness along the long coast,
and up in the valleys.

Waianae is emblematic of the whole area.
To say that you are from Waianae sets up lots of
assumptions about you.
I'm proud that I helped to facilitate after school groups
at Waianae High School. Being a part of this community
meant a lot to me. I am grateful that I can claim friends
up there. They taught me so much.


The stigma sticks to the kids.
Some of them are speaking up about it.
If you search "Waianae" on You Tube
you will see lots of clips of school yard fights.


This one is different. Check it out!

ALOHA & Thanks for joining me today. cloudia

Looking Down, Looking Up

ALOHA, Sweetie!
It's
Satur-DAYYYY
in
W A I K I K I


Let's go on a morning stroll together. . .

please remember to click on photos!

Who's that lurking among the leaves?
What secrets small and big does she know?

"I'll tell you how the sun rose a ribbon at a time."
Emily Dickinson

Life is going about it's business all around. . .

"Sadness flies on the wings of the morning
and out of the heart of darkness comes the light."
Jean Giraudoux

Visitors awaken in paradise and are drawn to the lanai to take it all in. . .

"For what human ill does not dawn seem to be an alleviation?"
Thornton Wilder

Palms and their cousins wave: "HELLO!"

"They must often change
who would be constant in happiness or wisdom."
Confucius

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They've been trickling into town.
You see them running, running:
singles, pairs & teams
running in December's sun
it's Honolulu Marathon time once again!




Sunday morning sleepers
will be awakened by the sound of
fireworks
and the distinct roar
of all the pent up athletes.
By 10 am it will all be in the books
except for the human-interest stories
who limp to the line late in the day
but they finished
they did it
they ran a marathon.





Then it's time to party and drink
to lay by the pool
to luxuriate in accomplishment
still wearing your "Finisher" T-shirt
everywhere you go.





The Honolulu Marathon
is a holiday tradition in Waikiki.
Now we know that Christmas
is really here,
the giant menorah has been lit!
Aloha and l`Chaim!



Our blog friend Kay's husband Art is actually running the marathon.
You can find her blog here:
Kay's Musings



ALOHA, Saturday Friend! cloudia