Boy's Day

Aloha

& Welcome to

Boy's Day

in

Hawaii

Click on the carp (and other photos :)

"Children make you want to start life over."

Muhammad Ali

"Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it."

Not Your Average Dictionary

These little Japanese tourist boys at Waikiki's Army Museum are looking at a tank

that their great grandfather might have used in WWII.

"Children enjoy the present

because they have neither a past

nor a future."

Jean De La Bruyere

Aloha & Welcome to May fifth,

Tango-no-sekku, the Japanese Boy's Day Festival

that is also celebrated here in Hawaii.

The 5th day of the 5th month has been the day to celebrate boys for centuries. Tango-no-sekku means: "First Day of the Horse" because the strength, stamina, and courage of horses symbolize masculine qualities that boys should emulate.

Another animal associated with boy's day is the carp.

This powerful and determined fish is also regarded as a fitting example for boys. Dr. Freud might point out that the carp itself, long, cylindrical, and bold is a fitting representation of the most fundamental badge of manhood.

Girl's Day is celebrated with the display of dolls.

Boy's day, too, has it's own characteristic dolls: armored samurai warriors; nonetheless, it is the colorful carp banners (koi-nobori) one for every boy in the family, flown from bamboo poles outside the home, that are the overriding visual characteristic of the holiday. The largest carp honors the oldest son, the smallest, the youngest.

Today, in Japan, May fifth is celebrated as Children's Day.

But here in Hawaii we keep many old customs that the plantation workers brought with them. They intended to maintain their ethnic identities, but the magic of Hawaii has painted most every imported custom with our own unique qualities.

So let's celebrate boys, carp, AND girls, as we continue to appreciate everything that makes our island home

unique.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Lei Day

Aloha!

May Day

is

LEI DAY

in

HAWAII

click on the photos to make them blossom

"Easy reading

is damn hard

writing."

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Mz. Rose Tam-Hong

"In the particular

lies the universal."

James Joyce

The little girl is looking right at the camera!

"Perseverance

is not a long race;

it is many

short ones."

Walter Elliot

The second (left) and first most beautiful woman

at Kapiolani Park's Lei Day Celebration

last Saturday, May First

"It is a mistake to regard age

as a downhill grade toward dissolution.

The reverse is true.

As one grows older, one climbs with surprising strides."

George Sand

"A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning,

as if supported by the rays of the sun,

a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee,

joy accompanied me as I walked."

Anais Nin

><>

It's been a lousy week-or-so.

No, it's been a GREAT time...

Er, that is:

First, my back went out.

But instead of getting upset

I made the most of lounging.

My back healed (as usual) and

I was ready to walk in the park on Saturday

(photos above).

I was so proud of myself:

that I kept my mood "even"

instead of suffering more than necessary.

In other words,

I practiced what I always preach

here at Comfort Spiral.

Then hubby developed

an acute health issue

and I became a nurse.

(And remember:

we live on a boat;

so it is like being stuck on a couch

in a small place

with an ill person)

"Can you move your laptop a little to the right?"

"Can you move your foot and let me sit down?"

But I'm still having a nice time.

As my sister in law always says:

"So what? Who cares?"

If I don't post EVERYDAY

the world won't end.

Though I HATE missing what

Y O U

are up to

at your blogs

and in your lives!

Soon,

I will let you in on a major

decision

I've made.

Our

blog community

will continue to be

an important part of my life.

As Arianna Huffington said:

"Those who still can't believe

'Why are people updating their Face Book profiles for free?

Why are they editing Wikipedia entries for free?

Why are they blogging on Huffington Post for free?'

- the truth is that many people want to do that

as part of their own self-expression. Nobody asks why are people watching bad TV for seven hours a day."

And YOUR blogs

are SO much more interesting

than bad TV!

ALOHA, cloudia

They Call Him 'Zap'

Aloha

Thanks For Coming

Today

click on the photos

"To love and to be loved

is the greatest happiness

of existence."

Sydney Smith

"There are three faithful friends:

an old wife,

and old dog,

and ready money."

Benjamin Franklin

My Waikiki Neighbor 'Zap'

"I didn't stand up. The Lord lifted me up."

John 'Zap' Zapotocky, 91

><>

Stand Up paddling has gotten very popular recently,

after almost disappearing from our Waikiki waves.

I've heard it called 'Old Guy Surfing'

but people of all ages

can be seen every day of the week

at all levels of skill

enjoying this old-is-new-again sport

that is associated with Hawaii's greatest waterman,

Olympian Duke Kahanamoku.

Zap learned the sport from Duke himself!

He was out on his 11-foot redwood surfboard

sometime in the 1940's

when Duke paddled up next to him

on a stand up board.

"I asked him about it and he taught me

and I've been doing it ever since,"

says Zap.

"He's been doing it for, like, 70 years.

He's a sweet sweet person."

Gerry Lopez,

Author of Surf is Where You Find it

"I'm a member of the vegetarian society,

but I'm not 100% vegetarian."

say's Zap

"If you're gonna eat something,

eat something fresh."

"I want to be out there surfing until I'm at least 100."

We hope so too, Zap!

Bless you

><>

Mahalo

to

Paula Rath

Honolulu Advertiser Staff Writer

"A Stand-up Guy"

(April 29, 2010)

the Height

Aloha Also Means a Loving Goodbye. . .

With deep gratitude,

we celebrate the life of

"just a woman."

><>

"Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes,

but by the opposition he or she has overcome

to reach his goals."

Dr. Dorothy Height

(as are all)

Waikiki Cottage

<>

"If you worry about who is going to get the credit,

you won't get much done."

What, you no outrigger in YOUR garage?

<>

"I want to be remembered as someone

who used herself and anything she could touch

to work for justice and freedom.

I want to be remembered as one who

tried."

"We are not a problem people

we are people with problems.

We have historic strengths;

We have survived because of family."

The people who maintain the health, transport, and beauty...

<>

"We have to improve life,

not just for those who have the skills

and those who know how to manipulate the system.

But also for

and with

those

who often have so much to give

but never get the opportunity."

><>

Born in 1912

she knew a world

that we have forgotten,

prefer to 'whitewash'

or to forget.

I have been watching The Tudors

and have been impressed by the

state of fear

that accompanies life

under the rule

of king and caste.

As I say,

their mood

becomes the weather

and climate

that everyone else

must live under.

As a teenager,

Miss Height

marched in New York's Times Square

shouting

"Stop the lynching!"

She lived in a system

where black people

needed to smile,

bow, and shuffle.

She marched with King.

She saw our world change.

President Obama honored her.

Thanks for joining me today

as we do the

same...

cloudia