Silly Little Simplicity

Welcome to Honolulu

ALOHA  to  YOU

More Hawaiian Skies - Ho Hum

'Love is like a little old woman

 and a little old man

 who are still friends even after

 they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6

"At any street corner

 the feeling of absurdity

 can strike any man

 in the face."

Albert Camus 

"In order to understand the world,

 one has to turn away from it

 on occasion."

Albert Camus

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We like to sound smart.

And we think to do this

 by using big words,

many words,

jargon.

The most "intelligent" people

such as professors

and straight  "A" students

are the most guilty of this.

In the recent election

we voted on some amendments and such

that were SO impenetrable

that I could get but a general idea

what they were about,

let alone what specific choice

I needed to make.

And what about instruction booklets?

The people who wrote them

know what they mean to say

and it's just too bad

that it makes no logical sense

to us.

But it's not only jargon.

A whole 

"You know what I mean"

culture

has taken over broadcast journalism.

There is no longer even a pretense

of comprehensive

factual

news.

But there is a lot of giggling

cooking

and pets.

I like pets

but the News Greats

interpreted the world for us

instead of doing expose`

on the best place

to buy cupcakes.

The good news is:

Simplicity

&

Clarity

Stand Out.

Everyone's so used to sounding smart,

or entertaining,

that we have forgotten the power of a 

few simple words.

I hate you.

I love you.

Please stay.

I think that we over-intellectualise everything

to our hurt.

Religion is about thinking;

A life of faith is about feeling,

acting, and being.

Who cares what you call it?

Kindness

 is the universal language.

Gratitude is a big concept.

Let's have a conference about it.

I'll get sponsors

you book a hotel.

Clear your calendars

for one month, one year

from now.

Or better yet:

Stop thinking for just a moment.

Close your eyes.

Breathe.

Say out loud:

"Thank You for my life;

For this day."

If you do this daily

you will not write an essay about grattitude

you will begin living it.

Surprising stuff will occur.

Things will develop

and change

in most delightful

surprising ways.

I know.

I haven't been "thinking"

for quite some time now.

And I've never been happier.

Somehow my life has improved

instead of falling apart

as the ego threatens.

Weekends are a good time to start

it will feel strange at first;

stop being smart

and start allowing

wisdom.

Out of the mouths of babes

and bloggers. . . 

       Thanks for visiting. Please leave a comment! cloudia

Friday Sky Day

ALOHA!

Come Inside, Friend-

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,

 we must carry it with us or we find it not."

 Emerson

 “Looking back

 you realize that a very special person

 passed briefly through your life-

 and it was you.

 It is not too late to find that person again.”

 Robert Brault 

"Nature gives you the face you have at twenty;

 it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty." 

Coco Chanel 

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      Jesus, Buddha,

Hanuman,

didn't leave us

thick policy & procedure manuals.

They shared a few basic principles,

deceptive in their

simplicity. . .

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We had heavy rain

lightning

and rumbling thunder

last night while we slept.

The first winter storm

 rolled in from sea

and down the island chain

cutting off our brisk

Northeast Trades.

Volcanic smog,

VOG,

creeps towards us

from the Big Island

to the south east.

But it will not wreath us for long.

For many years

as I have grown older

magical Christmas Season

has receded to the weeks

around New Year.

But we must need a little of that

spirit right now,

or perhaps I'm living closer

to the love & fellowship

of the season

all year long?

Whatever the cause,

a Hanukkah glow,

 Diwali lights,

and Thanksgiving gratitude

are reflected everywhere

around me.

So share the spirit with me

if you wish.

Here is your first present:

          Thank YOU for visiting today, cloudia

Capitol Walk

Aloha & Welcome to Honolulu

A special place like Hawaii,

 needs a special capitol building,

 or so they believed in the 1960's.

Our capitol is open to the elements,

and to the people. On one side of this

courtyard is the Senate Chamber.

On the other: the House Chamber.

Their outside walls are sloping stone 

representing the volcanoes that are the 

bedrock of these Islands.

Outside, the building is set among pools of water:

the ocean that surrounds us;

 out of which

pillars representing palm trees

 rise to support the roof.

That 'framed' tower is Honolulu Hale,

our City Hall.  It looks Spanish, but is actually

based on a fortified Italian castle.

"The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness"

 our motto.

The Hawaiian Language is our official language along with

English.  Interpreters of many flavors

 make a good living here though,

as we continue to attract folks from all over Asia,

 the Pacific,

and the World!

The offices are upstairs.  Lobbyists, staff, citizens,

 all hang out here by the railings

 where a lot of the REAL business of government is done.

You can see the State Flag

 flying in front of the building

 from these "corridors of power."

And the sky is always looking on,

putting things into perspective.

(one hopes :)

Looking down at the ground level

 yields a nice view of this watery mosaic.

Behind the capitol building,

 is our original government building:

Iolani Palace,

 built by Kalakaua for some three hundred thousand

dollars in the 19th Century.

All Done Up for a Festive Event.

Link to a Royal past and a troubled political history.

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A true tale is told (courtesy of the great Glen Grant)

of a government employee

who stayed late one evening

working at the new Capitol.

Her young daughter played in the halls just outside

as they waited for father to come

collect them for the ride home.

All the way home,

the little girl spoke excitedly about

playing with a nice lady

whose arms were draped in lei.

The mother had smelled flowers

& faint cigar smoke. She assumed it 

was a staffer or cleaner the girl spoke of.

Or perhaps it was childish imagination.

Weeks later, when the statue of

 Queen Liliuokalani 

between the two iconic 

buildings was unveiled,

Hawaiians present protested covering

Her neck piece (more HERE)

with lei, and so the statue's arms

were draped in dozens of flowery garlands.

"Mommy! That's the nice lady

who played with me!"

Squealed the little girl.

The Queen has been seen,

 the smell of flowers 

and her favored small cigars

left behind, many times since.

She is still looking out for Her

People.

And besides:

who would really want to leave

this fragrant & magic land?

As yesterday was King Kalakaua's 174th birthday,

Hawaii National Guard Soldiers acting as ceremonial

Royal Guards stood sentry at the palace gates.

The past lives here!

“May the dreams of your past

 be the reality of your future.”

anonymous 

And may only benevolent airs

and spirits surround

YOU

this day. . . 

. . . and always.

cloudia

Baker Joe's Tale

ALOHA

 Means "Welcome"

"A kiss that speaks volumes

 is seldom a first edition."

  Clare Whiting

"A tattoo is a true poetic creation,
 and is always more than meets the eye.
  As a tattoo is grounded on living skin,
 so its essence emotes a poignancy
 unique to the mortal human condition. "


V. Vale and Andrea Juno, Modern Primitives

"The world is divided into two kinds of people:

  those who have tattoos,

 and those who are afraid of people with tattoos."

Author Unknown

Note:
Names have been changed because I respect privacy - not because there's 'anything wrong with that.'

I like the little boutique hotel across the street from the beach.  It's the right size, human size, and the fact that Honolulu's flag-ship Gay Bar has moved there makes for an interesting dynamic.  

First of all, the lobby and the rest of the place is very clean & stylish - "Queer Eyed" you might say.

  And I know that the rainbow flag waving from the second floor is sort of a talisman that keeps intolerance out of the place.  I like tolerance, and though I'm no longer the sort who dances the night away, I do like stopping in during the day to shoot the breeze.

  Sometimes my husband and our friends shoot some daytime pool there.  Plus I get to see friends, and to make friends in the building. . . Me Mum's moving in the place this month.

 Everyone is welcome in the hotel and it is a mixed bunch of residents and visitors, so those who might be "uncomfortable" kind of self-select themselves OUT.

One morning Baker Joe came in to the bar and announced:

 "I think I've been discriminated against.

 Aw, never mind."

But we all wanted to know about it.  Joe is "straight appearing" so we were curious.  Turns out this talented pastry chef who works at one of the town's great restaurants had sought extra work at the local branch of a national Super Market Chain that boasts it's own bakery.  After a few days, they told him "he's not good enough."  An experienced pastry chef - right.

What no one knew is that I had just met and spoken to the head baker of a wholly local concern that is expanding.  Now, I speak with everyone!  Just go right up to them and act like we're all friends. Well aren't we?  Gotta know when to let folks be, but mostly I speak with everyone.

So I got on the phone to speak to the head baker fellow I'd met. But his boss, the founder and a local immigrant success story hero, Mr. Lamm, picked up thee phone. 

 What a thrill and privilege to speak with HIM! 

 I know I gushed a little.  He asked why I was calling, and I started telling him about baker Joe.

"Oh my wife and I love the bread at that restaurant."  (where Joe bakes)

They interviewed Joe;

And they hired him!

So speak with everyone.

  Being strangers is merely a feature and illusion of wearing a body.

  We'll all laugh about it in the next world.  

You know, you and I are friends without having met

 in-body.

Perhaps our blogging friendships are a foretaste of Heaven?

      Warmly, cloudia