Posted on The Honolulu Advertiser: Saturday, August 30, 2008
'HOMETOWN HERO' RETURNS
This was the headline about Bryan Clay. OK... I do admire Bryan Clay very much. He is a true Olympic champion. However, a hero? I really feel that term is bandied about too much. When I think of a hero, it is somebody who did something magnificent for others without regard to his/her own safety. It's an ordinary person who knows what the danger is and disregards it for the sake of others. In fact, I've often heard those heroes say afterwards that they don't think of themselves as heroes because they did what needed to be done.
I believe athletes or sports stars who win for their team or themselves are champions, not necessarily heroes.
Am I the only one who feels this way? Maybe I'm just being picky.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Okinawan Festival
Tif decided KC should experience the 26th Okinawan Festival that was being held this weekend at Kapiolani Park at the foot of Diamond Head in Waikiki.
We actually parked on the slopes of Diamond Head and then had to push KC's stroller through the grassy field in the hot sun. That was rather a challenge.
It was sad to see the tents of homeless people just on the periphery of the festival. Housing is so expensive in Hawaii that some people have been forced to live in tents in various parts of the island.
I'm suspecting this is one of the treats that drew Tif to the festival. She does enjoy andagi which are Okinawan doughnuts (without the holes)and quite tasty.
The bonsai exhibit was beautiful. But the tent was sure hot.
Watching the Okinawan dancers was a lot of fun.
My mom said she'd heard that Okinawan people have long life expectancies. Somebody also told her that their pig's feet soup could be one of the reasons. Therefore she asked us to bring some back for her. We did. I hope it works.
KC was completely tuckered out and slept throughout the ride home and then went to her portable crib for a two hour nap! Hmmm...actually, we ALL took a nap! What a day!
We actually parked on the slopes of Diamond Head and then had to push KC's stroller through the grassy field in the hot sun. That was rather a challenge. 
It was sad to see the tents of homeless people just on the periphery of the festival. Housing is so expensive in Hawaii that some people have been forced to live in tents in various parts of the island.
I'm suspecting this is one of the treats that drew Tif to the festival. She does enjoy andagi which are Okinawan doughnuts (without the holes)and quite tasty.
The bonsai exhibit was beautiful. But the tent was sure hot.
Watching the Okinawan dancers was a lot of fun.
My mom said she'd heard that Okinawan people have long life expectancies. Somebody also told her that their pig's feet soup could be one of the reasons. Therefore she asked us to bring some back for her. We did. I hope it works.
KC was completely tuckered out and slept throughout the ride home and then went to her portable crib for a two hour nap! Hmmm...actually, we ALL took a nap! What a day!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Around the Island in a Day
Tif wanted to take a trip around the island so we decided to climb aboard our van and see those parts of the island we only go to when we have guests. Besides, gas is now $4.34 here in the islands. We are setting our sights to getting a small gas efficient car for everyday errands but that's material for another post. :-)
Our first stop was to Makapuu point where we could look down to see the Oceanographic Research Center. Somebody told me they do research about sharks down there.
We saw this flower in the parking lot but had no idea what it was.
KC loves flowers. She found these two red flowers that had fallen from a tree and she refused to let go of them. She held them in her fingers until she finally fell asleep.
We stopped at the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park in Kaneohe to see the Byodo-In Temple. This was our first time seeing it. Tif had heard that Barack Obama had gone to see it when he was here so she wanted to see it, too.
The Byodo-In temple was established on June 7, 1968 to commemorate the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. It was built entirely without the use of nails. It is a scale replica of a temple in Uji, Japan that was constructed over 900 years ago.
The Byodo-In is built to represent the mythical phoenix, its wings upheld by pillars of stone. Folklore tells of the phoenix arising from the ashes to reflect the promises of hope and renewal.
KC enjoyed watching the fish in the koi pond and looking at more flowers.
The Bell House, called kanetsu-ki-do contains a five foot high, three ton brass bell called bon-sho (sacred bell. It was cast in Osaka, Japan from a mixture of bronze and tin, by permission from the government of Japan. With Art's help, KC pulled on the rope to ring the bell.
Kualoa Park, north of Kaneohe was a fun stop. We saw a lot of cardinals. These are a bit different from the usual all red type that we used to see in Illinois.
This beautiful egret is also a little different from the usual all white variety we see on the Leeward side of Oahu where we live.
Kualoa Park was beautiful. I'll bet they filmed some of the Lost series in this area.
Driving through Wahiawa, we saw what looked like another brush fire sending up plumes of smoke. At first I thought they were burning sugar cane but the sugar industry is gone from Oahu.
Tif wanted to make a stop at the Dole Pineapple Tourist stop. There was a crowd of Japanese tourists there. My mother unabashedly got right into a mix of young tourists and questioned them on what was popular in Japan for omiyages (gifts). We watched from a distance and was amazed. Whatever made us think she was shy?
After a full day of touring the island, we picked up a carry-out plate meal and headed home for dinner. It was truly a fun and happy day. It's good to have Tif around to force us to stop and have some fun. Jon does the same thing when he's here. In fact, the last time we did this trip was with Jon last year. He says he's coming again next year. Hmmmm.... we may have a smaller, more gas efficient car by then. The Honda Civic or Fit? The Prius? The Scion? Any advice?
Our first stop was to Makapuu point where we could look down to see the Oceanographic Research Center. Somebody told me they do research about sharks down there.
We saw this flower in the parking lot but had no idea what it was.
KC loves flowers. She found these two red flowers that had fallen from a tree and she refused to let go of them. She held them in her fingers until she finally fell asleep.
We stopped at the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park in Kaneohe to see the Byodo-In Temple. This was our first time seeing it. Tif had heard that Barack Obama had gone to see it when he was here so she wanted to see it, too.
The Byodo-In temple was established on June 7, 1968 to commemorate the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. It was built entirely without the use of nails. It is a scale replica of a temple in Uji, Japan that was constructed over 900 years ago.
The Byodo-In is built to represent the mythical phoenix, its wings upheld by pillars of stone. Folklore tells of the phoenix arising from the ashes to reflect the promises of hope and renewal.
KC enjoyed watching the fish in the koi pond and looking at more flowers.
The Bell House, called kanetsu-ki-do contains a five foot high, three ton brass bell called bon-sho (sacred bell. It was cast in Osaka, Japan from a mixture of bronze and tin, by permission from the government of Japan. With Art's help, KC pulled on the rope to ring the bell.
Kualoa Park, north of Kaneohe was a fun stop. We saw a lot of cardinals. These are a bit different from the usual all red type that we used to see in Illinois.
This beautiful egret is also a little different from the usual all white variety we see on the Leeward side of Oahu where we live.
Kualoa Park was beautiful. I'll bet they filmed some of the Lost series in this area.
Driving through Wahiawa, we saw what looked like another brush fire sending up plumes of smoke. At first I thought they were burning sugar cane but the sugar industry is gone from Oahu.
Tif wanted to make a stop at the Dole Pineapple Tourist stop. There was a crowd of Japanese tourists there. My mother unabashedly got right into a mix of young tourists and questioned them on what was popular in Japan for omiyages (gifts). We watched from a distance and was amazed. Whatever made us think she was shy?
After a full day of touring the island, we picked up a carry-out plate meal and headed home for dinner. It was truly a fun and happy day. It's good to have Tif around to force us to stop and have some fun. Jon does the same thing when he's here. In fact, the last time we did this trip was with Jon last year. He says he's coming again next year. Hmmmm.... we may have a smaller, more gas efficient car by then. The Honda Civic or Fit? The Prius? The Scion? Any advice?
The Super Commenter Award
It's certainly a Happy Friday for me! I received the Super Commenter's Award from Sherri of Sherri's Reading Jubilee.
The only rule that goes along with this nomination is that I pass it on to seven other people and then notify them. This is always so hard for me to do because I keep wanting to give it to everybody. Come on, you know I love you all equally. I'm trying to give the award to people I haven't given awards to before but there's one person I have to give this to since Dina is the one who got me started and still keeps me updated and on my toes all the time.
Here's my nominations:
1. Dina (Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo)
2. Kelly (Geneva Daily Photo)
3. Stanley (Me and the World)
4. Mom/Caryn (Hollow Thoughts)
5. Lisa (Ramblings of a Villas Girl)
6. Joyce (Justified Journey)
7. Carla (Country Roads)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Sky Watch Friday: Sky Writing
The day before we left Illinois for Hawaii, we were packing up our van and the neighbors all came out to say goodbye. As we stood there chatting, we noticed a sky writer. It spelled out SKY MAIL.COM. We weren't sure at first because it was upside down so it was rather funny to see us all turning our heads upside down to see it being spelled out.
For more fabulous and wonderful skies around the world, please join us at Sky Watch Friday.
http://skyley.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Fans of my Nephew, Shawn
My nephew, Shawn was born with retnoblastoma (cancer of the eyes). Both of his eyes were removed when he was 6 months old. It was a devastating time. Not significant but interesting that he and my son Jon were born in the same year on the 13th. Shawn was always a kind and loving boy who was determined to navigate the world on his own terms. He developed a love of music early on. I remember him banging away with chopsticks on an overturned bucket. He is now an entertainer in Waikiki. He's had 4 music CDs produced and is able to support himself very nicely, thank you.
My daughter was very eager to see Shawn perform so she treated us all to dinner at the Outrigger hotel in Waikiki at the Shorebird Restaurant where Shawn was performing. My brother and sister-in-law joined us and we had a terrific time. It was wonderful to hear Shawn sing wonderful pop and Hawaiian songs with fellow musician, Sam.
Here's a family shot. That's Art, my brother Dennis, my sister-in-law, Nancy in the back row. My mom, Tif and KC are in front. My mom was thrilled to be able to hear her grandson again.
Here's my brother, Dennis going up to tell Shawn we had arrived and were enjoying ourselves. KC loved the music too but I think she may have been a teeny bit more focused on the French fries that she got to have for the special occasion.
We thought it was fun to see Shawn reading and singing from a Braille Hawaiian songbook while playing his guitar with his other hand.
When Shawn was 6 months old, his blindness seemed tragic but now we see that he is happy and successful. He says he hasn't wished he could see because then perhaps he may not have had this gift of music and music is his life. I guess we truly must take the lemons that life hands you and turn them into lemonade. Shawn has. We can, too.
Dalai Lama Mantra for 2008
My very good friend, Roxanne just sent me the following Dalai Lama mantra and I loved it so much that I just had to share it with you...even though I've already done my post for tonight. Art's going to wonder why I'm taking so long to get to bed. I can't help it. We were out this evening to watch Shawn perform and then we watched the closing Olympic ceremonies and now here I am doing my blogging.
1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s:
Respect for self,
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
July, 2009:
I did get this following comment from another blogger that I think you all should be aware of:
"I love the advice but it was not written by The Dalai Lama. You can check on www.snopes.com. I believe the points were taken from a book entitled something like "Life's Little Instruction Book". I don't recall the exact name. I still think these are wonderful words to live by, but just be aware they are commonly attributed to the wrong person. Peace, health & happiness to all."
1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s:
Respect for self,
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
July, 2009:
I did get this following comment from another blogger that I think you all should be aware of:
"I love the advice but it was not written by The Dalai Lama. You can check on www.snopes.com. I believe the points were taken from a book entitled something like "Life's Little Instruction Book". I don't recall the exact name. I still think these are wonderful words to live by, but just be aware they are commonly attributed to the wrong person. Peace, health & happiness to all."
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Bryan Clay wins Gold in the Decathlon
Bryan Clay won the Decathlon yesterday. The people of Hawaii are ecstatic! He is half African American, half Japanese American. It's interesting that we think of him as local, not just black. On the other hand, people automatically think of Barack Obama as black. I remember thinking from high school that everybody should intermarry and we could all be brown so there wouldn't be any prejudice. Then I learned about the difficulties of Jewish people and realized that prejudice would always be there, if not the color of your skin, then your religion, if not that...maybe the way you wear your hat...
This reminds me of something silly. I remember a friend telling me in Illinois that I had olive colored skin. Well... I was insulted. I happened to love green olives so I assumed she meant my skin had a green tint. It was bad enough that people thought I had yellow skin because I was Asian but now.... green?!?! Well, now I know she meant I had tanned skin... and that is true.
Good gracious! I'm getting away from what I really wanted to write about and that is the lack of coverage of the Decathlon. They had virtual minute by minute coverage of the prelims for platform diving and only showed a short segment of Bryan Clay coming in last on the 1500 meter run and still coming in way ahead in points for the Gold Medal. Why couldn't we see how great he did in the 100 meters, the long jump, the discus, etc.? There are so many events but the coverage seems to focus mostly in gymnastics and swimming/diving. OK... OK.... I know... I know... we should get cable...
Ah well...
I'm going to stop griping now and enjoy my Saturday! Have a happy day, everybody!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Sky Watch Friday: Petrified Forest National Park
This is the Agate House at Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park. It is made of petrified wood logs and is an incredible thing to see. Art and I enjoyed our trip there when we were driving cross country from Illinois to Long Beach California where we shipped our van to Hawaii. There were so many beautiful skies on this trip.
For more incredible skies around the world, please join us at Sky Watch Friday.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Craig's List Addict
My mom has a table that's just full of papers, notes and books. I decided to see if I could find a desk that could hold and organize everything. We were hoping to decorate the house with more modern and clean lines but then I saw this roll top desk on Craig's List. I just couldn't resist. He was asking $300.00. I offered $200.00 (last week) almost hoping he wouldn't accept it because it was just too big for our space. He called today to say he appreciated my telling him that he should keep trying to sell it to get a higher price and that he wanted me to just come and look at it to see if I would take it. It's old and well used, lots of little scratches and nicks but what the heck. It's a lighter color mahogany with copper handles and marble writing pad. It belonged to his mom and now my mom loves it! Yae! We've already moved all her letter writing parapherlia onto it. She can't get over all the little cubbies, trays and draws it has. It managed to just fit into that space and not be too crowded. What a relief! I am such a Craig's List Addict!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Sky Watch Friday: Double Rainbows
Looking out our front door, we often see a lot of rainbows. This one turned out to be a double rainbow that was so bright that we could see the reflection on the car. Maybe it's because we've been here only a little over a month, but we still get so excited everytime we see one.
For more fabulous Sky Watch skies, come join us at Sky Watch Friday!
Practicing for Olympic Platform Diving?
Tif took this photo of KC playing with her buckets and water. KC is finding the most delight in splashing herself with water from the buckets of water we've given her to play with. While we were gone, Tif says KC turned a bucket over and stood on it. She says she felt a bit guilty as a mom that she took the photo first before making her get off.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Youngest and Oldest Working Together
KC has been watching her great grandma and trying to imitate her. When Tif and KC visited a year ago, KC was frightened of her great grandma. Now, at 19 months, she follows her around the house and tries to help. She especially likes to sweep the house and pick up stray leaves and weeds from the garden. Great Grandma is absolutely delighted!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Watching the Olympics
Our daughter treated us to carry-out Chinese food tonight so we could celebrate the Olympics in the Chinese spirit. I read Stanley's blog Me and the World about the Olympics and was looking forward to it. I guess you've all seen it already. Are we the last people in the world to see it? Everything Stanley said is true. It is truly spectacular. Even KC kept watching the TV screen during dinner. It fairly boggles your mind how the Chinese put together such an incredible show. How do you coordinate so many people with such precision. Can you imagine what it cost? Wow!
KC is now in bed and we're having fun critiquing the different countries' outfits. I rather liked ours. We especially like seeing the traditional outfits that some countries are wearing. This is going to be a fun two weeks!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Sky Watch Friday: Ko' Olina Beach Park
My children are aghast that the last time my swim suit touched salt water was at the Dead Sea last year. Well, we took Kalani to the Ko'Olina Beach in Ewa on the island of Oahu a couple of days ago and my swim suit was immersed in salt water again. Hmmmm... 2 times in about 20 years is pretty amazing, hunh?
In Ewa, I was intrigued by these wispy clouds. I'm sure my constantly photographing it made everybody else look up, too.
For much more incredible Sky Watch Photos, be sure to visit Sky Watch Friday.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
An Ordinary Wednesday
Today is one of those ordinary Wednesdays that we may forget about but should cherish.
We found a bug we'd never seen before and marveled at its pretty pattern.
KC spent quality time with her Great Grandma who got such a laugh at KC's antics. KC's favorite thing to do now is to carry around buckets with water in them. She dragged her Great Grandma everywhere by pulling her finger and motioning for her to fill her bottles and buckets with more water. Then she splashed the bottle full of water on herself which gave Great Grandma a burst of hilarity.
Back inside, Tif laughed at me because we'd arranged the new sofa, loveseat, Broyhill coffee and end tables and then I covered them all with protective sheets and blankets. KC is very much into grinding her toys and milk bottle into everything.
Later, Art worked with my mom to find and make reservations for hotel rooms in Japan. We're planning to go next month and there's so much we have yet to do.
It's not an earth shaking day but we will cherish this gift of a day when nothing went terribly wrong, when we were able to enjoy each other and be together sharing laughter and love.
We found a bug we'd never seen before and marveled at its pretty pattern.
KC spent quality time with her Great Grandma who got such a laugh at KC's antics. KC's favorite thing to do now is to carry around buckets with water in them. She dragged her Great Grandma everywhere by pulling her finger and motioning for her to fill her bottles and buckets with more water. Then she splashed the bottle full of water on herself which gave Great Grandma a burst of hilarity.
Back inside, Tif laughed at me because we'd arranged the new sofa, loveseat, Broyhill coffee and end tables and then I covered them all with protective sheets and blankets. KC is very much into grinding her toys and milk bottle into everything.
Later, Art worked with my mom to find and make reservations for hotel rooms in Japan. We're planning to go next month and there's so much we have yet to do.
It's not an earth shaking day but we will cherish this gift of a day when nothing went terribly wrong, when we were able to enjoy each other and be together sharing laughter and love.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Tenting Against Termites
Here's something we never see in Illinois. Every five years or so, people tent their houses when they see an infestation of termites. People live in "fear" of termites. We have one recurring termite population in our back door which will have to be replaced soon. We put some poison in it for now. There are ground termites and flying termites so you're never safe.
The entire house is tented and poison is blown in. After a couple of days, I think, it's removed and you should be termite free... for a while. Unfortunately, burglars know you're not in and people have been burglarized while their house is being tented. There was a case of burglars dying because they went in and got poisoned by the fumes. They've gotten smarter. They're now coming with gas masks. Sheesh!
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