Maluhia [Peace]

Ah, my walks on the beach...here are some photos of another favorite spot, Kahala Beach.

This was the very first beach I ever visited on Oahu, and now it's about a mile from home. Last night I went walking west down this long strip of sand toward a favorite perch here:


Annnnd back, letting the waves wash over my tootsies and looking out over the water at the big billowy clouds drifting by...

I walk at a pretty good clip, and when I got back to the little park, I sat on a bench and let my feet dry so I could brush off the sand.

As I sat there, guitar music began floating softly from behind me, a boy placed a twig on the water and tried hopefully to control its path by splashing the water this way and that, and a small flock of little shorebirds banked into the breeze as they flew over the water. I closed my eyes and listened to the surf and the guitar and let the breeze kiss my skin and flutter the hem of my dress. A silent smile...such lovely peace.

Eyes open, my toes are dry, the plovers have landed, the music wafts gently, and the boy has proudly planted another twig in the sand like a flag on the moon...slippers back on, I smile a thank you to the guitarist behind me...time to go...

Maluhia 'oe...

Heeeeeere's CHUCK!

Aloha! Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Okay, any of you who know just how important ducks are to my boy, and who have undoubtedly met Bill, should appreciate this. For Easter, my mom sent Kevin a duck. In Kevin's hands, this is no ordinary stuffed bird. He quacks and his name is Chuck.

Chuck Duck went with us yesterday hiking up on Makapu'u Head. There is a set of trails, one paved that winds up to the top above the lighthouse, and offers beautiful vistas along the way and several vantage points at the top from which the Windward coast sweeps majestically below. The other trail is unpaved and meanders below out to the beach and a rock formation called the Queen's Chair.

From the lighthouse trail above, there are also magnificent views of Manana and Kaohikaipu islands. The larger island Manana is also known as Rabbit Island because it looks for all the world like a bunny swimming through the water with its ears back. These are the islands in the little photo posted with the About Me section, which I took the first time I found this spot. It's also a whale watching venue with stops all along where Humpback whales swim by in amazing numbers. Makapu'u has become one of our favorite spots on the island.

Okay, here's another photo of Kevin with Chuck at Makapu'u. Kevin wants to be a pediatrician now. Go figure... :)

'O Ke Kuleana Ka Makana (The Responsibility Is The Gift)

Tonight we have the last meeting of our Hawaiian Language class. I have to give a speech using each sentence pattern that we've learned. It's been a six-week course taught by a teacher from the Hawaiian Language Immersion schools, and a real eye-opener.

When we first arrived here last August, I was intent on finding some type of community class to learn more about Hawaiian culture. I was very confused because there didn't seem to be any, other than hula dancing, and even those offerings were limited. So, as in the past, I figured the very best way to understand the culture is to learn the language. Try as I might, the only Hawaiian language class I could find was one at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and it was expensive and didn't start for several months. Why aren't there classes at the local Community College in Hawaiian language, I asked myself. I was befuddled.

Lo and behold, a flyer came in the mail from Kaimuki Adult School, offering low-stress community classes for adults held at Kaimuki High School in the evenings, and one class in Hawaiian language meeting two nights a week for six weeks for $10. It was a SIGN! So I went and signed up.

Now I know why there are so few Hawaiian language classes. There are very few teachers, and here's why:

Did you know that from 1893 until 1978...yes, 1978!...the Hawaiian language was banned, outlawed, forbidden, illegal? It was. That means that all during that time when Elvis was singing Blue Hawai'i in the movie theatres, and we were watching Hawai'i Five-O on TV and listening to Don Ho and singing Aloha 'Oe, Hawaiian families had to discourage their children from learning and speaking their own language because it was illegal to use it. I never knew this and I have to say, it makes me very sad and kinda pisses me off. >.<

Finally, in 1978, 'Olelo Hawai'i was publicly and legally restored to its people and declared an official language. But by 1984, the language was nearly dead, and a movement began, to establish Hawaiian language immersion schools to raise native speakers and preserve the language that had almost been lost. So the immersion schools program began in 1987. As I understand it, they are charter schools and part of the Hawai'i State Department of Education.

The program is thriving, and so is the language, relatively speaking. There are now over 10,000 native speakers. But the number of teachers is still pretty low and they're all busy, either with the immersion schools program or the Hawaiian Studies program at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo on the Big Island.

Consequently, I feel extremely blessed to have found this kindergarten teacher with a graduate degree from UH, who is willing to spend six weeks of evenings away from her young family to teach a rapidly dwindling bunch of adults the foundations of the Hawaiian language. She's done a remarkable job, even though there are only twelve of us left out of a starting class of about thirty. She says it's now our responsibility to share and thereby preserve the beautiful Hawaiian language.

I feel honored and grateful and inspired to do so. As with any any worthwhile endeavor that brings great rewards, the responsibility is the gift.

Wish me luck with my speech...I'm really nervous...

Aloha,

-Laura

Letting In Lots of Light

Checking my email with a rerun of the recent Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in the background, my attention was drawn to the tribute to Leonard Cohen. Specifically, Lou Reed quoted a stanza from Cohen's iconic 'Anthem' and the words struck my heart, as they always do. Goes like this:

"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."

So here I am in paradise, ringing those bells for all they're worth.
And thoroughly enjoying the light here. It's so beautiful, strong and clear enough to infuse even the rain with wide towering arches of color; golden and glowing at sunset; a velvet sea of muted pinks and lavenders, soft beige and grey and deep midnight violets in an evening storm on the beach at North Shore.

Luckily, I'm quite cracked. No problem letting the light in. It's keeping it from rushing right out the other side that's the issue. Nivver mind. Still have all the pieces....laughter's great epoxy, 'cause it's clear, not opaque...

[still with me?...at least Alan P. should appreciate the extended metaphor.]

Anywho, it's funny to me how you can hear lyrics you've loved for years, and suddenly they mean a bit more. Cohen is so incredibly wise. Embrace your flaws and fractures, people! Ring those bells and let in the light!

Aloha pumehana...