Ephemeral Life...

As the morning sunlight gently awakens my slumbering soul... So too does it gently take you from my dreams And as I reflect intensely on the remaining empty pages of my life Of passages waiting to be filled with splendid and wanton abandon No amount of words will ever reveal What you truly mean to me Except the words locked deep within my enraptured heart The three I preciously treasure in solemn whispers every night I love you...

As we were walking through the upper level of Sears. My boys started yelling and making a raucous. They were saying that Dora the Explorer and her friend, Diego, were dead. Sure enough. Their trophy bodies were hanging from the cross in a macabre celebratory display...

I didn't know Elliott needed glasses. His schoolwork was suffering a little and I found out through talking with him that he couldn't really read the teacher's writing on the chalkboard sometimes. His eyesight turns out to be pretty bad. We went to Sears to try on different styles. All this time I have been pointing out tiny things in life and I'm not sure he was even able to see them. At least I know he could see the elephants at the zoo. I'm not sure about the meerkats however...

I can only imagine the horror of the french fry at the bottom of the McDonald's bag. Who witnesses the death of their neighbors. Chicken McNuggets. Only to sense imminent death by voracious gobbling...

It was a nice day for shooting off water rockets in the park...

When you have a kid who is a practicing Ninja. You need to be careful of sneak surprise attacks. Even when casually going to throw trash away into the trash chute...

This blind dog on Molokai had a knack for finding ghosts at night...

They go much, much higher than this. They were just starting out...

Na Koa `Oiwi. Native warriors...

In the ancient time. Only men danced hula. It still has a powerful aura. Even today in the midst of spectators...

The smooth water worn pohaku were placed down hundreds of years ago by the kupuna. Over the rough and jagged a`a lava flows which would shred the bare foot open. These pathways run all throughout the islands although not all are paved in this manner. Countless ancestors have walked these stones. Foot by foot. Pohaku by pohaku. It is an honor to walk in their footsteps and on the fruits of their hard labor. Mahalo no e na kupuna. There is a pathway of no return however. The ala ho`i `ole mai. Death. All of us are walking that trail. Some are creeping along. Others are running at full speed. Some are just beginning the path. Others are at the few last stones. Love everyone you meet along that path and you will find the end warm and welcoming...

So many people visit Hawai`i. Fall in love. Decide to retire or move here. They bring with them their earnings and savings from afar and ably and amply put down one million dollars, or more, for a glorious bunker in the sky with views of the ocean and glorious sunsets. Mankind started out living in caves in the sides of cliffs to obtain an expansive view of enemies, food sources and for strategic protection. Now we recreate artificial cliffs and artificial caves with modern day architecture and with modern day creature comforts. Then we take up residence living as Kings and Queens of the modern day cavemen...

The nether world region in the mountains where the clouds kiss and caress the earth is known as the Wao Akua. A place where the gods dwell. Where my kupuna now reside. One can't help but feel closer to God, to Ke Akua, when you are enveloped in His precious and sacred Ha. His moist breath of life...

This garden spider is fairly common in Hawai`i. It is non-venomous. Even though I know that, I still freak out when I walk headfirst into one of their large webs strewn across a pathway and end up with a creepy crawly spider somewhere on my face, neck, chest, arms or back. It just looks dangerous. My reasoning and rational mind somehow can not overcome my primal survival instinct and I always inevitably do the shaking crazy jumping spider haka dance...

In the great expanse of time and history. In this ever expanding Universe. I am exactly right where I need to be. In the right place. The right time. The right life. It is incredible. I am so honored to share this life and journey with so many special and beautiful people. As our spirits interact within the unbelievable backdrop of a beautifully rich human landscape and equally beautiful natural landscape, I thank Ke Akua and my kupuna for more blessings than I probably deserve. It is a critical juncture in the history of not only our Hawaiian people and islands. But for the global community and Earth. The most powerful source of positive light energy in the world is love. Love of life. Love of mankind. Love of planet Earth. Love of country. Love of equality. Love of justice. Love of people. Love of animals. Love of nature. Love of children. Love of parents. Love of family. Love of man. Love of woman. Love of God. Incredible acts of bravery, compassion, kindness, courage, heroism, patr...

You may think that when you testify. That your solitary voice doesn't really make a difference in the big scheme of things. Minds made up already. Political decisions. Public hearings which often are just procedural and not substantive. But Hawaiians know that when you speak, especially the truth and pono. There is great power in your words. And your ancestors, your kupuna, all stand behind you. It is their spirit, their 'uhane, which can fill up a room and change the ultimate voting decisions in your favor. I am a true believer. I have seen it time and time again. When you step up and speak on behalf of your people to restore human rights. Kanaka lahui pono. Your kupuna will not abandon you in our time of need...

I can barely get up on a surfboard, let alone a boogie board with fins nonetheless. Way to go bruddah...

I can barely ride a wave on my stomach. Let alone on my back...

Ancient Hawaiians invented the sport of surfing. It is our gift of Aloha to the world. Not the chocolate covered macadamia nut...

On the Summer Solstice. Several Hawaiians gathered to observe the alignment of the rising Sun at the pinnacle of Kawiwi on the ridge of Kamaileunu, over Kaneikapualena Heiau and in line with Mauna Lahilahi. Our kupuna had no television or other distractions. The blackest skies revealed the maps and pathways of the heavens in the constellations. The rising and setting Sun also factored into the wisdom of the land, the ocean currents and the signs of a natural world. We try desperately to put the pieces back together to make our lives whole again. It is very hard. It is so very hard...

We travel between islands in Hawai`i all the time. And great big bodies of water known as the various channels of the Pacific Ocean. I like the water-landing planes in Alaska. I wish all our planes in Hawai`i had such capabilities. I would feel a lot safer...

When I was in Juneau, Alaska, last year for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee meeting, I was feeling a little homesick. I woke up on the last day and looked out the window and saw the most beautiful sight. A beautiful rainbow. The sign of my omnipresent ancestors. My beloved guiding kupuna. And flying through the rainbow wasn't a common Juneau Raven, but one of the last rare Hawaiian `Alala crows in the world who flew all the way from Hawai`i to Alaska to show me Aloha. Well, I think it was an `Alala crow. But I'm not sure. I still had sleepy stuff in my eyes from just waking up. Might have been. You never know about these types of things...

This was the same beautiful dove from my earlier post on September 24, 2007. The dove who was the most beautiful dove I ever saw because she loved me. She landed on my windshield wiper and was a little upset with me because she hadn't seen me in three months after I complimented her. She felt that I wasn't sincere and just said those things to win her affections. I explained that I was truly sincere. And I love her as well. And I explained that we didn't have to physically be around each other to share the love. I have given her my heart. She will always have it. Even though we can't be together. I have no greater gift for her. She cried. Then pooped on my windshield. And flew away. Whatever that is supposed to mean...

My Hawaiian brothers sift sand with their hands. Picking up the shattered pieces of their kupuna. Their ancestors. Lovingly searching. Holding. Placing. For reburial later. The City knew the area was a burial ground. The bulldozer wanted to scrape the beach sand to look nice for the tourists and visitors to this land. We are left with the scattered skeletal remains of our beloved men, women and children. Smeared across the land of their birth and often tragic death. We still have Aloha for all. We speak to our kupuna and reconnect with them through this desecration of their eternal sleep. We ask for forgiveness. We ask for guidance. We do what we must do to restore the life of the land. We are Hawaiian. We love our kupuna...

I grew up enjoying the beaches during the Summer. You would get as brown as you were going to get and then it would slowly fade as we headed towards Winter. It is harder now because it seems like skin cancer is on the rise and melanoma is taking its deadly toll. Atmospheric changes. Environmental changes. There are many things in this world which have changed since I was a child. It seems like our children have to increasingly grow up quicker and deal with a more adult world of concerns and an increasingly hostile environment. Children need to enjoy being children and not be burdened by such an uncertain and precarious future. It is up to us to ensure we leave a legacy of love, hope and a promising tomorrow. Not a legacy of selfish squandering of our most precious Earth...

I had a great day today. Spiritually rewarding. Some much needed physical exercise as well. Some comedic relief. A good mental break too. I've had my share of bad days too. They always pass and I always survive. I remember my bad days because they make me enjoy, savor and appreciate the fantastic days all the better. Mahalo no e Ke Akua. Mahalo no e na kupuna...

I grew up running through fields of long grass. I remember laying down in the grass and looking up at the clouds and talking about all kinds of kids stuff. I remember hiding in grass playing hide and seek. I remember the smells of fresh cut grass and getting itchy from rolling around in it too much. I remember grass stains on my pants and socks. It seems like my boys barely know grass in the concrete city we live in. Something simple as grass can evoke fond memories of my childhood. I wonder, living how we do, what will evoke such fond carefree memories in my children. If anything...

The locally grown Hawaiian oranges on the left look all beat up and discolored. Only because we are so used to bright oranges carefully modified through selective breeding to give people an artificial sense of healthy eating of beautiful flawless fruits and vegetables. This is the same reason they wax apples. FD&C Red No. 32 and FD&C Orange No. 2 were regularly utilized to color Florida oranges until they were delisted by the Food and Drug Administration. According to the FDA: Historically, it has been the policy of the Food and Drug Administration to allow the artificial coloring of the skins of mature oranges. It is a common practice to color the skins of oranges in two ways. 1. Adding a color to the skin of the orange, Citrus Red No. 2 (21 CFR 74-302(c) or 2. Subjecting the orange to ethylene gas by a commercial process. Hmmmm...Red dye and Ethylene gas...sounds yummy. I think I will stick with the ugly horrid looking Hawaiian oranges to support local growers and eat health...

Mahalo no e Ke Akua. Mahalo no e na kupuna...

He's been asking for one for over a year. Boy, was he happy. I hope he lets daddy borrow it from time to time...

He's been waiting a long time for this one. He thanked God and Santa. What a great kid...

They made it onto Santa's Nice List. Just barely...