Ephemeral Life...

A beautiful ho'okupu, offering, of a beautiful oli, chant, and lei. For our Queen...

This flamingo stared at me with white vampire eyes and drooled. That was creepy...

I agree. For what it is worth...

Ue. To cry. Lament. Weep. Mourn...

The sound of the pahu strikes a chord deep in the forgotten recesses of the mind. And heart...

At the Hawaiian gathering to pray for justice. Some of the most valuable participants were the kamali'i. The children...

Some people are easily offended. Apparently so are some monkeys. Offended I took his picture while he was scratching his private parts. Give me a break. Be careful what you choose to do in public I always say. Even when you think nobody is watching. There is always someone watching. Always...

Thank you for giving of yourselves. Your time. Your years of training. Years of discipline. Years of sacrifice. Your dedication. A gift now of your gracious expressive movement. A gift of your radiant beautiful healing spirit. I can never repay you. Although I most certainly will try...

In Hawaiian belief, children are more susceptible to seeing the unseen spiritual world. All children. Not just Hawaiian children. Most adults lose this ability. Some retain it however. Whether they want to or not...

Such beautiful graceful form with strength. And balance. Balance in life is critical. Absolutely critical...

I was fortunate enough to make many new friends when our Hawaiian people got together to pray, chant and sing in unison to effect spiritual change and invoke spiritual guidance. Lovely Ululani introduced me to her beautiful dog Ku, a pitbull. Ku. The God of War. Ku. God of Fishing. An earthly form of Ku, one of his kinolau, is the dog. Makes perfect sense to me...

Dad wanted to prove to me that is was super windy at the Volcano lookout today. I knew it was windy. And I believe my dad even without photographic proof. Not that I am complaining or anything...

I am always attracted to the glowing light of Ke Akua...

I like orange. It was my class color at Kamehameha. It reminds me of sweet oranges and tangerines and Vitamin C with all its health boosts. It reminds me of beautiful sunrises and magical sunsets. It is also the color of the beautiful and fragile 'ilima blossom. It only lasts about a day and about 500 are needed for one beautiful lei. Ephemeral beauty. I am always attracted to it. Much to my satiating demise. Now I digress. So I shall end this post now...

Like the shirt says. Don't mistake our kindness for weakness...

I am constantly reminded that humility is one of the most beautiful traits...

I was reminded at the recent Kukulu Kumuhana at the State Capitol of the unique bonds between mo'opuna, grandchildren, and their kupuna. Their grandparents. And then reminded of why I am here. My purpose. My focus. My intent. My tasks. My responsibility. My value system. My strategy to make a meaningful life and legacy so when I finally pass on. I pass with not only a smile on my face. But also with a smiling beaming heart...

When I was seven years old, I lived in Okinawa for three years. My main toy was a rubber skeleton named Kirby. My two friends on the military base had G.I. Joe dolls. I had Kirby. The rubber skeleton. I did everything they did when play acting and I didn't think anything of having a skeleton. Neither did they. I can't remember what happened to Kirby when we left Okinawa but have vague memories. My mother says she remembers. She says I got a little coffin from some kind of board game of Barnaby Collins the vampire in the series Dark Shadows. And when we left Okinawa to come back to Hawai'i. I put Kirby in the coffin and buried him in the backyard of our military housing unit in Camp Kue. For anyone who knows me. This is so prophetically weird. More on that later...

Sometimes I would like to speak with the Queen. But I am at a loss for words. I don't know where to begin. I don't even know where to end. I just know a flood of tears...

Hawaiian pride. Inspiring. Profound. Beautiful...

A little visitor received much enjoyment from seeing things never seen before in her life...

I should have known from the signs at Mauna 'Ala that the day was going to be awesome. The little fluttering butterfly which hovered against the dark cold morning wind at the Kamehameha Tomb, saying goodbye to us, in the sliver of light. But as the day broke at the Capitol. Our next stop. A double rainbow greeted us. It was beautiful. Mahalo no e Ke Akua. Mahalo no e na 'aumakua. Mahalo no e na kupuna...

They came from all over the United States. And the world. To witness the awesome power of Kilauea. Of Halema'uma'u crater. Simmering in a molten gaseous state of imminent surprise...

I began the day today at 4:45 at Mauna 'Ala. The Royal Mausoleum. The morning was cool and crisp. The Heavens opened up in a beautiful cascade of twinkling stars and swirling white clouds puffed into shapes which awakened my sleepy imagination so early in the morning. The sacred burial ground of our beloved Kings and Queens. Princes and Princesses. We gathered in prayer. In song. We sounded the pu, the conch shell, which reverberated through the darkness of Nu'uanu Valley. Gently but assuredly waking the hundreds, if not thousands, of dead which surrounded us in a half-mile radius. We offered ho'okupu to the Kamehameha Dynasty at their tomb. And to the Kalakaua Dynasty at their crypt. It is hard not to be on your best behavior. In body. Spirit. And mind. Pono. In the presence of your ancestors. In the presence of your Queen. Mauna 'Ala was removed from the public lands by Congress in 1900. It is the only place in Hawai'i where the Hawaiian flag flies alone. Without

Definitely a momma's boy. Even looks like her. That's what love does...

There is no use in fretting over anything in life. It doesn't change one little thing. It just uses up precious limited time which could be spent doing something meaningful...

A glittery gold woven bag straight from Japan...

Violet is very photogenic and not camera shy. Even on close ups in a very intimate setting...

I have seen a lot of kupuna in the sky lately but am having a hard time catching them on the camera to prove to the world...

Like looking in a mirror. Almost...

The other day, I saw two people kissing on a park bench in a little park by my workplace. Upon closer inspection, it was Mickey and Minnie. When I pulled out my camera, they stopped. I think they were embarrassed I caught them...

I stopped by the waterfront this morning. It was beautiful...

Too much carotene in the diet. I think...

I have been watching the sunsets lately. And the sky in general. So many incredible ho'ailona, messages, from beyond. Fantastic...

That random band album thing my friend sent me was too fun. I had to do it again. This time I got a musical article by chance in Wikipedia. The quote was okay. But the photo sealed the deal. Now it really cracks me up...