Homespun Honolulu

It always comes as such a surprise and I am  always quite moved when a corporation takes steps to assist the community where it does business, and/or takes steps to educate itself about that community.  Respect, preservation, and education is not always something taken on by corporate America’s larger brand names.

In the most unlikely of places, we found a little bit of cultural respect from Wal-Mart.  I’m not one to give a lot of credit to Wal-Mart since most of what we hear about them is anything but good news, but I’ll give them this one.

In Hawai’i, the finding of iwi (bones) is probably one of our most sensitive and touchy subjects.  Honolulu probably suffers from the largest number of incidents because it is constantly growing and there is always something being built.

The discovery of iwi during the construction of the Wal-Mart store on Ke’eaumoku Street was a finding taken very seriously.  The last I heard when this came to light was that there were 64 set of iwi that were about 150 years old.  While things were kept relatively low key, it was not an all-happy or non-confrontational event!  Findings such as these occur much more frequently than we would like them to and the parties involved had no problem sharing their views.

After reading through some of the articles, it seems to me that some of the “experts” hired to do a job were perhaps not the best choice to handle a matter so delicate and/or to handle the treasured bones themselves.  I know we have talked before about the importance of the iwi in Hawaiian culture.  These are not dinosaur bones from an archaeological dig!  They are family members!

Wal-Mart, and any other business for that matter, cannot always control the behavior of the people they hire to perform a service.  It is difficult to be at the mercy of those performing work that is outside one’s own line of business.  That’s why they hire specialists.  All of that aside, I think the completed memorial is actually very attractive and whoever was in charge of that, did a fine and respectful job!

There are, as you can see, “Keep Out” and “Don’t Walk on Grass” signs all around this little monument.  It looks quite a bit like a heiau and it is surrounded by newly-planted indigenous plants, the kind often found in such places.  They originally said it would be landscaped and open to the public so perhaps they’re waiting for the plants to take root.  In case residents haven’t found it yet, the photo above shows you exactly where it is — on the corner of Makaloa and Sheridan Streets on the property shared by Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.

Cultural preservation is on the upswing in Hawai’i and it’s not all being left only up to us.

Getting ready for work and listening with one ear to the news the other morning, I was stopped in my tracks and had to run to the TV and press rewind on the remote (thanks to Oceanic Time Warner Cable, we can do that!).  As I fumbled for the right button I muttered, “They’re doing what?!?  No way!”

I love this story and I’m sending a shout out to the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel for being a part of the community where they do business and for proactively reinforcing its culture!  KHON2 News did a nice little segment about a family whose son wanted a big tree on their property to be made into a canoe.  I hesitate because links like that one often become dead when the story gets moved so I’ll include the gist of it here just in case.

Their son passed away six years ago but his dream may still become a reality.  The Ka’anapali Beach Hotel asked the family to donate that same tree for them to turn into a canoe!  Based on a quote from the KHON2 News article, the father responded:

“The only thing we like out of this is to have the canoe named after my son cuz for a while he had already seen this being one canoe”

The hotel agreed, and named the canoe “Kaililaau.”

The canoe is being built as part of the hotel’s Pookela program which allows employees to learn aspects of the Hawaiian culture.

Building a canoe is certainly no easy task and for the hotel to have done this with the goal of perpetuating a piece of Hawaiian culture is nothing less than commendable!

Mahalo to KHON2 and kudos to the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel!

See how great it is when big business does the right thing? 

The Mana

Mana is a Hawaiian word that is most often used to refer to a spiritual or divine power.  Sometimes it is used to define a miraculous or authoritative power.  “Mana makua” is parental authority.  You see, mana is one of those words that, like “aloha,” can mean several different things.  Mana has more of a spiritual essence to it than most of the English words we’re used to.

Aside from the fact that there are four or five different species of birds in this photo taken at Oahu Cemetery, the cemeteries do have a life all their own.  Could it be that “mana” that we sometimes feel when stepping onto the grounds of one of these burial places?  Each cemetery gives off its own “sense” when you visit.  Oahu Cemetery is, like its namesake, friendly.  There’s a sense of “thanks for coming to visit” when you go there — it’s peaceful and, yes, friendly.

If you follow the traditional way that Hawaiians always regarded the dead, the essence of a person resides in their bones.  I’ve touched on the spiritual significance of the iwi (bones) before.  With that in mind, there actually should be a “feeling” at all cemeteries, right?  What we don’t always know is just how many other hidden treasures a cemetery may be holding.

I do frequent the ones in the Nuuanu area, Mauna ‘Ala included, because I’m weird like that.  Unbeknownst to me, the maternal grandmother of a very dear friend from my high school years was buried right across the street from the burial ground pictured above.  I kind of found this out the hard way.

My darling girlfriend and her mother were there one day recently when I called them.  They were taking a lunch break in the midst of trying to deal with arrangements for their newly-deceased father and husband.  Sometimes when you lose track of the people you’re close to, you meet up with a few shocks in the process.

This was not something that I had planned to do but I was certainly at a loss for what the heck I should do!  So, I went to visit grandma, my newly-discovered neighbor, and took her some flowers.  What else could I do that would have meant anything to the ohana that I had been separated from for far too long?!?  Then I wanted to talk about all of this; I had to talk about all of this internal drama and I had nobody to share it with.  Wait!  “Hey, idiot, you have a blog!”   Oh yeah!

~ Herbert Walter DeCambra ~
October 21 1934 - August 24, 2009 

Late Saturday afternoon I listened while friends and family shared their feelings and stories of a much-loved man who left a definite mark on all who knew him.  This memorial service was a unique experience for me.  It was one that his family labeled “A Celebration of Life.”  Somewhere between the tears and the laughter I realized that this title was perfect.  I am very grateful that I was able to be there with so many people I grew up with, got into trouble with, pissed off Uncle Herbert with – you know the drill.

What touched me most was the joining together of long lost relationships –  friends, family members, and some that were a little of both.  Some of us may be on the opposite side of the island but that doesn’t stop the love or break up the treasured memories.  While holding on to some of the dearest friends from my youth, I realized that we cannot let this happen again!  We’re back in contact and we’ve got to keep it that way!

There was one more gift you gave us, Uncle Herbert.  You brought us back together!  Everyone will miss you but I will always be in your debt for making all of this happen for us!  You were “felt” there!  I’m going with “mana makua” — a parental authority that is now a spiritual, parental authority.  I will carry this revelation with me in my heart and all the way to the bone for many years to come.

Aloha and may God bless the DeCambra family in this time of loss and transition. He pōmaika’i ‘ia mai ke Akua!  My heart and prayers are with you all!

Chaminade University of Honolulu has suffered a great loss that is felt in the hearts of many in the community.  Sue Wesselkamper, President of the college, passed away on January 3rd.  Cancer has taken yet another victim and left a community and one of its educational icons to mourn.

While I didn’t know her personally, I knew her name.  I’m feeling the twinges of sorrow from those community members who did know her.  The Honolulu Advertiser published a wonderful article about Dr. Wesselkamper and the Catholic college she helped to revitalize.

Memorial services were held yesterday, January 10th.  Aloha, Dr. Sue, may the Lord welcome you home.

We want to bid a heart-felt aloha to Madelyn Dunham who passed away just one day before the election of her grandson to the highest office in the Nation and across the globe.  We were all devastated that it happened just one day too soon.  Sigh. 

She was a heck of a lady and one that no one ever forgot.  She left her mark on people she worked with and on people, like me, who only heard about her.  Apparently, from what I’ve read and followed (thank you, CNN); she left her mark on her grandson as well.  He will carry on her drive and determination – we’re counting on it!  I’ve read about things he has done in the past and I don’t doubt it! 

I don’t know who to give credit to for this photo.  I have seen it everywhere.  I have to send a huge mahalo out to whomever it was that took this picture.  I chose to include it here because it shows, not only her maternal adoration of her grandson, but it also confirms that she really was the support that Barack has always claimed her to be.  Most significantly, it shows how very proud she was. 

Many of us, me included, were devastated when she passed away the day before his election.  But, I took comfort in Obama’s acceptance speech when he stated that he knew she was watching.  He’s a strong man but that had to hurt.   

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To the likes of Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh, I hope you guys are pleased with yourselves.  Here is what Limbaugh said:

“Who announces days in advance they’re rushing to the side of a loved one who is deathly ill, but keeps campaigning in a race that’s said to be over, only to go to the loved one’s side days later? See, I think this is about something else… This birth certificate business, this lawsuit that a guy named Phillip Berg filed in Philadelphia in August for Obama to produce his genuine birth certificate, and he still hasn’t replied, he hasn’t done so.” 

As much as I hate to admit it, I used to listen to Limbaugh because I thought he was an informed and gifted speaker.  I don’t know what happened but he’s become nothing more than a no-class loser!  To compound the felony, I actually bought Michael Savage’s book because I thought he was intelligent.  Again, what happened?  

Personally, I hope Barack Obama makes them all eat crow! 

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You raised a heck of a man, Mrs. Dunham!  I personally thank you for your accomplishment in that regard.  I also thank you for the example of leadership you set for those in your line of business.   Quality leaders one and all!  Yours is one bloodline that I am very happy to have leading my country!

Aloha, Madelyn, may your memory stay with us always!   

His Grace, Metropolitan Laurus, the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), fell asleep in the Lord this morning. The Russian Orthodox parishes across the country are feeling this loss very deeply. Orthodox blogger, Felix Culpa, shares a nice post with more detailed information than I have been privy to and for that I am sincerely grateful! Thank you, Mr. Culpa.

After Liturgy today, the Russian Orthodox Community of Hawaii, the Holy Theotokos of Iveron Russian Orthodox Church, served a pannikhida (memorial service) for the Metropolitan. From Honolulu, Hawaii to Jordanville, New York, the Orthodox share in this loss. For the monks in Jordanville, my heartfelt prayers go out to you for your continued strength and fortitude during this confusing time.

There is some peace to be found in knowing that Metropolitan Laurus was able to see the lines of communication opened between ROCOR and the Moscow Patriarchate. He was able both to witness and to participate in the healing of that division.

Give rest, oh Lord, to the soul of Thy departed servant! May his memory be eternal!

Genoa Keawe, that’s Aunty Genoa Keawe to most who knew her, passed away yesterday, Monday, February 25th. She was 89 years old.

KHON Channel 2 put together a nice tribute to her that explains her life and career.

In spite of it all, Aunty Genoa’s memory and all of the music she left behind will live on for decades.

Someone that I would have called a living legend, Genoa Keawe, will be remembered for her many contributions and influence on Hawaiian music, culture and the entertainers that followed after her. I will also venture to say that her work will continue to act upon the entertainment industry for at least several more decades.

This snippet from The City and County of Honolulu News and Events, released yesterday, quotes Honolulu’s Mayor who sums it up quite nicely:

Mayor Hannemann said Aunty Genoa should be remembered for her kindness and contributions to Hawaiian music, and as a symbol of Hawaii’s culture.

‘Aunty Genoa was an icon in the Hawaiian music scene for more than 50 years, and her signature falsetto voice and tremendous repertoire captivated audiences everywhere,’ Mayor Hannemann said. ‘She was a true island treasure who served as an important resource for scores of local musicians.’

The choir of angels just acquired a very powerful soprano! Rest in peace, Aunty, while your music and memory live on! Every Day is Lei Day in Hawaii, and in Heaven now too!

This story is one that Oahu residents are still scratching their heads over — the senseless death on Thursday of a child who was not quite two years old. Somehow, a peculiar resident of a small neighborhood in Makiki took little Cyrus Belt to a pedestrian, freeway overpass and tossed this toddler over the side and into the moving traffic.

I’m angry. I know others are angry. A little voice has been silenced and we want to know how such a thing could happen. Pictured below is a view of that bridge, facing in the direction of the east-bound traffic on the H-1. To the left you can just barely see people at the end of the bridge. Read on.

Partly from frustration and partly from an anguish that I have not been able to put my finger on yet, people are leaving memorials, cards, balloons, signs, letters, stuffed animals, etc. I say frustration because I could “hear” it in some of the things that were written for Cyrus. The messages say things like, “You’re safe now,” “this was not supposed to happen,” “God please hear our prayers,” and other sentiments calling for awareness and a plea that this be a wake-up call for the community. We can’t fix this tragedy, we can’t do anything to make it better for Cyrus. All we can do is not let it happen again!

This is the memorial that was set up for Cyrus on the bridge where he was thrown to his death. It started in the middle of the bridge but the Department of Transportation had to step in and move the mementos to the end of the bridge for safety reasons. Trust me, it’s not because they wanted to… they had to for public safety. KHON2 has a perfect video to share and explain this.

The Honolulu Advertiser printed a letter that was sent to them for them to share that asked, “How do I put away my grief?” This letter spoke volumes of the mass devastation being felt across Oahu County. People cannot pass over or under the bridge without being brought to tears.

See for yourself — nobody called anyone, these people may or may not even know each other, but there they are. I didn’t know anyone, but there I was. I tried but I couldn’t stop the tears from falling — I finally gave up and decided I would just let them fall.

I was at work when the story broke on Thursday. I wanted to cry then. People in the office canceled plans they had made for that evening. It was just too much to absorb for many of us. The shock and disbelief was just too hard to figure out and it was too difficult to make sense of it all. “Why? How did this happen? Who could have done such a thing?”

I wasn’t the only one drawn to the scene. People continued to come to this little shrine on the bridge. Motorists gladly stopped to allow mourners to cross Magellan Street.

After I tore myself away from the bridge and headed for home I thought to myself that, “I shouldn’t have done that. Why did I do that?” I had to. The amount of parents with small children blew me away! After thinking about it, I realized that… they had to. I can tell you this much, this one is definitely a study for the psychology texts. I’m crying even now and finding it very hard to finish this post that I started two days ago.

The pictures above were taken Saturday afternoon. The pictures that follow were taken this afternoon (Sunday), approximately 24 hours later.

People are still coming to the bridge to leave a piece of their heart with Cyrus’ memory. The only difference is that the memorial is larger and expanding its way down the wall along the side of the street.

Yet this community remains in mourning and waits for answers to questions — answers that will let us stop the emotional turbulence. Afterwards, we can begin to contemplate ways to deal with the legal issues and the processes that will need to be implemented to protect the community and its keiki.

I was speaking to a very nice woman at one of the news channels in one last effort to get more answers before posting this. In the course of our conversation, something this lady said made me finally find something good about this whole scene. It suddenly dawned on me, you guys, that we’re not immune to it all!

We haven’t built up an immunity or steeled ourselves to these tragedies. We still care! This is who we are! The ohana that is our community feels the need to band together and, like any family that has lost a family member would do, we just need to lean on each other for a while. We’ll draw on each other’s strength and deal with the recent tragedies that our community has had to face.

For now, we say aloha to Cyrus. Go with God, little angel, we’ll pray for you!

Did I tell you guys that I got a new camera for Christmas? I’m hoping that the pictures will be improved since the mega pixel count is more than double what it was on the old one. The beauty of blogs is that those pictures we try very hard to get just right, stick around for a very long time. The photo albums of yesteryear are wonderful but the photos fade over time.

I have an old photo of my father that I will need to do something with before it is gone forever. I know there are people locally who do photo restoration. I’m afraid of that because this is the only real picture that I have of him, as I remember him. But, photo restoration may be my only option. Old photos are certainly worth restoring or preserving somehow!

This photo is what my father looked like during the latter years of his career as a history professor at UH Manoa. You can barely see it on the right of his face (case in point) but he is smoking a pipe. Like I said, it needs to be preserved, and restored, somehow.

Another thing that I ran across while I was searching around was a company that will actually take a photo and paint an artist’s rendition of it in oil! I have heard of this before but I have never really seen it in action like this. “Paint Your Life” — what a great name! Well, they certainly paint a person’s memories! Neat stuff and the videos on their site show you what they do step by step.

Yes, I know there’s Kat Vondee with her tattoo-artist’s eye, but this is art on canvas, not skin… and with oils! If you want to, you can have them stretch the canvas, mount it, frame it and wrap it for shipping. Maybe this is another thing to add to my shopping page. Even though it’s a little late for Christmas, there are still the other occasions for gift-giving and this would certainly make a great birthday gift!

Those birthdays are coming along fast a furious too! Egads!

Time stood still for me yesterday. I got the phone call that said, “Bad news. I’m sorry. Daddy passed away on Monday.”

“Screech!” There’s the sound of that phonograph needle across the record of time. The memories came trickling in until I found these old pictures in an old photo album — then the memories came flooding back! So did the tears.

A huge father figure in my life, Joaquin (Joe) Joseph, Jr. may be gone, but he’s far from forgotten!

Remember the Polaroid SX-70? You know, the ones where you would take the picture, it would slide out of the camera and we had to wait for it to develop? We thought they were the best cameras back then! I used a lot of that crazy film. The pictures lasted and, while they’re certainly not the best pictures, they’re all I have.

The Polaroid was not the only thing that was an advancement in technology. I remember this grass cutter that Joe and one of his sons are seen here unloading from the truck. It was noisy and clunky but it sure beat the sickle for cutting all the grass needed for the horses.

Although the pictures aren’t the quality we see in today’s digital cameras, the sight of the old stables in the background with its tin roof and the Waianae mountain range behind that, was enough to make my tears fall even faster.

I would not have had those memories if it were not for this man who worked so hard to keep food on his family’s table and who struggled all those years with the financial difficulties of survival and raising thirteen children and one stowaway… me. His wife, Diane, endured it all right by his side. This has got to be a hard time for her!

Life there was hard work but full of fun and a great family community. I miss the sound of the rain falling on the tin roof, the roosters in the morning and the smell of the stables with freshly strewn sawdust. We were brats but we had fun! Joe and Diane had their hands full with their own children and I was around a lot more than they probably would have liked.

If it wasn’t some drama with the kids, it was a crisis or must-do event with the animals. Both required a lot of care and a lot of reprimanding. So much of what I remember of my years growing up I have to credit to Mr. Joseph and his firm hand.

Time moved on and I had to deal with college, growing up and finding a job and all that junk. Over time, the family members who still remained moved with Joe and Diane to the Big Island.

Over those years in Waianae Valley on Oahu, there were many joys but a lot of sorrow too. We lost many much-loved animals over the years and the family eventually lost two of those thirteen children to accidents or teenage stupidity. Through it all, Joe persevered. He was a true patriarch and will be a very hard act to follow.

In 2002, thank you Google, Joe was among the seventeen cowboys inducted into the Paniolo Hall of Fame. I missed it. I didn’t know and I had been separated from the family for too many years. Malia Zimmerman shared the story through her article, Hawaiian Cowboys Recognized for Making Paniolo Culture Legendary over at the Hawaii Reporter.

* Joaquin Joseph, Jr. of McCandless Ranch & Tongg Ranch, Oahu

As the first-born son and namesake of a McCandless Ranch cowboy, Joaquin had ranching in his genes. “I was born a cowboy type,” he says. Known among his peers for his roping ability, Joaquin says His favorite part about being a cowboy was riding out on the range, catching cattle and bringing them in for branding. But he also had to be a jack-of-all trades in his job. Back then, a cowboy had to do just about everything -– fix fences, shoe horses, and work with cattle. But Joaquin is proudest of his skills as a horse trainer.

“I’m going to be 72 this month and I still train,” he says. “When I ride, I like to feel the animal under me.”

He probably inherited his love of horses from his father, Joaquin Joseph, Sr. He remembers that when his father was dying and had come home to spend his final days, he looked out at the arena and asked to be put on a horse. He wouldn’t rest until he was sitting in the saddle.

“That’s going to be my last wish too,” Joaquin says.

The rest of the article is great and very accurate when talking about the look in their eyes. Life was rugged but in between all of that Joe smiled a lot and tended to the physical and emotional needs of both animals and children.

He taught me a lot more than just riding, roping and barrel racing. It would do me a lot of good these days to remember his patience and endurance. We all should live more by such an example.

Apparently a few days before he died he knew his time was near. He told family members he was going to go. On Monday, he did. Dad will be buried on the Big Island, next to his son Albert. Albert and I graduated from Waianae High School at the same time. He was a brother to me and a very dear childhood friend.

I was lucky — a few months ago Joe’s wife, Diane, and his daughter, Ivy, managed to come and see me at work here on Oahu. I’m so glad that they did. At least I got to hug him and hear him say to people, just one more time, “This is my haole daughter.”

~ Joaquin Michael Joseph, Jr. ~
September 15, 1930 - December 16, 2007

Love you, Dad! So much of who I am was molded by your example! I know Red is standing there at the gate waiting to greet you — that’s one beautiful stallion who has waited for his rider a very long time. As you ride the rainbows and lasso the stars, rope one for me!

Some things transcend all borders. Luciano Pavarotti died yesterday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. I hate the “C” word! It has cost us much and now it has taken the King of the High C’s! Luciano was 71 years old. Did he come to Hawaii? Yes, we were fortunate to have him visit and sing for us a couple of times. The media reports this morning are giving him credit for “expanding” or reviving an interest in opera. One can only hope that this vocal art will thrive.

Honolulu and the rest of the world say aloha to a man whose name is synonymous with opera. His name has become a household word and will be representative of his genre for years to come, I’m sure. Few things are more beautiful than a clear, crisp tenor voice! Was he my favorite of the tenors? No, but he had one thing that always amazed me — not only control, but comfort.  When hitting those high notes was a struggle for some and work for others, Pavarotti just did it naturally. He didn’t flinch or strain, he just sang! He is one hard act to follow!

For opera fans, the 1982 comedy, Yes, Giorgio, just became a tear-jerker. Aloha menemene from Homespun Honolulu to the family and friends of Luciano Pavarotti, and to the opera fans across the world!