Homespun Honolulu

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!

It was a normal thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. To go run. I needed to pick up a prescription for Mom, so I went a little further than usual. I was passing Linekona School, now known as the Academy Art Center. Linekona has a history of being many things (mostly educational) and is now primarily an art school and a place that hosts small art exhibits. This charming building sits across the street from the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Now, on Saturday, while passing this historic-looking building, I was a intrigued by a large camel on the lawn. “What the heck?” I had to investigate this. Well, it seems that this camel was… well, just there. I was informed that there had been other camels on the lawn too but that they had already fallen over. There was an art exhibit going on but that camel had nothing to do with the exhibit on display. It didn’t matter, this peculiar dromedary, which was about to collapse like the others, was what led me inside.

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One of Honolulu’s more high-end restaurants has kind of left me on the fence. I like the location, the view is wonderful and the architecture is attractive. Parking, however, is problematic. It does not leave a good impression when you need a handicap stall and are told to either use the valet or drop off and go park about a hundred yards away.

So, I’m going to tip a valet to park in the stall that is right where I am standing and if I want to park my car myself I have to walk the length of a football field? (That’s a rocky, lumpy, not-made-for-heels football field.) This is not customer service. That’s strike one in the parking lot before we even get into the restaurant. I’m sorry, I am a strong believer in tips because I know staff are notoriously underpaid, but I also believe in tipping for a reason, i.e. service provided. There was no service to be had in the parking area! Valet service is supposed to be there to assist, not to hinder.

Now, we’ve left the parking-lot incident behind us and decided we would go in and try it anyway. Everyone is very nice and there is a warm reception from the hostess at the front door.

We were seated by an attentive and friendly matradee. The food looked and smelled wonderful. What a colorful variety!

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The memory of a man who loved Hawaii, as much as Hawaii loved him, was made tangible at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu last Thursday.

There are few places across the country, and maybe even across the world, that wouldn’t boast a fascination and admiration for this pop-music icon. But, I don’t know how many of these places could say that the feeling was, and still is, mutual.

There are many who have memories of his visits and many who tell stories about the concert that this statue commemorates. These 1,100 pounds of bronze immortalize the “Aloha from Hawaii” concert that took place in 1973.

According to some news reports, the concert was broadcast via satellite feed to 40 countries and had an estimated 1.5 billion viewers.

So who’s behind this? TVLand.com, with the permission and participation of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., enabled this life-sized look alike to make its home on the grounds of Blaisdell Center.

There are still women who remember getting close enough to touch him or people who still have an article from that concert. Even after more than thirty years, the parking lot at Blaisdell was full of several hundred fans, all waiting for the unveiling of our newest tourist attraction.

People still have his pictures and memorabilia decorating their homes. Even at my house there’s a picture on the wall, with a piece of paper with what portends to be an original Elvis Presley signature.

Forbes billionaire, Barbara Cox Anthony, died this morning at the age of 84. According to the evening news, she had been ill for a while.

She was quite a lady. She was one of those people that had money but didn’t flaunt it or live ostentatiously. I knew she was on the Board of La Pietra: Hawaii School for Girls and that she had philanthropic interests but I had no idea that she was also a contributor to the Veterinary School at Colorado State University! That took her up a notch in my book!

Barbara Cox Anthony was a lady with a life story. Maybe we’ll hear more about it on the Biography Channel someday!

Statesman.com reports it like this:

Anthony died Monday at 84 after a long illness. She died in her sleep at her home in Honolulu, with her son and daughter by her side.

“She could run with the foxes or bay with the hounds,” said her son, Jim Kennedy. He described his mother as a fun-loving and sassy woman who was as comfortable dining with her ranch hands as with the Duke of Edinburgh, a woman of deep generosity who was dedicated to the environment and who loved animals and her grandchildren to distraction.

Until her death, Anthony served on the board of directors of Cox Enterprises. She also was chairman of the corporation that publishes the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News.

It’s a great article with a wealth of information about her family, her life and her fun-loving personality!

Aloha, Barbara, this is a loss to us indeed!