Holiday and a Up-Do!

       It's time to refresh and make things have a more attractive appearance, so stay tuned while a true friend, and just as good computer geek gets this thing under control for me!

  

    Ways to Improve Yourself in the New Year

1. Make a list of three areas you want to improve or goals you wish to achieve.

a. Create an Excel spreadsheet or something akin to it  that describes the improvement goal. What items do you need to achieve your goal? For example, if it is paint the back fence, then list your needed items to complete it, such as paint scraper, sand paper, paint,(how much) etc. You might have to measure the fence.  The back of the paint can oftens tells how much square feet the can will cover.) Talk to the sales person wherever you are buying your paint. Yes, it is OK to purchase the paint now, and store it in a place it won't freeze.  Schedule this project on your calender, depending on your weather conditions.  If it is Hawaii, you may be able to do this project the first weekend in February depending on the weather forecast, but if you live in Northern Germany, you may need to schedule it late June or early July.  But schedule it. 

b Give yourself time between projects.  Some people need more time to recover than others. Some like to buzz right along starting a new project s soon as they finish the old one. Others need to reward themselves with lunch with a friend to celebrate their accomplishment. Do celebrate your tiny or big steps in accomplishing your three goals for the year! 

c.Suppose it is a character building goal--like building a relationship with an unlovely or needy person.  Do the same thing.  Work out what you will do. Should you get a support buddy to help you? Many tasks are often better handled with two people, not just one including dealing with "tank" people.  We all know "tanks." They sit in one place and just send round after round of ugliness toward anyone in their proximity saying ugly things,, making unkind remarks, leaving sadness and sorrow in their path daily, refusing any part of being a team player. Realize these people are they way they are for some unknown reason to you. Perhaps, they don't know how to fit in.  

d.Make a plan that includes things like take a Saturday course at a community college that deals with living with different or difficult personalities. Get online and read what you can to see how to succeed in these kinds of relationships.  Can one succeed with difficult people? Some professionals say to continue only if they respond. Others say continue only until you have had your fill. I think it must depend on  why you are trying to be a friend to this person. Some will warm up, given the fact they think you truly do want to be, at least, professionally courteous to them while others have no desire to be courteous or professional. Give yourself a starting and ending time.  Give it your best shot for, say, three months.  Re-evaluate and decide whether the time you put in was worth it.  

2. Eat a lot of chocolate and share a lot of chocolate. 

 It seems some people are saying there might be a shortage by 2020,  so you had best get eating all the chocolate you can.  But here's the fun part. Everytime you buy a candy bar for yourself, buy two!  Be sure you share with someone else your fun and accomplishment. It will make both of you laugh. Sometimes you will want to give it to a friend. Sometimes, you will want to share it with someone you know is having a bad day, but share it.  

Check it out! 

Is there a chocolate shortage on the way?  www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/11/17/chocolate-shortage-2020/19167089/

3.Read a book from the Holy Bible.

 For example, St. John tells the story of the life and resurrection of Jesus, or Esther tells the story of how  a young woman from the king's harem  becomes queen and risks her life to save her people.  Somehow, those stories give a different slant to how we see and think after we read them. I am not sure how it works except I believe the Bible to be the words of God. There is Ruth who is an alien in a strange land who works to feed her mother-in-law, and story of  David, a shrewd military man who must outsmart the king in order to escape with his life. Oh! Did I tell you the king is his father-in-law? Yes! Just like those day-to-day television shows.

Queen Esther pointing out Hamaan.       by Ernest Norman (public dom.) 

4. Volunteer at a place of your choice.

  Go to a nursing home and listen to old people tell you their life's story.  Many of them will fascinate and enthrall you and even make you laugh. At the request of a friend, I remember taking a lady for an application to live in a retirement home.  She told me her story, and part of it was, she had been a Las Vegas show girl. How about the gentleman I met who had been aboard a ship in Pearl Harbor the morning the Japanese rained fire from heaven down on the United States'Navy which was moored there.  Oh, yes! You will get an education and be richer than whatever you invest. But suppose you are not an "old people person."  Perhaps, you can volunteer at the local food pantry on Saturdays. Maybe you can join "Big Brother" or "Big Sisters" and teach a child to make cookies or dribble a basketball ball. 

5. Investigate faith this year like you would a business venture. 

Spend a certain amount of Sundays or Saturdays if you choose a synagogue and check it out. Be serious about it.  Keep looking until you find what you are looking for--you will not be disappointed. But remember you may be challenged to show  God a little patience. You have been running things your way. It may be difficult at first to see things His way.  Join a small group wherever you choose to worship. Give God a chance by giving the people there a chance. They are looking for answers, too. 

Keep a little journal. Give each of these suggestions a section of your notebook. Write your reflections and when 2016 rolls around, you will be a different person.  Better yet, enlist someone else to do the same, and have a "Share Party" on New Year's Eve of next year.  

Happy New Year! And Great Adventuring!  

Let's Leave Hawaii Present and Go To Israel Past --

    I should like to leave the beautiful islands of Hawaii this week with palms that have Christmas lights dangling from them and shirt-sleeved shoppers  and go to a time long ago.  This story is a true story --it happened nearly two thousand years ago.  The story is written in Luke 2:1-20 in a book called the  Holy Bible.  One account of the story as told by a shepherd who lived during that time follows below. I hope you enjoy it. It might have shown up in the Bethlehem Gazette, a newspaper, if they would have newspapers at that time, but they didn't --but work with me here!

The Shepherd Met the Lamb

     My name is  Eli  and I  want  to tell you about a  night on a  hillside outside of Bethlehem.  Shem, Jeremiah and I tended sheep together, because it is  a lonely, remote kind of duty. Sitting around  a fire, we  had talked about the  laws of God and how difficult it was to keep them all, especially as shepherds since we were away for weeks at a time. We worked  it out  occasionally, so one of us could go home. But as much as I missed my family I could not do it often, because my sheep listen best to my voice. 

       Back to my story. The fire had died down, and each man was lost in his  own thoughts.  Spontaneously, night turned into day and a man, I know now to be an angel, stood in the middle of the day spot.  He said, “Listen! I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.  For unto you  is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.”

                                                           From this darkness

The night was so black, Bethlehem seemed far off in the blackness.

                                                  To this light splitting the night !

   

     And if that wasn’t enough to blow our law-ladened brains right out of our ears , the sky was filled with as many angels as the stars, and they begin to sing, “Glory to God!”  Talk about a WOW night!  In a matter of amazing minutes this happened.  Then as suddenly as it grew light, darkness pulled the curtain of light back and blackness covered the sky once again.  

     We begin to chatter like a bunch of women at morning water drawing.  Shem said, “What do we have to lose? We believe in the Almighty and the promise of Messiah’s coming.  It has to be—he said a Savior which is Christ the Lord”.  So we left our sheep under the care of the Almighty and hurried to Bethlehem..We decided the baby and family must be at the inn, because Bethlehem is small and we knew every family expecting a baby.   Every alley had people sleeping in it because of the Roman tax census, but we knew where the only inn was and reached it. The place was in darkness when we arrived. We looked at one another. What now? Then Jeremiah, who remembers every detail said , “Didn’t the angel say we’d find the baby in a manger?” and we all thought the  unspoken question, “What in the world was the Savior, Messiah doing in a feeding trough?”

     We crept around the building and saw a small shed glowing sofly from a oil lamp.   

There before us, we saw Him, a tiny reddish-faced  baby with his mother and dad. All the Law and the Prophets I had learned as a child rushed back into my heart, “Unto a child is born, unto us a Son is given….” , “a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and call His name Emmanuel.” I fell on my face and wept . I shall never forget  the smell of hay and dried manure as  I worshipped Him that night. 

A manger where animals normally ate was the Baby's bed! 

     I went back to the fields a changed and refreshed  man, having been reminded  that the Almighty God even  cared about me.  Me,  the guy who could not keep all that rules.  Me, a smelly, tired shepherd had met the Lamb of God!  

Twelve Days of Christmas Hawaiian and Your Style

     Many of us in the United States are familiar with the Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Christmas.  But did you know a Hawaiian version exists? I will share it with you, just for fun.  Written in 1959 in one night by Eaton "Bob" Magoon, Ed Kenny and Gordon Phelps, it will bring you joy. While you are reading it, suppose you create one for your area of the world and share it with me under comments.
Hawaiian version: ((in reverse order, of course )
Numba twelve day of Christmas my tutu (aunt) gave to me. 12 television
(In 1959 they were not those flat screen kind, either, but the kind that gave you and two other people a hernia.)
11 missionaries -----and Hawaii, thankfully, joyfully accepted God's message of love .
10 cans of beer -----(maybe root beer) I love root beer and as does Ian and Ruby!

So, it is root beer in plastic bottles. Besides, this is a G-rated blog. 

Nine pounds of poi-----(You have to develop a taste for that stuff.)
Eight ukuleles------------ (I bought the best, but need to practice, but "Da Ukulele Boyz" on Maui are some of the best. (Watch them on You Tube.)

You only need one if you have a K Kamaka one! 

Seven shrimp a-swimming--- I hope they can do the backstroke if they are trying to make the California trip.

OK. So there are only three, and they are definitely not swimming anywhere! 

Six hula lessons-----Those were the days when you could take free lessons through Honolulu Parks and Recreation  Department. I will check it out; maybe you still can.

Hula lessons. What fun! 

Five....... big fat pig---Kalua pork, ono ono, especially when the pork is not wearing plaid.

The pig may be skinny, but he wrote his own caption! 

Four flower lei....I close my eyes and I can smell those plumeria lei.  Oh, but I have a plumeria tree growing in a pot. Do you think that helps my nose?

No, the monkey is not wearing clothes. He is a monkey, Silly!

Three dry squid----They do that right after they come out from swimming.
Two coconut--We'll save some delicious recipes for later.

Two coconuts screaming to get out of those hair nets! 

And a mynah bird in one papaya tree. (I never saw one mynah bird the whole time I lived there, but perhaps the only one was in the zoo.)  But give me one papaya.  It tastes just like the islands.

No, that is not a mynah bird, nor is it a papaya tree.  Merry Christmas! 

OK. Let's all sing loudly together now!  On the Numba Twelve day of Christmas my tutu gave to me---
12 Television, 11 missionaries, 10 can of beer, Nine pounds of poi, Eight ukuleles, Seven shrimp a-swimming, Six hula lessons, Five..... big fat pigs.  Four flower lei, three dry quid, two coconuts and a mynah in one papaya tree.

  "Merry Christmas!" or as they say in the Islands, "Mele Kalikimaka!"
Check out this You Tube video if you have about 4 minutes.  It will make you laugh, and you need that this time of year!
*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GoMmIEKgks

Copy of the lyrics
***http://www.huapala.org/ChristReligious/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas.html

References
http://www.staradvertiser.com/features/20101219_12_days_hawaiian_style_song_still_fun_after_50_years.html?id=112144954

A BIG THANK YOU to Laniesha at my local supermarket!

NEXT WEEK--FIRST CHRISTMAS' CELEBRATED IN HAWAII!
Don't forget to post your own unique "Twelve Days of Christmas Song!"  Make them family-friendly, please! Thanks!

Place of Beauty, Place of Sacrifice

LADY COLUMBIA - Punchbowl Cemetery (public domain)

     It seems fitting one day after the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the nearing of Christmas that we speak of a place of serene beauty. Punchbowl, National Cemetery of the Pacific, graced with the Hawaiian name, "Puowaina," loosely translated means “Hill of Sacrifice.” Why should we  speak of such a place of sadness so close to such a holiday of joy? As  the men and women who lie there gave up everything for their people, Jesus Christ, gave up a perfect place, and came to earth for the love of His people, us.

Punchbowl Cemetery  (public domain)

     Covering nearly 116 acres, Punchbowl lies in an old volcano crater, serene and stately, as it stands guard over its wards in the midst of a teeming, busy city. Like entering a quiet chapel from a noisy street, this peaceful place is adorned with white blooming plumeria, umbrella-shaped monkey pod and  Chinese flame trees. Brushed with  fuschia and coral bougainvillea along with seed-ladened  koa,  the crater’s rim blushes. A place of peaceful repose, fresh flowers brought by the public, decorate the graves and are removed only when they become unsightly and faded.

     As one enters  the cemetery “Lady Columbia” stands at the other end above Abraham Lincoln’s quote. Although written  to a woman who had lost five sons in the Civil War, it speaks for all who lie there. “ The solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.” The Courts of the Missing contain the names of 26,280 American servicemen whose dedicatory stone says it all, “In these gardens are recorded the names of Americans who gave their lives in service to their country and whose earthly resting place is known only to God.”  These inscriptions remind loved ones their sacrificial one is not forgotten by God and, hopefully, nor by us, either.  
   

     Although the idea to place a cemetery in Punchbowl was first introduced in 1890, the dream became a necessity to honor America’s war dead during and after  World War II.  Vietnam and Korean soldiers, both men and women, rest  there. It was agreed, that the land would not be sold, but donated. This happened in 1943. The bodies of fallen warriors from  prison camps in Japan and from Wake Island’s fallen arrived first. They  lie next to warriors killed at Guadalcanal, China, Burma, Saipan and Guam, totaling nearly 13,000 from various theaters in the South Pacific.  Some 44,200 military members and their families lie among the quiet and peace of this island place.    

     In August 1991, Punchbowl reached its capacity and today's warriors, like my friend’s husband, Byron, are buried at the State Veterans’ Cemetery in Kaneohe. For more than fifty years on Memorial Day, a beautiful event has occurred. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture invites the public of all ages, including school children to sew lei and bring them to community parks and fire stations. Boy Scouts place the lei on the graves.  These lei decorate the tombstones of all buried in both cemeteries. In 2013, the need totaled 50,000 for both cemeteries with 38,000 for Punchbowl alone. On Oahu, people were encouraged to buy from local flower merchants or use flowers from their own gardens, but flowers come from the other islands, as well. Each year, this customs reminds them of this great military sacrifice and allows them to be a part of this great endeavor.

     

      Many famous people are buried there,  like war-decorated island boy, Daniel Inouye, long-time Senator from Hawaii, Ernest, "Ernie" Pyle, journalist during World War II, and Clara H. Nelson, better known as "Hilo Hattie." But  many more  lie there, just ordinary "Joes" and Marys". They did their duty and loved their country. They will be honored by many, but only God will know their names.  

     Although I attended a Memorial Day service at Punchbowl, my  recommendation is visit when not so many people are bustling around there. This allows the strength of these sacrifices to permeate one’s soul. It also allows one to feel the peace of God in a place so hallowed. 

References


Acres of Honor.100^th Infantry Battalion Veterans Club. Retrieved December 8, 2014  
           from http://acresofhonor.com/history.html

Bega, Rosa, Bourn, Jerry and Torres, Tasa. Punchbowl National Cemetery. Retrieved  
           December  8, 2014 from http://www2.hawaii.edu/~turner/oahu/pnchbwl.htm

HDOA Highlights Local Flowers to Honor Veterans on Memorial Day . Hawaii 
            Department of Agriculture. Retrieved December 8, 2014 from
            http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/blog/news-releases/2013-news-releases/hdoa-highlights-local-              flowers-to-honor-veterans-on-memorial-day/

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific . VA National Cemeteries. US Department of
            Veteran Affairs. Retrieved December 8, 2014 from

             http://www.cem.va.gov/CEMs/nchp/nmcp.asp

National Memorial Cemetery of  the Pacific. Retrieved December 8, 2014 from      
             http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/oahu/national-memorial-cemetery-of-the-pacific/

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Mail from Hawaii!

     Around Christmas time everyone waits impatiently for boxes from Amazon,  packages from United Parcel Service and cards and letters via the United States Postal Service. Some live by Facebook  and Twitter, but all of us can remember back in the old days when we received a letter, card or even a package in the mail with our name on it.  What an exciting and precious thing!. 

     Today I am going to give you a gift as precious as a day at the beach and  like a straw beach mat, strong and true.  I shall weave you a story how people used to get mail, and you will have a new appreciation for the phrase “snail mail.”   

From the time Captain Cook discovered the Sandwich Islands a.k.a. Hawaii Islands in 1778  until 1850 when the first postal system was established, mail happened, just not like you and I think of mail deliveries. No men or women showed up in little blue uniforms with envelopes or packages. As old as the Bible itself,  the desire to communicate via words on paper  found a place in the Sandwich Islands as well as on the Mainland. The Hawaiian language, unwritten until the missionaries came, already pulsed across the islands with messages of love, diplomacy, and governmental issues. During this time in the United States and Hawaii, English speakers addressed their sealed letters on the outside of the folded letter. Even without envelopes, correspondence reached its destination. (Pre-Postal)

     If someone in Hawaii wanted to send a letter to someone in the United States, it was their responsibility to check the times of departures for ships leaving the Honolulu harbor. Their letters, given to  harbor masters, ship captains, missionaries, and  acquaintances returning to the mainland made precarious journeys to their prescribed destinations. Often this precious cargo traveled a year before it reach its appointed destination. Sometimes it was shipwrecked and lost at sea. Some that survived tell us stories of old.      Three of the earliest Hawaiian letters came from a  nobleman, a king, and a wife, all different, but paramount to each in importance. They each paid a two- cent ship fee for their letters to be transported, a five- cent Hawaii fee and an additional fee,  depending upon how far it was going across the United States or the manner in which it went. Sometimes people paid a double fee in hopes that somehow it might help the letter reach its addressee. (Pre-postal). 

     In 1803, Don Francisco de Paul Marin, a Spaniard who lived in Honolulu, wrote letters of recommendations for sea captains wishing to do business up and down the California coast, thus, promoting commerce. (Pre-Postal) In 1810, King Kamehameha I sent at least two “royal” letters to King George III in England. Dictated to a sea captain, Kamehameha asked for English bunting and colors to be sent  to show  cooperation between the two nations. In one letter, he stated he expected his harbors to be neutral in England’s war with Napoleon.It seemed more a statement, rather than a request. One letter to King George III said that he and Kaumuali'i, King of Kaua',  had made a treaty and declared that  he now ruled over all the Sandwich Islands, a victorious announcement. (Hackler)

     But my favorite piece of mail promises true love will prevail. In 1817, a twenty-three year old named James Hunnewell from Charleston, Massachusetts was left in Honolulu by his ship’s captain for  the sole purpose of selling his ship and receiving payment in sandalwood. (Shipping) While he lived in beautiful Hawaii, his wife, Susannah lived in cold, frigid Massachusetts. As this happened several times, they corresponded with one another during these periods of separation. To be exact, Hunnewell saw Susannah only seven months in the first eleven years of their married life age. One of her surviving letter records how much she missed him. She said the more she missed him, the less she adjusted to it. (Hunnewell Collection)  Her love and those letters drew him back, for after that time, he left his part of the business in Honolulu and returned to Charleston. (Hawaiian Trader)

     As far as inter-island mail in the Sandwich Islands,  people carried mail for one  another when going to a different island. Finally, in 1850, a formal postal system was set up by the government. From 1850-1859 in Hawaii, all domestic mail was delivered free of charge.  That included everything from pineapples and coconuts, to hats and flammable liquids. And for the most part, the Hawaiian  postal system put them in the hands of delighted receivers. (Local)

By  1859 these rates applied to Hawaiian mail.  Although almost hilarious to us, they are divided meticulously. 

• 15¢ to register any kind of mailable matter; (Now that covers a lot of stuff, and you did not  even have to put it in a box in those days! Boy! Could you have a lot of fun with that one! I suppose a bicycle would not be considered mailable, would it? )
• free for newspapers sent from the office of publication to subscribers;
• 1¢ for all other newspapers; (Even the New York Times!, that is if you wanted to send it to a friend after you read it. You can believe they did that!)
• 1¢ per ounce for bound books; (This would be like the Book Mobile without the bus! )
• 2¢ each for pamphlets under 200 pages and 4¢ for pamphlets of 200 pages or more; (That would cover a phone book, except they didn’t have telephones.)
• 2¢ per ½ ounce for sealed packages; (What if the seal popped in transit? Then what did it cost?)
• 1¢ per ounce for parcels of small bulk without letters, papers, liquids in glasses or anything injurious to the contents of the mail bag; (I loved this one—injurious to the other contents-Does this eliminate chickens, because they might eat other things in the mail bag,  since chickens can cause such damage? I wonder if that covers perfume, since that might be injurious to the chicken should it drink it—one marinated bird, ready to grill, huli-huli prepped chicken upon arrival!
•  free for drop letters mailed at the office of "delivery" (no city or town carrier service existed then so "delivery" was at the post office when someone called for their letters);  (You could send out party invitations free!) (Local)

     Those days have slipped into the mist of time. From the beautiful Hawaiian islands to the snowy Massachusetts,  people wrote to one another.  They conveyed their thoughts, their hearts desires, and their most precious possessions. We do the same as we click our texts as quickly as we can, whether we “live Hawaii” or in the cold Midwest, whether it was a letter that took a year to reach us or five second text from Honolulu to St. Louis. All of us want to stay connected.  When we send a written card or letter, we allow our friend to visit with us over and over as they look at that card more than once.  Call me “old fashioned,” but I think I will send out Christmas cards again, so people can feel my love and perhaps, some of them may even get a bite of huli-huli chicken. 

 Try it!  Say Merry Christmas this year,  using snail mail, and  connect with someone you love. It will make their day and bless yours.