Monday, October 31, 2011

Morning, Ladies

A L O H A !


What a magnificent day!



" Be faithful to that
which exists nowhere
but in yourself,
 and thus
make yourself
indispensable. "

Andre Gide










Life I love you!


" Her appearance is so interesting
it suggests that her appearance
is the least interesting thing
about her. "

Rebecca Mead










Morning, Ladies!



" We come to love 
not by seeing a perfect person,
but by learning to see
an imperfect person
perfectly. "


Sam Keen




   (*)>
/ )
/"    


Thank you for visiting,
YOUr comment is welcome
                                                 Warmly, cloudia 
 Happy Halloween & Diwali
BOO!
 Trick or Treat
Totoro!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Autumn Reds Hawaii Edition

A L O H A !




Kindly click on the photos
 Our palms don't turn red in October. . . 


" I saw the lovely arch
Of rainbow span the sky,
The gold sun burning
As the rain swept by. "


  Elizabeth Coatsworth,

 November










Red Romantic



" An optimist is a person 
who sees a green light 
everywhere,
while a pessimist sees only 
the red stoplight... 
the truly wise person 
is colorblind.  "

Albert Schweitzer













Red Rectitude


" I sometimes wonder 
if two thirds of the globe 
is covered in red carpet.  "

Prince Charles








Red Roof

" When in doubt wear red. "

Bill Blass








Red Rescue



" Whenever you're sitting across
from some important person, 
always picture him
sitting there in a suit of long red underwear.
That's the way I always operated
in business.  "

Joseph P. Kennedy
 
 
 
 
  > < } } ( ° >
 
 
hope this wasn't
red-dundant!

YOUR visit makes my day
Thanks!

leave a comment of any color you wish
                                                    warmly, cloudia

Saturday, October 29, 2011

To Live & Die in Hawaii

A L O H A



Every person wants & needs
the same basic things, 
though each of us
does them in our own way;
But in Hawaii especially
 we live - and die - 
in our own unique culture. . . 




Hi Ho Oxygen Tanks AWAY!
In hospice care. 
"Riding Home"


" And when the day arrives 
I'll become the sky
and I'll become the sea
and the sea will come to kiss me
for I am going home. 
Nothing can stop me now.  "


Trent Reznor
 














Friday, October 28, 2011

A Day

A L O H A !



You gotta click on  these photos
You never know what the day holds.
Yesterday, I had so much fun on my scooter
that I was thinking of trying to share that pleasure
with you in a post.

When I went downstairs this morning,
Scooty wouldn't start.
Silly how out-of-sorts
such of things can make one.

But they sure do!

"Hey it could be worse,"
the kind Hawaiian security guard offered,
"you coulda had an accident."

I was nice to him (I hope)
but preoccupied and upset.






While I was walking on some errands near-by,
sirens came from every direction.

I was sure that it was an exercise for APEC:
the Convention Center is on that block.

But the sirens all converged
just ahead of me. 






You can't see her here,
but our magnificent Honolulu Fire Dept crew,
HPD, and the Paramedics
were ALL there for a downed bicyclist. 

All this urgent effort, society coming together,
to help ONE person. . . I don't know. . . 
it just really touched my heart.  

With everything
going on in the world, we still care about a 
stranger.

  Somehow, that makes me feel like we
can wise up, get together, 
and solve our problems.








Yes, we never know what a day holds. 
Today, or tomorrow, 
could be life-changing.

I just wanted to share these thoughts 
with You,
"Strangers."

Who have become friends!

  > < } } ( ° >
     
Thanks for visiting
            you comment is most welcome cloudia

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Days End

A L O H A !





“ The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,

The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,

The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,

And leaves the world to darkness and to me.”

 

 Thomas Gray 
 


" Wherever you go,
go with all your heart. "
 
Confucius











" A faithful friend is a strong defense;
And he that hath found him 
hath found a treasure.  "

Louisa May Alcott




   > < } } ( ° >



 In this life
it is well
to be on good terms
with melancholy-
But marry
contentment.


Enjoy the contentment on offer
in these Autumn days.

Thank YOU for sharing it here!
                                               Warmly, cloudia

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Cleaning Homeless People from APEC route

 A L O H A !
 click on the photos
The New Colossus
 By Emma Lazarus, 1883
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles.






From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" 
Cries she with silent lips.




"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
"





 Jewish-immigrant children wave at the Statue of Liberty.


 How's That Working Out?

Honolulu Star Bulletin
By Dan Nakaso
POSTED: 12:45 p.m. HST, Oct 25, 2011

" State prisoners and Department of Transportation landscaping crews are busy clearing homeless people and their belongings from 17 different areas along Nimitz Highway and the H-1 Freeway that will be seen by delegations attending next month's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
The week-long clean-up is expected to cost $100,000, said DOT spokesman Dan Meisenzahl.
"We anticipate someone's going to ask us to do it again as we get closer to APEC," Meisenzahl said.
The clean-up crews include 50 DOT landscaping employees and 25 prisoners, Meisenzahl said.
They are primarily focusing on clearing homeless people and their belongings around bridges along the APEC travel routes, Meisenzahl said.
In August, the DOT spent $200,000 just to clear homeless people and their belongings from the H-1 Freeway viaduct near Honolulu Airport.
This week's anticipated $100,000 cost for the viaduct and 16 other locations is much cheaper "because most of them and their stuff is already gone," Meisenzahl said. "


Comment?

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

America's Purpose

A L O H A !


Please Click on Photos
" No one knows
till he has suffered from the night
how sweet
and dear to his heart
and eye
the morning can be. "


 Bram Stoker






" Joys come
from simple and natural things:
mists over meadows, 
sunlight on leaves,
the path of the moon
over water. "

Sigurd F. Olson










" The only true voyage of discovery 
would not be to visit strange lands 
but to behold the universe
through the eyes of another. "

Proust


> < } } ( ° >



" I pledge allegiance
 to the flag
 of the United States Of America. . .
Lottery & Justice
for all. "

Ours is a nation
founded on ideas,
it's just that we disagree
on exactly what those ideas are.


Lately,
there has been an attempt
to label those who care
about our rising
 undeniable,
un-American 
inequality
as lazy or envious.

"You can still become rich." 
they say.

But I would answer
that when my grand parents
were brought to this country
as children,
their parents wanted them to have
more than a ticket in a game of chance.

America was a place
where no matter who you were
you could live decently
if you were willing to work hard.

And they did work hard.

America
was about her middle class,
and about rising, not falling,
standards of living
for ALL of her people -
not about the chance you had
to get lucky.


Today 
some Americans "earn"
millions & billions.
But many others
who work every day
are falling further
and further
behind.

So what is America for?
Winner takes all?

There is much waste and abuse.
There is much hidden behind the 'news.'

Even as we Americans pay more per-capita
for health care,
we fall further
and further
behind the developed world
in health coverage and outcomes.
Look it up.
Where do those dollars go?

When everything is left to the market,
human beings only have the value
of their bank accounts.

Is THAT liberty?
Or justice for ALL?


Thank you for visiting today!
Leave us your comment
                                                                               Warmly, cloudia



Monday, October 24, 2011

Over the Bridge

A L O H A !


Ala Moana Beach Park, Honolulu


" Difficult times
have helped me to understand
better than before,
how infinitely rich and beautiful
 life is in every way, 
and that so many things 
that one goes worrying about
 are of no importance
whatsoever. "

Isak Dinesen





“He that cannot forgive others,

breaks the bridge

over which he himself must pass 

if he would ever reach heaven;

for everyone

has need to be forgiven”

 

 George Herbert 







“Let every man praise the bridge

that carries him over”

 English Proverb









"The grave is but a covered bridge

Leading from light to light,

through a brief darkness!”

 

 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

















“ The hardest thing in life 

is to know which bridge to cross

and which to burn. ”

 

 David Russell








" The youth gets together his materials
to build a bridge to the moon,
or, perchance, a palace
or temple on the earth,
and, at length,
the middle-aged man concludes
to build a woodshed with them.  "


Henry David Thoreau













" The biggest emotion
in creation
is the bridge to optimism.  "

Brian May









 > < } } ( ° >
     


So much in our lives
could be viewed as a 
transition from one thing
to another.


We go from mother's milk
to solid food.


We transition from home
to school.

We always seem to be
on our way somewhere
else.


Perhaps that's why we love bridges.


They re cathedrals
of going
from one place
to another.


They represent delivery
and freedom;

" The river is wide
and  I just can't get
over."

Moon Bridges were built
as places of contemplation,
both OF their lovely shapes,
and as places
of View.


This one was built during the 
days of the Depression
to provide meaningful work
and beauty to Honolulu-
kinda what President Obama
wants to do now
with his jobs bill.


Let's enjoy
a contemplative moment
on our rush from Here
to There.


Glad YOU could stand here 
with me for a few moments.
Thank You.
Here's a spray can-
please leave YOUR graffiti
on the 'Comments Wall.'
                                                                           Warmly, cloudia



BONUS BRIDGE:
George Washington Bridge