Mango Pickin' Day at Pakanu St.

MANGO PICKIN' DAY

Who would have ever thunk I would say

"It's Mango Pickin' day?" I certainly never would have thought I would but now I say things like, "I'm going to the beach, bye" or "I've got to stop by and buy a lei". Who would have ever thought? Well in these here parts that's what we say.  

The dogs started barking early this morning, that would be about 9 am.

I looked out the door, thinking about all the stories in the paper lately of all the people who are being robbed, especially in my part of the hood. People are actually talking about locking their doors. (thanks to drugs) 

There was a woman and a boy/man standing on my porch step.

 (He had a moustache, but was about 15.) I immediately calculated if they looked like the pictures in the paper and decided that they didn't.  We said hello, and Lorretta (the mother) asked if she could pick some mangoes.  I thought, why not? I told them where to go and pretty soon, Koa, the son, was barefoot and up in the tree. (What a monkey, and flexible too.)

That's a fruit picker he's holding. Sam and I spent forty bucks on that thing at the first whiff of mango. He's about 3/4 of the way up the tree. "Hey Koa."

Well, pretty soon Sarah, his sister (and Loretta's daughter) decided to get out of the car.  So now there's Loretta, Koa, Sarah and of course, I brought the dogs down as well as myself.  

We then hear a shuffling in the bushes and out pops Sister Bala.

Meet Sister Bala.  She loves mangoes.  She's filipino and lives next door with her family.  Betty, who lives across the street (don't worry, she has her own mango tree) told me that Sister Bala's son, who works at one of the best "farm to table" restaurants, told her that Sister Bala was hungry for the mangoes. (We call this the "Coconut wireless" type of communication) So, of course, I walked all of 50 ft. to her house when the mangoes began to get ripe, and told her to come and get them whenever she wanted.  This has led to Sister Bala , who told me that my husband is my husband but when we get to heaven, he'll be my brother, occasionally shuffling under the palms to collect mangoes.  

It was a great mango pickin' day, and I hope all of you all will think about droppin' by and tasting a bit of heaven. Someone did. Well, I'm off for the 40 mile drive to Costco, need anything?

Then we stopped at "Bite Me" fish restaurant. There right in front of our table was this 585 lb. blue marlin otherwise known as lunch.

A glimpse into the hula tradition

Ka'Imi Na'auao O Hawai'i Nei

To Search for the truth of the Hawaiian Culture

   I sat in the dentist's office this morning and watched a young Hawaiian girl practice her steps as she waited for her appointment. I saw her counting off, crossing her feet, and whispering the movements to herself.  Her mother sat in the chair with her youngest and I could see her thinking to herself of all the generations that had done what her daughter was doing and that the young girl she held in her arms was going to be doing the same thing in several years.  I know.  She was probably thinking about her grocery list and how she'd love to get a massage, but that's what fantasies are for, right?  They inspire.

   I think Hawaiian people are some the most beautiful people I've ever seen.  This girl was no exception.  She was no more than fourteen and her skin was the color of maple syrup.  It was smooth and glowing.  Her hair was up in a ponytail but you could tell, it would almost hang down her back.  Her lips were full and voluptuous and curved easily into a smile.  Her eyes were dark brown and glowed.  Frankly, she was beautiful.

   I'm from New Mexico where there are 19 pueblos and 3 reservations.  The young Native people are angry and fighting for their own sovereignty and liberation as they plunge themselves into what their grandmothers and forefathers have done for hundreds of years.  The traditions are sacred and often secret.  The whole culture is embedded in unison with the earth and its movements and seasonal changes. There are particular costumes for dances and art forms that are passed from elder to child. Young people are fighting to reclaim their language and trying to teach it to their children. It is the same in Hawaii.

    The Hula

   I really have no right to write about Hula or Hawaiian culture.  I don't know very much.  I've only lived here for a short while.  That's my disclaimer before I begin.

   The Hula has been part of Hawaiian culture since ancient times.  Its beginnings are linked to number of gods and humans.  There are many mythical characters such as Hi'iaka who is considered as the first dancer.  Others call Kapo'ulakina'u the first divine patron of hula, or tell the story of Keaomelemele as the foundation myth of dance.  There are many mythical connections to hula and many stories associated with it's beginnings.  So there's really no way to know except through the first documentations, most of which were done by the famous white sailor, Captain Cook and of course, he could never translate the true meanings of the Hawaiian language or its customs. the Hawaiian language is like so many native languages.  If you're not a native speaker, much of the nuances of the language will be missed.  Trying to translate into English is almost impossible.

  What is clear, is that hula is spiritual.  All creation, including things moderns call inanimate, are regarded as having life.  This is called mana and everyone and everything has it. The preservation of spiritual and genealogical purity was as much a concern for the Hawaiians of this era as it has been for all Native cultures living today. As Hollywood and Elvis infiltrated the island and made hula conform to their own purposes and fantasies, many traditions appeared to be lost.
   

A Little Background

  In the 1960's, a group of Hilo ( a town on the east side of the Big Island) businesspeople, wanting to attract tourists during the normally slow season of March-April, decided to organize a festival of local culture.  On the advice of cultural practitioners concerned about the increasingly haole (a reference to non-native people) character of Hawaiian culture in general and of hula in particular, they created the Merrie Monarch competition.  It was created in honor of King David Kalakaua, and has become a major event on the island that includes dancers from all of the islands as well as several locations on the mainland.  The Merrie Monarch Festival is a week-long cultural festival that takes place annually in Hilo, Hawaii. It honors King David Kalākaua, who was called the "Merrie Monarch" for his patronage of the arts. He is credited with restoring many Hawaiian cultural traditions during his reign, including the hula. Many hālau hula (schools), including some from the U.S. mainland and Japan, attend the festival each year to participate in the festival exhibitions and competitions, which are considered the most prestigious of all hula contests.

Today, Hula continues to evolve and spread.  Children here are seen practicing hula like the young girl that I saw in the dentist's office in schools, community centers and many different places.  Hula is no longer just a show for tourists.  Hula has reclaimed it's "mana" and is revered as a sacred form of prayer.  Young people learning hula cannot participate in the Merrie Monarch until they've been dancing for at least five years. 

Merrie Monarch video 2012 Where is hula Today?           click to see video.

   

What to Do When you Witness, Suspect child Abuse

As I lay in bed this morning, reading the paper and sipping my coffee, my brain just stopped when I read this letter to the editor.

Taken from a Hawaiian Newspaper, August 8, 2012

No Help Available

Yesterday I witnessed a man in the Walmart pick up his approximately 2-year old son by the top of his hair and throw him in a shopping cart, then slap him, slapping his other children, too, screaming at them.

I asked the clerk to please call security. she didn't want to get involved. Neither did the 40 or so people who were staring at this horrible scene saying, "Oh my God."

I had my grandson with me  and this was upsetting him.  The woman in the back of me kept saying somebody should do something.

The man continued to slap and hit and scream at all his children, while the mother did nothing.  I followed them out to the parking lot, as I watched him pick up the smaller kids by their hair and throw them in their van.  I called 911 and told them what I was witnessing.

I'm crying by now, I waited 20 minutes and no police came as I watched the van drive away.  

I can't imagine what must happen at home if this is what its like in public.  I called CYFD and told them what had happened when I got home and they told me they really couldn't do anything unless I could give them an address.

I watched commercials and read articles that say we must help the children if we suspect abuse.  So who do you call?

I pray the next time this happens and the right person is a witness, that something will be done and these children will have a better place to live.


     I remember being in the grocery store and witnessing a father abusing his son.  I too followed them out to their car and as I saw the man lean over the small child and grab him, I intervened and told him to stop treating his son that way.  He turned to me and glared, grabbed the boy and threw him in the car and left.  For the rest of that day and even now, I wonder if I made it worse for the kid.

     I also heard a mother screaming at her children all over the store (Walmart) and when they came into view I was so angry.  I told her to stop  treating her children that way.  I was calm when I spoke to her but also visibly upset.  She looked at me and asked if I was talking to her.  I told her I was.  I could see her take a breath and try to regain control, but I could see how dead the children's eyes were.  This was a regular event.

     As a teacher, I would stand out in the hall at the end of the day and supervise as parents picked up their children. Each day, there would be a young man who would lean against the wall waiting to pick up one of my kids.  Everyday, I would look him in the eyes and say hello.  At this particular school, I thought all of the parents were kind of scary looking and so was this guy.  Then, one day that student wasn't in school.  I got called into the principal's office and they queried me about my student.  Had he been acting strange?  Was he bruised?  I had no idea what had happened.  Then they told me that the man I saw everyday had killed my student's 2 year old brother.  I found out that he had been abusing the little baby for over two months.  The death had been drawn out over that time.

I know all of you have stories too.  So, what should the writer of the letter have done?  What should we do when we see this behavior?  I think she did everything that any professional would have told her to do.  I think the police and CYFD were negligent as all hell.  She gave them the license plate number.  Couldn't they track the address from there?  

I really couldn't help but think about the people on the plane that got hijacked on 9/11.  They got together as a group and took the plane back.  They took the power back.  Why couldn't 40 people do that to prevent these children from getting hurt worse?  Here in Hawaii, children are everything.  So is family.  This behavior is not common.  But drugs have become part of the landscape.  They call it "ICE".  It's a form of meth.  Anytime I see this type of behavior or hear about it, I think to myself, I bet drugs and alcohol were involved. And I bet they were this time too.

According to a Yahoo contributor, Christine Travis, the man in our story has taken things to a new extreme. She says that it is likely the abuse is worse at home.  She says that calling the police is a good strategy but a better one is to call store security and recruit their help in stalling the parent as you contact CYFD.  Supposedly CYFD will evaluate the situation and provide the parent and child with services or intervene in some way.  

I don't know what the right answer is. But please, take time to compliment parents who are being kind to their children.  Take time to do something for children everyday if you can.  Take flowers to CYFD where they see the worst of the worst and work so hard.  Please read Christine's advice on this link. And please take the time to post on my site and share your stories and advice.  We all want to be better.  Desmond Tutu said that we are appalled by this type of behavior because most of us are good.  If we weren't good we wouldn't be appalled.

What to do when you witness child abuse

Please comment by using the anonymous option or emailing me at amaracudney@gmail.com.

Hawaii is Teaching Me To Write

Hawaii is teaching me to write.  My first month or so,  I saw a posting in the newspaper for a writers group.  I went on a Tues at 10 am and there were about 25 people sitting around the table.  They were of all ages, sizes and colors.  I felt right at home.  I'd brought some of my writing and when it came my turn, I read a poem.  My group's reaction was wonderful and I'll never forget it.  The room was dead silent, people's eyes teared up, some mouths dropped open and then I got "feedback".  Guess what?  They loved my work.  I felt like I was accepted and part of the "Waimea's Writer's Group".  After hearing some of their readings, I knew this was a special place to be and that these were not just weekend warriors, but people that cared deeply about writing and about other people's work.  One man had written a story about a very young couple.  He portrayed the female as strong and able to make decisions, even if it meant not following her boyfriend who was going to college.  By the time he finished reading, he was crying openly and so were others.  I was touched by this.

It was interesting because the group was going to take a hiatus for the summer and meet at another location. I went a few times and was blown away by the location.  We met at a place called Algoods Barn. Algoods is located on a corner piece of the island.  There are horses, cows and lots of chickens running around a huge plot of land.  The trees lean toward the land, shaped by the wind that blows constantly, and the ocean surrounds the land on two sides.  Its a dramatic piece of property that you can't help but fall in love with.  The ladies that own it have built a house with the express purpose of hosting artists and other entrepreneurs. The group has kept me producing at a good rate, but I wanted more.

I met Richard and his wife at a friends house and we got to talking.  Richard owns a gallery and does so many other things just like the rest of us here on the island.  He ghost writes for several authors, plays music and now he's helping me.  What is different about the work I'm doing with Richard is that he's pushing me beyond my limits.  He doesn't swoon over my work, he just asks how I could change it up or say it better.  At first I didn't like it.  Then one of my poems exploded. See what you think.

Anger Flash Song

Girl, take your angry woman suit off ,

It don’t look good on you,

You bringing us all down, I’m telling you,

Nobody’s gonna  like you in that get up you got on now

You’re just scared little girl, cuz no one ever showed you how,

I saw you dancing,

I saw your skirts flying in the air,

It’s your anger that I can not bear,

It leaves me empty, it just drains me.

Life hurts us bad, I ought to know,

But no difference really, you’ve just gotta go

Reach deep inside and pull out the love,

Come on girl, it’s a new day have some fun,

Somebody told you something that was a lie.

I saw you dancing

I saw your skirts flying in the air,

Its your anger that I can not bear,

It leaves me empty, it just drains me.

Girl, take your angry woman suit off,

It don’t look good on you,

You’re beautiful today out in the sun,

Forget the story, remember how

It only about solutions, come on now.

I saw you dancing,

I saw your skits flying in the air,

It’s your anger that I cannot bear,

It leaves me empty, it just drains me.

 He told me that I had used too much dialect and hadn't really said what I wanted.  Here's what happened.

Sweet Mother, Release Me

By Amara Cudney

Her mouth opened and the atmosphere shattered

Jagged pieces of soul

Torn from bellies not yet

Pregnated, fertile and alive.

Just her teeth spayed across her lips

In an almost smile that wasn’t living.

Her hand holding the scotch,

 eyes dead from

Repetitive abuse,

 I let go of what I wanted to be

 where I wanted to go.

Those dreams floated in the gutters

By my street.

 I held the scotch and added a needle

 Trying to find the relief that wasn’t coming

It never came, not in musty hotel rooms, or at Pink Floyd concerts.,

Her words reflected in the blood I drew,

I cried for what would never be.

 I called for your help; help me

Your quizzical expression startled me as you reached for my hand

And held me in your heart,

I knew it wouldn’t be easy

I knew it wouldn’t happen quickly,

 I fought, climbed, surrendered

To something bigger than I was.

Forever held below the moon, spooned by Jupiter, cradled by Mars.

Now he wants me to take this version and turn it into a song. I'm actually feeling challenged and stoked about this.  I don't like doing stuff over and over but I like the results of being able to say things more clearly.