Yesterday I reached the point where I had enough of the woman’s ugliness. My 87-year-old friend visited and she and and my 2-year-old child sat on the couch underneath an open window on the side facing the vulgar neighbor’s house.  The woman screamed and yelled and emotionally vomited on her family.  As I went to close our window, I gently called out to her, “Please stop dropping the F bombs.  We have a small child and we don’t like that over here.”

The woman hollered back at me, “Mind your own F—n business!”

I hollered back, “Lady, meet me at the front of your property!”

I marched to the front of my property and then over to my neighbor’s property, and I waited.  The woman called out from open louver windows, “Is that you f—n yelling at me?” I said, “Yes, everyday we listen to yelling and screaming, dropping your F bombs.  I know you have small children and I have a small child and they do not need to hear that.”

The woman instantly pulled the race card on me.  “That’s why locals hate haoles! You can’t mind your own f—n business!”  I told her it was pretty difficult to mind my own business when she is shouting vulgarities so loud I can hear it in my house.

“F—bombs,” she said, amusingly.  Then she got indignant, tellingme the F word is part of the locals’ vocabulary.  I called bullsh*t on that one. “Ask your aunties.”

“There’s no aloha in the F word,” I said.

The woman went ballistic.  “There’s no more Aloha! The haoles took the Aloha when you went and stole the land!”

I’m standing there thinking to myself, how in the hell does she know anything about my heritage.  My ancestors did not steal any Hawaiians land.  My ancestors walked the Trail of Tears. I’ve never screamed and yelled at anyone and brought up this fact to them.  That woman and I could talk all day about the past injustices of indigenous cultures.  We would probably agree more than we disagree, if we could actually sit down and have a rational conversation.

But there was no rationalizing or reasoning with her.

The woman would not transcend her indignation.  She repeatedly told me I needed to go back into my house  and mind my “own f—n business.”  When I tried to get her to see that it was not healthy for her children or mine to be hearing her screaming and yelling such vulgarities, she insisted that the F word was part of her vocabulary and there was nothing wrong with her voicing it in her children’s presence.  Then she told me, “You’re not going to be able to protect your child from bad.”  I looked at her as if she were really pathetic.  ”She’s two, so I’m going to try.”

Image courtesy of Volcano Places

“Your language is abusive,” I told the woman.  We had other words before she yelled for me to get off her property.  “This is not your property.  It’s — (name omitted).”

“Get out of here!” she insisted, before closing the louver windows.  I walked away, sad for her children and for her, actually. Obviously, no one protected her from the bad.  She likely grew up in an angry household and, misery and angry herself, isn’t fully conscious of the fact that she is unnecessarily damaging her children.

I grew even more emphatic of her and her children, after I talked with her landlord and found out that she and her ohana have been evicted for not paying rent.  I can imagine now why she is so angry, ranting and raving, yelling and screaming at her family.  Still, my heart aches for her little ones, having to endure the anger and listen to such vulgarities. I don’t take personally anything that she said.  I realize she was reacting defensively.  I just hope that I planted a seed.

Meanwhile, along these same lines, I was in the parking lot adjacent to Office Max, heading in for printer ink.  I had my daughter and my friend’s 11-year-old son with me.  As I got out of the car, I could hear a woman and man battling it out on the sidewalk outside the Food Court.  The F-bombs were flying.  As I looked over, I saw the man holding on to a stroller carrying a little boy not too much older than my own toddler.  The mother’s instinct in me took over.  I stood up on the driver’s side door frame of my Honda and, perched on the roof, I hollered: “Do we need to call the police?!”

The man looked at me, then, with angry eyes, came at me like a pit bull.  I wasn’t swayed. I stared back, just as fierce. “You guys are screaming and yelling at each other, dropping the F-bomb, when you’ve got a small child!” I told him.  Wheeling the stroller toward me, he suddenly stopped, hearing me, and seeing I was a pit bull too, protective of two children standing behind the car. “Sorry,” he said to me, as he lowered his gaze to the ground.  “And my child doesn’t need to hear it” I said, as whisked my toddler in my arms and walked with the 11-year-old toward Office Max.

As I walked away from the man and his small child, I felt like sobbing, for him, for his small child, and for my own child, who is going to go to school with children who are growing up in abusive households.

I understand being angry at life’s injustices.  I’ve been in a bad relationship before.  I know what it is like to be poor, totally miserable, and hopeless. I’ve felt all that before.  Somehow we must look past ourselves, our anger, our frustration and our misery, and figure out how not to transfer that anger, frustration, and misery onto others, especially our children. It is a difficult exercise, and it requires a conscious effort.

I grew up witnessing extreme violence. I remember less the angry words and vulgarities than I do witnessing my mother losing teeth and hair as she was being pummeled by her boyfriend.

I waited until I was past 30 and found the right man to start a family.  Together, we are very conscious about our relationship and creating domestic harmony.  We have vowed that we will not unnecessarily damage our child.  So, yes, damn right, I am going to do all I can to protect my child from bad.

When people are yelling and screaming, so loud it is carrying over onto our property and into our house, it is our business. When couples are fueding in a shopping center that we are patronizing, it is our problem.  It is our kuleana to speak up and say something.

You and I must remember that, if we don’t try to say or do something, we are denying a child his or her right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Speaking up, saying something, helping a child, that in my mind is in the spirit of aloha. There is aloha.  I refuse to accept that the injustices of the past have dissipated it.  The spirit of aloha is alive and well, it is up to us to perpetuate that spirit. Speak up and say something.  Do not allow fear to rule your life. Do not talk yourself out of allowing children to be robbed of joy.

Hawaii Chief Justice nominee Katherine Leonard (L) and Gov. Linda Lingle.

By Curtis Narimatsu

Katherine Leonard will be the first female chief justice of the Hawai’i Supreme Court and the first to ascend to such position from UH Law School.   A centrist like Gov. Lingle, Katherine will steer clear of controversy.   Just the same, California will see the nation’s first Filipina/female chief justice, Tani Cantil-Sakauye, whose father toiled in the canefields of Hawai’i.  (See San Jose Mercury News report here.)

California Chief Justice nominee Tani Cantil-Sakauye

According to the news report, Cantil-Sakauye would also become the youngest member of the current court at the age of 50. She also may be the court’s first trained blackjack dealer, having worked such a job to pay for law school years back.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger chose Cantil-Sakauye to succeed Chief Justice Ronald George, who is ending his 14-year-career as California’s chief justice.  Cantil-Sakauye, a judge for 20 years, is a Sacramento appeals court justice.

(Curtis Narimatsu is a lifelong resident of Hilo who writes about the forgotten past such as the old plantation days & untold heroes.)

I am writing to you in support of Roger Christie and the decriminalization of cannabis/marijuana. Roger was arrested by federal agents on July 9th for growing, processing and distributing marijuana and is now being held in custody without bail.  U.S. District Judge Alan Kay said that Roger is “a danger to society.”  Federal authoities seem to think that they have made a major dent in the Big Island’s marijuana trade.  U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni thinks the case has far reaching impact. Robin Dinlocker, assistant special agent in charge of the DEA said “the availability of marijuana state-wide could take a significant hit as a result of the indictments.”  Roger is a peaceful man, and I have known him for over 20 years. A vast majority of residents and taxpayers of the Big Island believe that marijuana should be legal. They have voted so here on the Big Island in 2008, and I believe others would do the same state-wide if given the oppurtunity.

These public servants seem to be stuck in the last century. Just this year at the State Democratic Party Convention the delegates overwelmingly passed Resolutions GOV 2010-31 and 33 which call for legalization marijuana for personal use by people over 21 years and facilitating distribution of Cannabis to medical patients.

I ask, “Who are these public servants really serving?” We, the people, ask that federal authorities, whose salaries we pay, to free Roger Christie and legalize the use of cannabis/marijuana.

Aloha,

Ken Charon

By Hugh Clark

Why am I sending my real property tax payment for Hawaii County to Seattle?

(40-year newspaper veteran Hugh Clark is a fellow Big Island Press Club member, friend and mentor to the Big Island Chronicle.)

Nominees must be a woman residing in the County of Hawaii who has made contributions and is committed to community service, is an outstanding role model to women and children, exemplifies high moral character and conduct and embodies excellence or has made significant contributions in her field of endeavor.

Nominations should be in narrative form no more than two typed pages, describing the nominee and why she should be considered for the County of Hawaii Women’s Hall of Fame.  No more than five additional pages of supporting documentation (resume, curriculum vitae, news articles, letters of support) may be submitted.

Please contact Jean Viernes at (808) 961-8316 for a nomination form or for further information.  Completed form and narrative can be mailed to: Jean Viernes, Committee on the Status of Women at 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI 96720; or dropped off at the Mayor’s Office, 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo; or faxed to (808) 933-1521.

The deadline for nominations is August 20, 2010.

Photo by Tiffany Edwards Hunt. All rights reserved. Use with permission only.

On Friday, Fred Blas, one of the Hawaii County Council District 5 candidates, led those having to do community service on a cleanup of Pahoa Village Road.  They took a moment from picking up trash and weed-eating to pose for the picture above.  Kudos to them for actively seeking to improve Pahoa’s image.

Photo courtesy of Ken Charon

(Media release) — The artist’s group known as Art Day Group is showing a selection of their art works in an exhibition at the Pahoa Museum for the next three months.

Art Day Group was started over 15 years ago by Barry Wilkinson and Sara Steiner-Jackson as a way to encourage themselves and others to dedicate one day a week to creating art in a communal setting. The group meets every Friday at Ahalanui Park warm pond pavilion in Lower Puna and is open to art lovers of all ages. “It seemed like a good match to have our new exhibit at the museum,” says exhibit organizer Ken Charon.

Pahoa Museum emphasizes Lower Puna and an all-encompassing “healthy living culture.”

Art Day Group includes Barry Wilkinson, Sara Steiner-Jackson, Ken Charon, Rebecca Rosen Charon, MoonStar Rae, Jack Marshall, Paul Boylen, Linda Stevens, Kerri Ligatich, Bruce Black, John Mydock, Isla Harmon, Diane Cohen, Kat Alvarez, Irma Melo, Michael Donenfeld, Ann Rathbun, Vince Callager and children’s work by Jolina and Hasya Garber.

The Pahoa Museum, located in historic downtown Pahoa, is open Monday through Saturday.  Call Sarah Williams at (808) 430-1573 for details.

Photo by Tiffany Edwards Hunt. All rights reserved. Use with permission only.

Jeff Hunt Surfboards in Pahoa is carrying a limited collection of vintage Jacqueline Kaleikini bikinis.  The Tahitian born Kaleikini, who is married to entertainer Danny Kaleikini, is known as Hawaii’s first bikini designer.  In the 1960s in Waikiki, she sewed custom bikinis for $10.  Her shop, which also offered muumuu and lavalava or pareo, was located in Hilton Hawaiian Vilage.  Today these vintage bikinis are a treasure, reminiscent of a bygone era in fashion and in Hawaii.

George "Boogie" Kalama

(Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in the July 7, 2010 edition of the Big Island Weekly.)

By Tiffany Edwards Hunt

To imagine what Uncle Boogie’s Pohoiki Bay Surfing Classic was like over July Fourth weekend is to envision what the surf-side village of Kalapana must have been like before the lava took it away in the early 1990s.

The massive lawn of the newly renovated Isaac Kepo’okalani Hale Beach Bark was filled with families camping out under tarps and in tents.  Nevermind the occasional rain and persistent wind.  The two-to-three-foot-average waves kept the surfers in the water, from morning to night.

“Aloha kekahi i kekahi,” George “Boogie” Kalama repeatedly told participants.  Whether it was Boogie’s constant reminders or the fact that participants truly embodied the true sense of the Hawaiian term for Love One Another, the love was flowing at Pohoiki.

Those who camped out at Pohoiki and participated in Uncle Boogie’s Surfing Classic embodied not only the true meaning of aloha, but also ohana.

Whether they were related or not, they treated each other like family.

Sure, they were gathered for a surf competition, but the competitiveness appeared to be a minimum outside of the water.

Participants shared meals and tasks, like preparing the maile leaf leis that were to be given to the first through fourth place winners of each division.

Manu Napeahi, who ultimately won first place in the women’s longboard open, forgot her bathing suit top and had someone loan her one.

Tristi Napeahi, known for her artistry, painted tribal designs on women’s fingernails.

They shared their talents, they shared music, they shared movies — On Saturday night, a big screen went up and all the campers gathered together for a viewing of Avatar and both Endless Summer I and Endless Summer II courtesy of Jeff Hunt Surfboards.

By Sunday, when Uncle Boogie started giving away the commemorative T-shirts he had been selling all weekend, women were helping each other turn 3x t-shirts into stylish tube-top dresses.

“It feels like we’re somewhere in the South Pacific,” observed Rocky Canon, a professional surf announcer from Oahu who came over to announce at the competition.  Rocky is from the North Shore, which is considered country, but Pohoiki is a different kind of country, he noted.

Joleen Alderdyce sporting a custom T-shirt dress.

Solomon Ortiz, a professional surfer from Oahu who came over for the contest, noted the vastness of Puna and how diverse it is, with “a range from average local Hawaiian to the weirdest hippie.”

“This makes everybody neutral,” Solomon said of the competition.

Boogie, a renown waterman who was a crew mate on the inaugural voyage of Hokule’a in 1976, arranged the contest with his son, Ikaika, a big-wave pro surfer.

Both of them over the years have seen their fair share of contests.  For Ikaika, the distinction with Uncle Boogie’s Pohoiki Surfing Classic is that it is “locally grown put on by us” and that it incorporated some unique divisions, like the tandem bully board and fishing from a standup tandem board.

In the competition, Ikaika dominated both those divisions.  When he came up to receive his ti leaf lei and ipu award crafted by Sam Kama, Ikaika announced that he was giving away his bully board to a family friend:  Terry Nicholas.  And he announced he was giving away his standup paddle board to one of Pohoiki’s notable keiki who he observed “ripping” in the water: Ulu Napeahi.

Other boards given away during the contest were a JG (Jerry Granson) shortboard that went to Shrutti Katrik, winner of the women’s shortboard division, and 9’0” Jeff Hunt longboard that went to Ortiz, winner of  men’s longboard open.

A couple of ukuleles, also handcrafted by Sam Kama, were given out, as well.  One ukulele was raffled and the other went to Hanal’e McGuire, a keiki, who, along with his sister Tianna, exemplify sportsmanship, carrying themselves well both in and out of the water.

“I feel what Uncle Boogie is doing for the next generation is so good, and I hope to see it continue,” observed Nolan Waipa.  “It’s up to us to carry it forward.”

Nolan and Moana Waipa’s 12-year-old son, Keahi, who has been surfing at Pohoiki since he was about four or five, competed for this first time in Boogie’s contest this year.

“Emotional,” that was Nolan’s reaction to his son’s premiere.  Keahi is named after Nolan’s father, Ray Keahi “German” Waipa, who passed away on March 29.   Truly, for the Waipas, the weekend was bittersweet.

Camped out at Pohoiki, the night before the competition commenced family and friends “pumped up” Keahi to enter.  Keahi ultimately competed in the menehune shortboard division, and he and a partner paddled out without fins for the bully board division. Plus, he won the horseshoe competition.  “He’s an entertainer,” Nolan Waipa said.

Terry Nicholas (L), Ikaika Kalama, and an unidentified keiki show off Nicholas' newly awarded bully board.

“The main thing, he’s happy, I’m happy,” Moana said of Keahi.

“I like how he like everybody be happy,” Nolan said of Boogie.

Aside from Keahi Waipa and his partner entertaining the crowd with their demonstration of the bully board without fins, another crowd-pleaser was Sean Philips’ aerial 180 to a 360.

For Canon, who grew up surfing on Oahu with Ikaika and other notables in the surfing community, Philips’ maneuver was a notable moment during the competition.  It was likely one of the key reasons for Philips dominating the junior men’s shortboard division.

Other crowd pleasers were the standup paddlers.

“This is not a standup paddle wave,” noted Rocky. “These guys were blowing my mind as to how much control they had and how

good they surfed on the waves.”

Meanwhile, as part of Uncle Boogie’s Pohoiki Bay Surfing Classic, but at Honolii on Friday, Kalani Kahaleioumi and other volunteers for the Hawaii chapter of Surfers Healing led out 23 keiki from here, Kansas and California, who are on the autism spectrum.

Bruddahs relax during the awards ceremony.

The keiki-on-the-autism-spectrum surfing event had to take place at Honolii because there is no handicap accessibility into the water at Pohoiki, Kahaleioumi explained.

Opihikao resident Nadia Al Wagga, whose five-year-old son Rohan participated, couldn’t be more grateful.  She noted that her son was most taken by the size of the bridge that towers over Honolii, but she was impressed that he got to his feet before the end of his session.

“It takes a huge burden off the parent,” said Kahaleioumi of the volunteer effort.  “I look at these parents that bring these kids to all the events and I know the hardship they go through.  Just one day I can do my part,” he said, adding, “To me it’s not enough.  If there were more activities available to all these kids it will be super.”

Kahaleioumi is seeking to create an autistic support group for Hawaii Island, what he envisions as “a network where everyone can work together to do some positive things.”  He noted that this island is “real limited for autistic services.”

“We’re just one type of autistic service,” Kahaleioumi said of Surfers Healing.

Anyone interested getting involved in the Hawaii chapter of Surfers Healing or in helping to start up the Hawaii Island autistic support group should call Kahaleioumi at (808) 392-2252.

(Disclosure:  Tiffany Edwards Hunt is married to Jeff Hunt, who was one of the competition’s sponsors and helped judged the event.)