The Funeral. The Wedding.

The Funeral

The day of my Mother's funeral came. Kind of couldn't get around it. I woke up and that was the thought in my head.

Rites of passage are like that to me. There's a sense of inevitability. Here it goes. Deep sigh. I brought Jan and Julia and Nathaniel back for the funeral, we stayed at Mele's. We could only get tickets that kept us in Hawaii for a week (I know, unintended, fun side benefit)



Tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Dress the kids, get the this's and thats, carpool. George Kahumoku Came to play music, and was with us. He arrived the evening before bearing Poke' and sashimi, and within about five minutes had a (then, third) meal out for me, and the guitar ready to go. World Class, Grammy Award Winner practices his Slack Key Guitar while I pig out on Raw fish at 11:30 the night before my Mother's funeral. Jet-lagged, Sated.

Oddly, perfect.

Kids were ready to go, and off we went to the last church service my Mother would ever have. Her service was at the church where she and Pop were married, and where she, for a long time, went to church every morning.



The Hearse was waiting for us. We put our gloves on and carried her into the church, for her viewing. The lid came off. It was very powerful. So much happened in the next couple of hours it was tough to process it all. I held Nathaniel and explained alot to him. He took it all in pretty well.

Emma was fabulous. Cold to the touch, which was slightly alarming, but I gave her a kiss and whispered to her, just like I did when she was alive. She looked better than she had in a long time, like we were about to go out for some Dim-Sum or something.



People poured in. I never took a photo of the service, but it was full, literally and physically. I spoke, I can't remember what I said, Moana sang, and generally we tried to keep it together. It wasn't tough, but we were so seeped in the moment, so inside of what was going on, so engrossed.



The Service ended, and we have a nice lunch at the Country Club. I laugh because when things were not so good for Emma and Harry, I had to cancel the Country Club membership, all over $90.00 a month. I couldn't afford it, they CERTAINLY couldn't afford it then, but it sure looked like a good move then, when $90.00 a month was the difference between the rent or not.....all over, and water under the bridge now.

Boy was that club beautiful.

Later we went to the Valley of the Temples for the final ceremony. I was exhausted.



Manu, her final chant.



We carried Emma up to her grave next to her sister Aima. Some words, some signing. Nathaniel hung out with my Brother in Law Michael. So comfortable with his Uncle and Aunts.



And then it was over.

I remember her as I last saw her, missal in hand, leis, a few white roses, perfect hair and looking so relaxed. The lid of the Coffin was so finite when we nailed it in place. I saw the slight clearance and I imagined, and Imagine now, how she looked as the last person to see her would imagine her in the casket. Quiet, tight. Simple. For a long, long time.



We spent the next bunch of days in Hawaii. Ate some food..........



Went to the beach.......



Dinner with everyone..........



Had Easter.......




The Wedding

We came home for one day, then went to Jay's wedding (my nephew) We went to Scottsdale, and pretty much dove right in.......Jay and Caroline's wedding was off the hook!

We went to Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's Winter camp. A pilgrimage to be sure. Pretty amazing place......





We went to the Pacheco manor. Amazing home, amazing party.



The wedding was incredible! Complete with Firewords at the Silverleaf Country Club, a giant tent with room for 200.



Harry Danced,



Molly and Mihana and Moana were in shock.......



And it was a very, very wonderful time!



From one end of the spectrum to the other this month........

My Mom and I

Lots to catch up on.....as always. Before I get into that, I'd like to tell you about my son who is interviewing me about my mom.

"what else did you and your mom do?"

"well, we talked alot and hung out......."

"hmmm........I can't draw that daddy."

"Ok....Well, we hung out outside a lot......Like at the beach"

(Nathaniel Draws a pune'e, with my mom sitting on it, under an umbrella.)



"What Else?"

"The Beach, remember?"

(Nathaniel draws a scene of me at the beach, next to my mother on the Pune'e)

"We went to the Pool sometimes, and she would throw coins into the water, and I'd swim down to get them"

(Nathaniel draws a pool, with coin at the bottom, and a figure of me swimming in it)



"What Else did you do?"

"We played cards for M and M's like you and I just did"

(Nathaniel draws a picture of me and my mom playing cards)

"What about the M & M's?"

(Nathaniel draws a small tray of M & &'s on the table)



"what else?"

"We went to church a lot...."

"Is that the big building with the bell on top?"

"yes"

"I don't know what that looks like inside daddy"

"Draw the outside then. Everyone knows that my mom will be inside.."

(Nathaniel draws a picture of the church)



"What Else did you and your mom do?"

"She took me to the supermarket and we went shopping"

(Nathaniel Draws a picture of my Mom with me inside the shopping cart)



"and....?"

"she drove me to school..."

(Picture of a car.....)



"I gave it stripes. You can have a striped car..."

"OK"

"and she would read books to me.."

"and we would walk and hold hands...."

(Nathaniel Draws Mom and I walking and holding hands, and Her, reading a book to me)



"I'm running out of space dad..."

"I know. We could do another page you know...."

"one last one for this page ok?"

"OK"

"we ate Dinner together alot..."

(Nathaniel draws a dinner table with Plates and hot dogs and drinks)



"Daddy?"

"yes?"

"I've got to go pee-pee now"

"Ok............"


Cormac Mccarthy Won the pulitzer this week for the road. One of the saddest and most beautiful books I've ever read. More so given the last few Months........

Nathaniel Returns.

"So...Daddy. What kind of thing did you have in your house?"

"we had the clock..."

(Nathaniel draws the clock)



"Oh......I get it now, it's that noise, the tick tock, that you like?"

"yep"

"I like it too"



"Daddy?"

"Can I stay up until Mom comes home?"

"Depends"

"Can we do something else? Like a puzzle or read a book or something"

"Sure"

"Let's talk about Star Trek"

"You are your mother's son, did you know that?"

"I know daddy."

Emma Akamu Aluli

....We placed the pikake lei on mom when Luana and the sisters thought it was getting serious. Luana called me to tell me it was time.

"send me a picture" I said. A few hours later it arrived on my phone.

Emma had come home to Aikahi, site of the largest concentration of Hawaiian remains in all the islands, to die. I returned earlier that weekend, Sunday to get her home from the Hospital and into hospice at Maile's house. She had hung in there, and we actually had a good talk or two, and when I left on Wednesday, I knew it was the end of the road, but I was happy she was at Maile's and the family was there.

But this was Friday afternoon, and when I opened the photo, I couldn't help but think that in a lifetime if leis, pikake almost every weekend, ginger during the week, that this would be her last one. She would be gone before the fragrance faded.

Yuklin came up with the idea to lend us her computer so I could Skype into the house and hear what was going in. I didn't realize that she had a video camera in her laptop, but once she turned it on, It was amazing. I could sit and see everything, hear everything on Skype.

I got my speakers from work which only added to the effect. The wind, the rain, the sound of the doves in the background, Kailua. Turned up on the speakers and you couldn't tell the difference from being there.

I stayed up that entire Friday night, downstairs on the couch, listening to the sounds and watching the feed. Jan came down and we both had a restless night, but oddly, a comforting one. Everyone was there, talking, laughing crying singing. It was endless.

First thing Saturday, I went a got a camera, and then everyone could see us too. I didn't want to leave the camera, so I thought of things to do while I listened to everyone talking. Close conversations, and the sound of ping pong in the back room. The Rain, the weed whackers, the garbage truck. Just like I was there. From the next room with the volume turned up, you couldn't tell the difference.

We had a couple of close calls, but by Sunday night, it looked like things were wrapping up. I stayed online until about 11:00 their time but finall went to bed. Any moment now.

Monday dawned and I went to work, only to get a phone call from Manu about 10:00 the this was it. I set up at the office and Skyped in. After awhile I realized tha tLaurie was there, and I thought it was to hold mom's hand but later I realized that she was taking mom's pulse. Things progressed quickly from there.

Mom passed away at about 11:30 our time, with everyone around her, and the sounds of Kailua slipping through the jalouse windows. THey prepared her for the hearse to arrive, and the mood leavened for a moment. everyone came by to give her a last kiss.

After a brief consultation, she was taken to the hearse by the family. the last thing I heard was Manu sobbing and crying "auwe, auwe"

And then my field of vision no longer had my mother in it. She's gone.

I will miss my mother. I'm certain I'll toast her with a glass of J & B or Cutty Sark here before too long......

Jake Shimabukuro, Eastern Oregon..........

Busy week. Sunday we had a great "day of remembrance" surrounding the Japanese Internments of World War Two. I got to sit in the front row with the Survivors. Pretty moving.

Jake Shimabukuro put on an amazing show!


Later that week, I went out to Eastern Oregon to talk to the Harney County Court. Lots of activity out there, and the Court was very receptive to the ideas of Community Renewables. If I only had more time, we'd have every county in the state, but alas...........Harney county was a long loong day......



On the way out there, we had breakfast with a set of fairly crusty locals, and they gave us some great shortcuts, saved us about 45 minutes each way





Dealing with alot of Local issues right now. Lots of people angry at my support of affordable housing in Hood River..........Seems every spring there's something or another!

Hawaii-2007...........

Mom's not doing so well.........We went to Hawaii for two weeks this time, and while relaxing.........It was melancholy.

Visited Mom (Nathaniel playing hide and seek with her. Both the kids were awesome.....)



Relaxed on the grass at Kimo and Ruth's



Punahou Carnival (Julia attacking the malasada bag)



The Aquarium (Double thumbs up from Nathaniel, as he buys a present for Julia...)



Then we came home. As if Returning to Oregon wasn't surreal enough....This was in the gas station.



So nice! Spring time is here, in a very, very big way............I'm getting clobbered, but the vacation time is showing me how nice it is to move slower.....

OK I'm totally Slacking.......

So now I'm down to cannibalizing my other Blog for Content......sheesh....

Fun note about the "Proxy Tree"

Read about the "Proxy Tree" that I use instead of a photo of myself.....

Here's what I've been up to today.......

Check out the Damage to the Sixth Street.........

I think it's going to be a busy couple of weeks...............

Restaurants can Change Communities

This article was published a couple of years ago. Someone mentioned it to me last week, and suggested I post it. Hope it's still relevant............

Restaurants can change communities!

By

Maui Meyer

A version of this article was published in the spring newsletter of the Chef’s Collaborative, the recognized leaders of the “Slow-Food” movement, which is a group of restaurateurs attempting to reintroduce the art of healthy dining, back to the American people.

I’ve been in the hospitality business all my life, but I was unprepared for an interesting change that took place back in 1998 and has led my partners and I to altering the way we view life, and the hospitality industry. I found out that restaurants are a natural agent for change in a community. Read on and find out how.

I came to my adopted home for good in 1991 after graduating college. My new home was Hood River, Oregon, an old farming/lumber town that recently found a new life in the sport of windsurfing, and now enjoys some level of success in the “Extreme Sports!” afterglow.

“Something” drew me (and others) here. The easiest way to describe it was that it had a great quality of life, but that would be an oversimplification. It has a large set of basic elements that made me feel, well, whole.

I opened a restaurant, and the best we could do to serve our market was be a bar and grill. We met with moderate success, but still something was missing, all the pieces were not there for me personally. Over time, our staff began maturing and opening their own locations. Today they thrive as well. We are a close-knit community of businesspeople.

Then an interesting thing happened. In 1998, one of my managers (now a partner) suggested we go for “Green Smart” certification. It’s a program that got us thinking about our inputs and outputs as a restaurant. As we attempted to apply the “reduce reuse recycle” model to our business, more things started to happen.

Our food quality went up. Our costs went down. There was more cohesiveness in our staff. After a few months of this slight transformation, we began to question our vendors. Where was our food coming from? What REALLY was in it? The answers were so inadequate that we began retool our entire business.

We have, over the last few years, reduced our waste stream by almost 70%. We source our food locally, and almost immediately found that we can actually pay more because we waste less, and we get a better product out of it. Currently, we support four family farms with our accounts.

Our fish, when it is in season, is wild, net caught salmon. We receive forage direct from the pickers and our crop ranges from Morels to Chanterelles, Shiitakes, huckleberries, raspberries, and a litany of other less known products.

Additionally, we support our local dairy farmers and other suppliers from out of the area, choosing to use organic in every instance where the product is being fairly produced and traded. (It took a long time to convince some suppliers to stop charging a premium for handling “organic” products).

In short, we have thrived over the last years. But all of that, all of the success we have had pales in comparison to what has happened in the last year.

In this last year, our efforts became viral. The work, the ethic, and the concept of shopping locally, and building a business that has the triple profit motive of Community, Economy and Ecology, began to creep into other restaurants and into other businesses.

By using our structure as an example we’ve been able to show people that a healthier product not only tastes better, but it doesn’t have to cost more. (We serve many “organic” products and still have an average check of $12.00) We’ve helped other restaurateurs develop their own supply of local farmers to provide them with quality products, and they too have come to understand the importance of buying from local vendors, people who you can reach on the phone if you have real problems, and people who will return your dollar into the local economy again and again and again.

Now instead of figuring out how to make our restaurant sustainable, our community is considering how to make the entire town and county sustainable. Our actions have, in part changed the way 20,000 people will live their lives going forward.

At first it might not seem natural to have a bar and grill be such a part of this community change, but now we see that not only is it a natural part of proving that the sustainable model works, it is the logical platform from which to begin.

Where else but the restaurant you dine in regularly, should you be exposed to food that is actually better for you than the processed-chemically injected meat product you find in most stores?

What other place could have more impact than the trusted local restaurant where our patrons’ dine multiple times per week? In short, there is no better place from which to change the core of a community than through our patron’s taste buds. The daily actions of each and every one of the small, neighborhood restaurants across the country could have a similar, profound impact.

If you lead by example you can show that quality food, when grown with a respect for the environment and the local community, processed minimally, and served responsibly (in preparation and price) isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. Each plate that goes out the door proves over and over and over again that as restaurateurs we do not have to settle for the status quo. We can lead in our community vision, a vision of a whole life where community is created by business, and our food actually tastes like someplace.

Consider, as you close your books, count your inventory, and receive your products, what the far-reaching impacts of your actions are. Are you leading your community? If you are not, envision that you could, because just like a chef with specials to create, the raw products are all there in front of you to spread the word that your community doesn’t have to taste like every other community. It can be distinct, cultural, proud and self-reliant. It all begins at the plate you place in front of them.

Aim higher. You might find that piece of your business and your life that’s been missing all these years. The reason why we love what we do.

The Oregon Business Summit

Just got back from the Oregon Business Summit. A Truly great day. In Oregon, many of the Civic minded business leaders and Policy makers were there. Quite impressive. Kulongoski, Wyden, Courtney, Minnis Kitzhaber, Westlund. Some flashes from the Day........



Judge Grasty and Laura Pryor, both concerned about Eastern Oregon's place in the plan.....Lane Schetterly cornered in the hall by friends and questions.........Ted Kulongoski walking around having casual conversations with people.......Ashley Henry and Nik Blosser getting Kudos from Dennis Wilde of Gerding Edlen, Paul Woodin, Gary and I cornering legislators and gaining participants for the Community Renewable Energy Association (CREA) A Big look member getting questioned on progress........Hustling to get numbers for Wyden's staff on the PL-106 Funds that went towards the Mt. Hood Search ($60K)...........

The Oregon Business plan has chosen Sustainability as their diferentiator for the State. It's a good one, and many of Oregon's companies are already leading the way. It's interesting to see it being fused into our DNA. Sustainability is, of course, our future, but it's jingoism without an action plan. Nothing excites me more that talking about sustainability in the business context. It's a total power tool.

Anyway, Great, intense day. Lots and Lots of great conversation with Ron, Les, Barbara, Bill Fashing and I.....

Wonderful Christmas and New Year!

Christmas.....great, uneventful, enjoyable, no major family trauma......:)

Went to the coast just before New years, and hung out with the family. Back in September, Nathaniel and I buried a silver dollar under a brick in the Coaster Square in Cannon Beach. Quite accidentally, I recalled it at breakfast, and we went on over there to check it out. Like finding buried treasure!

Hunting........


Got it.


Andy Crafts was sworn in as the student City Councilor........



And, Very Sadly......Scott McKay Retired. Great working with you Scott! I'll miss you on the Q-board!