An old African proverb says smooth seas don’t make skillful sailors. In the tail end of an economic storm that sank many businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, a surfing world champion opened a retail store that just keeps sailing toward success. Part of the secret is innovation – it’s a nonprofit organization fostering local artists and product makers.
“We have a little bit of everything. We’ve got women and men apparel, we’ve got some kids dresses and shirts, we have jewelry, we have unique vintage bags and pouches. We have our food section, which is a variety of spices and coffees. We have some Slow Island syrups, and we have hot sauces, granola,” said Krystl Apeles, founder of Alakoko, Kaua‘i’s House of Makers.
Apeles, a homegrown Kaua‘i girl, opened Alakoko in January, and since then the store’s membership has been increasing. Right now, it has at least 35 members contributing with their products. Besides clothing, jewelry and some food
products, the store also carries pottery, traditional Hawaiian games, pet supplies, artwork, crystals and many other unique Kaua‘i-made products. Unlike a regular retail store model, where vendors usually receive half of the sale price, the members of Alakoko receive 100 percent of what’s in the price tag.
“If you do buy these local products in other stores, most likely, they’re getting 50 percent to maybe 40 percent of that, which is very difficult, as you would know, living here and doing something that you’re passionate about,” she said.
Apeles – the reigning three-time world champion in tandem surfing – said the idea behind Alakoko was to provide a safe, reliable space for Kaua‘i’s entrepreneurs, like herself, where they could sell their products without a middle man, and at the same time learn more about entrepreneurship and grow their businesses. As the owner of Puka Surf Co. clothing and bikini line, Apeles had done multiple pop-up events – fairs, conventions, festivals, etc. – where she met several other small business owners.
“That’s when I started recognizing a lot of the needs for these different small businesses,” Apeles said of when she first came up with the idea of opening a nonprofit retail store. “I started developing it in my head, of course, how would that work? Because it’s one thing to say, ‘I want a store that’s going to support them,’ but also how is it going to function? How’s it going to stay open, especially if it’s a nonprofit?”
While many business were struggling to fit into the reality of an island devoid of visitors during the worst days of the COVID pandemic, Apeles took advantage of the free time to develop her ideas.
“COVID really allowed that time for me to sit down with those thoughts and write it out,” she said.
With the help of Rice Street Business Association President Addison Bulosan, Apeles applied for different grants, landing a Hawai‘i Tourism Authority grant that allowed her to open the store. Then, more partners and sponsors came in, such as County of Kaua‘i Office of Economic Development, Bank of Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i Federal Credit Union, the Small Business Development Center and the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce.
The name for the store was picked to honor a historically and culturally significant
site nearby. The real name of the Menehune Fishpond is Alakoko, which means “road of blood.” Historians think this name was given to the fishpond because of the hard work ancient Hawaiians endured to build it, leaving a trail of blood while moving lava rocks with their bare hands.
“It’s really in honor of the hands that had made that fishpond 600 years ago,” Apeles said of the store’s name, adding the nonprofit organization Malama Hulē‘ia has cleaned up the site and is bringing it back to life, creating a safe, nurturing space to the community.
“That’s kind of what we’re doing here in the shop, creating that space for small businesses to come to grow, to nurture them. And hopefully, we can create a healthier industry and community that helps feed the people and give them a healthy livelihood, a place to live.”
Apeles said Alakoko is much more than just store, in the sense that it really ties into the community, a space that welcomes them. The nonprofit has promoted partnerships between agencies and members, has helped to organize block parties, community and fundraising events, business workshops and monthly business mentorships.
“We meet here, we have an alleyway that we do all of our workshops, and it’s more of a community space,” she said. “We welcome other people that want to be involved to help. If they
DECEMBER 2022
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Léo Azambuja editor@forkauaionline.com
Léo Azambuja editor@forkauaionline.com
ART & LAYOUT
Carrie Johnson Andarta Design • design@andarta.com
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Honey Hunter calendar@forkauaionline.com socialmedia@forkauaionline.com
Published by Kaua‘i Management Group
For Kaua‘i Newspaper 3–3 400 Kuhio Highway C - 211 Lihue HI 96766
Barbara Bennett, Sales Manager 808-652-2802 barbarakauai@gmail.com
On the cover: Alakoko members, left to right, Patrice Pendarvis (Patrice Pendarvis Studio), Dan Erickson (Mission Zero Hawai‘i), Krystl Apeles (Puka Surf Co.), John Kaohelauli‘i (HawaiianCheckers. com) and Liliana Estep (Shell. Of.A.Life).
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need a space, we can try to work something out in that area. We’ve had dinners in there, we’ve had movies in there, it’s kind of fun.”
The most rewarding thing about running Alakoko, Apeles said, is having the honor to represent all these different small businesses, and getting to know each other on another level.
“I’m not just here to sell their products, I actually take care in where they’re going in their business,” she said. “Some of these businesses are really well off to do, and they’re doing the same for me in that sense; they want to be a part of this because they see how it helps other people.”
Those interested in becoming a member should visit www. alakoko.com to fill up an application. After that, they will be called for an interview. If accepted, Apeles will assist in creating a display in the store.
Alakoko is on 2976 Kress St., right before Hamura Saimin in Līhu‘e. The store is open six days a week; they are closed on Tuesday. On Friday and Saturday they are open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m, and on other days they are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority has partnered with the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau and the County of Kaua‘i to create a Kaua‘i Destination Management Action Plan. This plan aims to rebuild, redefine and reset tourism. Action items were developed in 2020 with community input, and include: n Attracting and educating responsible visitors who will respect the culture and ‘āina. n Providing actionable solutions to enhance quality of life by protecting natural resources and managing visitor impact. n Addressing issues of traffic, infrastructure and local business.
Please scan the QR code to read the plan. You’re also invited to follow @kauaidmap on Instagram.
A team of scientists recently published the scientific description of a new species of red algae from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The new alga, Calliblepharis yasutakei, was named after widely respected marine educator and scientist Yumi Yasutake, who passed away on April 30, 2021 on Kaua‘i at the age of 41.
Fresh (A) and pressed (B) specimen of Calliblepharis yasutakei, originally collected at 323 feet at Kapou (Lisianski Island). Photo by Monica Paiano/UH Mānoa
Calliblepharis yasutakei was discovered by scientists using technical closed-circuit rebreathers to dive to extreme depths in excess of 300 feet. These deep coral reefs, or so-called Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems, are virtually unexplored, and host a wealth of undiscovered biodiversity.
Dr. Monica Paiano, a University of Hawai‘i postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Alison Sherwood in the School of Life Sciences and the lead author on the paper, said, “It’s wonderful to recognize someone who dedicated his life to educating Hawai‘i’s
keiki about Papahānaumokuākea and the richness of our ocean resources. Yumi’s history is an inspiration for me and I’m sure for all the keiki that had the pleasure to learn from him.”
Yasutake was born and raised on Kaua‘i, graduated from Kapa‘a High School, and lived in the Wailua Homesteads. He received a degree in marine science from the UH Hilo, and worked for many years in Hilo at NOAA’s Mokupāpapa Discovery Center. Mokupāpapa was established in 2003 to interpret the natural science, culture and history of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (encompassed by the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument) and surrounding marine environment.
Virginia Branco, manager of the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center, worked with Yasutake in Hilo for many years. “Yumi was the kindest, most humble person I’ve ever met,” she said. “He really poured his heart and soul into educating the young people of Hilo.”
Early in his career, Yasutake, a marine scientist by training who was a certified scientific diver, participated in a major National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research expedition to Papahānaumokuākea. The opportunity to witness first-hand the amazing biodiversity of a pristine Hawaiian marine ecosystem was a life-changing experience for him. He dedicated the remainder of his career to sharing these wonders with Hawai‘i’s young people.
Yasutake eventually moved back to Kaua‘i to be closer to family, and he continued his career with NOAA by working with many community and school groups, and government agencies on his home island. He was also a fisherman and farmer. Yumi worked with students and classes on senior projects, science fair projects, and project judging. He worked with all Kaua‘i public middle schools to establish inschool aquaponic systems for learning about water quality monitoring, sustainable fisheries, and agriculture.
Yumi also conducted and trained volunteers and staff to conduct learning stations on limu, pono fishing practices, underwater science activities and exploration in Papahānaumokuākea, and gyotaku fish printing at Science at the Beach Student Workshops, Earth Day events, Career Days, Hawaiiana Days, after-school and summer programs, and many more. Frequent partners included the Hawai‘i Department of Education, Division of Aquatic Resources in the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, and others.
One of his most notable accomplishments, in partnership with Hanalei Watershed Hui, was development of the Hanalei Moon and Tide Calendars based on fish spawning data he field collected and analyzed. Yasutake’s experiences and input continue to influence the ocean learning center now known as Kaua‘i Ocean Discovery at Kukui Grove Center.
NOAA research ecologist Dr. Randy Kosaki, who is also a coauthor on the paper, discovered the only known specimen of this species on a 323-foot dive at Kapou (Lisianski Island) in the NWHI. “Given Yumi’s dedication to educating our community about this special place, it seems especially fitting that such a rare species from Papahānaumokuākea will now carry his name in perpetuity”, said Kosaki. “He was especially fond of teaching students how to make beautiful pressings of limu that they found
The specimen of C. yasutakei is deposited in the Bishop Museum’s research collection, where it is available for study by marine scientists worldwide.
Yasutake is survived by his wife, Tami Keakaokalani Mo‘ikeha Yasutake, children Kaison and Myla Yasutake, parents, Leslie and Carol Yasutake; sister, Lachelle (Mark) Rodrigues; brother Kobi (Hannah) Yasutake, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Full citation: Paiano MO, Fumo JT, Cabrera FP, Kosaki RK, Spalding HL, Sherwood AR. Calliblepharis yasutakei sp. nov. and Hypnea tsudae sp. nov. (Cycstocloniaceae, Rhodophyta): novel diversitiy from the Hawaiian Islands. Phytotaxa 572(1): 074-086. doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.572.1.5.
Papahānaumokuākea is cooperatively managed to ensure ecological integrity and achieve strong, long-term protection and perpetuation of Northwestern Hawaiian Island ecosystems, Native Hawaiian culture, and heritage resources for current and future generations. Four co-trustees – the Department of Commerce, Department of the Interior, State of Hawai‘i and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs – protect this special place. Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument was inscribed as the first mixed (natural and cultural) UNESCO World Heritage Site in the United States in July 2010. For more information, visit www.papahanaumokuakea.gov.
• Randall Kosaki, PhD, is a Research Ecologist for NOAA Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
• Jean Souza is a Program Specialist with Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and serves as on-site manager of Kaua‘i Ocean Discovery located at Kukui Grove Center in Lihu‘e. This admission-free learning facility shares the traditions and knowledge of our ocean connections and inspires stewardship. For information, contact Jean.Souza@noaa.gov
By Char Ravelo
When life presents the opportunity to lead, it often comes unexpectedly. For Uri Martos, the way back to optimal health brought forth a powerful leader who carries the torch for encouraging the heart.
Uri had not considered herself a leader until completing the Leadership Kauai course in 2016. However, her leadership journey actually began in 2014 at the age of 36, when she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. After surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, she was considered cancerfree in the summer of 2015. As the saying goes, “you never know how strong you are until it is the only option you have.” Surviving cancer showed Uri she was much stronger than she thought. She signed up for the LK program just two months after completing her cancer treatments.
Unbeknownst to Uri, her cancer journey made her a better leader. There were many things to learn and decisions to make when faced with cancer. Who will be your doctor, what treatment will you choose, what kind of surgery is best for me, should I take the natural care route? While researching and advocating for herself, she challenged the process of what she was being told in creating the best treatment plan for comfort and confidence. It was not easy. She fought cancer with her all and beat it. She modeled the way for other survivors to know that they could also do it.
About a year later, she began volunteering at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN), the grassroots advocacy arm of the American Cancer Society. Soon, she was asked to be the State Lead Ambassador for Hawai‘i to advocate for efforts in our state as well as nationwide. In this role, she has the opportunity to enable others to act, work to implement policies to take care of survivors, and help reduce the incidents of cancer in Hawai‘i. She also works to inspire a shared vision of a world with better
healthcare, supported survivors, and one day, a world without cancer.
In 2021, Uri was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in her liver after being cancer free for 6 years. While this is just another bump in the road, she is digging back into the lessons learned the first time around for strength to keep fighting. Uri reflects, “I am nothing if I am not resilient.”
None of this could have been done without her incredible support team who encouraged her heart through it all. Their words and actions gave her comforted strength to get up each day.
“I was told over and over that the light others were shining on me was simply a reflection of all the light I had been shining on others throughout the years. I hope to continue to shine that light for myself now, and also shine on for others to know that they are not alone.”
When asked what inspires her to go for it during challenging times, Uri replied, “When my heart and mind are in alignment, I go for it! When the decision sparks excitement and joy, I go for it! When I know that the challenge will bring forth a better outcome for myself and others, I go for it!”
Along with volunteering for ACSCAN and LK, Uri is a Donor Relations Officer for the Hawai‘i Community Foundation since 2008. She is honored to work with donors, partners and organizations across the island to create positive change. Although this work can be difficult to see the great need within families, the environment, culture and in our community, she sees hope, collaboration and the potential to make great impact now and into the future. “We envision an equitable and vibrant Hawaii where all of our island communities thrive.”
Uri’s leadership philosophy is to lead with kindness and share gratitude often. Gratitude gets her up in the morning. Uri says with a big warm smile, “I am grateful for another day of life.”
• Char Ravelo is the Executive Director of Leadership Kaua‘i, and can be contacted at info@leadershipkauai.org or (808) 246-8727..
www.leadershipkauai.org • 808-246-8727
Since its inception in 2003, Leadership Kaua‘i, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit dedicated to cultivating strong and committed leaders on Kaua‘i. We do this by engaging a cross-section of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds, and developing their leadership skills to serve our community collaboratively.
Expect to see more people bicycling on your neighborhood’s streets over the coming months if you live on Kaua‘i’s North Shore. Inspired by Līhu‘e’s Bikes on Rice rides, family-friendly, slow-roll bicycle rides have spread to Kilauea.
The hour-long Gobble Gears ride, held on Saturday, Nov. 19, started and ended at the Kilauea Baseball Field, following a three-mile route through Kilauea’s neighborhoods. This was the first event in a series envisioned as recurring bicycle rides to be convened during 2023.
This simple gathering presented an attractive option for outdoor recreation. “Brian (Zimmerman) dropped a flyer off in my mailbox,” said Noelle McHugh. Although just five years old, McHugh’s daughter Koral was a star of the ride, easily keeping pace with the adults.
Ride coordinator Brian Zimmerman conducted a drawing for the $50 Costco gift card he’d donated as a raffle prize. It was more than enough for winner Eduardo Segato-Figueroa to purchase the primary ingredients for a Thanksgiving Day feast.
These community building events are set up by volunteers collaborating with Get Fit Kaua‘i, Kaua‘i Path Inc. and Bike Kaua‘i.
“We want to get people comfortable with the concept of vehicular cycling,” said Racquel Segato-Figueroa, who guided the ride, donated the event flyer’s graphic design, and worked with Brian Zimmerman, Bev Brody and me (Tommy Noyes) to lay the groundwork for the Gobble Gears ride.
“This is an easy way to introduce new people to bicycling, and for people who are interested, but may be a bit timid, to tour their neighborhood with a supportive group,” added SQUAD member Lora Petrak. These informal community rides benefit from SQUAD members, experienced riders who assure participants will adhere to basic guidelines, such as observing local traffic control laws and being courteous to other road users. Petrak brings to the rides a high degree of competency that she gained through years competing as a triathlete and mountain biker.
One of the best aspects of rides like this is seeing connections blossom between participants. I observed three individuals with a shared passion for writing songs and recording music forge a new and potentially creative bond.
“I’m so glad that we’re riding on Kamalu Street, up to the Kilauea Elementary School drop-off area,” said Bev Brody, director of Get Fit Kaua‘i, as we pedaled along. “Just before the pandemic, the residents living here agreed on a re-striping plan to make one side of the street a walking/biking lane and the other side a one-way lane for cars. That resolved a snarl of cars at drop-off and pick-up times at the Elementary School.”
One motorist stopped for the group of 11 people riding through the intersection of Kilauea (Lighthouse) Road and Keneke Street rolled down her window, and with a smile called out to us, “Yay! Bicycles!”
Watch for more Kilauea Family Fun Rides and similar free bicycling events coming up in early 2023. Please send a request to news@KauaiPath.org to be informed by e-mail as these and similar free bicycle rides are scheduled.
• Tommy Noyes is Kaua‘i Path’s executive director, a League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructor and active with the Kaua‘i Medical Reserve Corps.
Riders at the Gobble Gears slow-roll in Kilauea on Nov. 19 included (back row, left to right) Eduardo Segato-Figueroa with Toby, Brian Zimmerman, Noelle McHugh, Lora Petrak, Bev Brody and Rick Skerik, and (front row, left to right) Racquel Segato-Figueroa, Koal McHugh, Dan Petrak, and Alicia Leong. Photo by Tommy Noyes
Clarence Beck, Brigadier General, and my deceased father told me toward the end of his life, that “expansion of global populations will create more occasions for Love.” He was a Christmas baby, born on the 23rd, two days before Christmas. This is my birthday present to him.
Remarkable for a man who helped Eisenhower plan D-Day. Who managed the entire United States Army budget for the Vietnam war, billions of dollars. He was a modest man at home. We knew he was important, but children have no idea how amazing their parents are.
December is a month to celebrate the winter solstice and the return of longer days. The solstice is an astronomical event, combining the Latin words sol for “Sun” and sistere for “to stand still.” In reality, the Sun doesn’t stop. It is the moment the Sun’s passage reaches the Tropic of Capricorn, and the arc of solar transit will begin moving north once more.
It is the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere, marking the return to longer days, and shorter nights. The return of the light.
All cultures have their version of celebration at this time, for the return of favorable weather to grow things, to hunt, to fish and become more active.
In the cold countries, it was safe to use the winter foods for a feast as the “starving times” would soon be over. Around the world, the “new year” is celebrated differently. Different legends and stories surround the holiday.
The Makahiki in Hawai‘i was one such time. Time for games, feasts, hula celebration and warrior games of skill. Asia had its own such rituals. The Jewish communities have Hannukah, a time of light and different practices. African and black Americans have their own Kwanzaa version.
Sharing food, having fires or candles, trading gifts are common to all.
As the world population now holds eight billion “possibilities for love,” I contemplate what will be the gift we can give the planet. One that honors the many great gifts it has given us. Given and given, and we take and take.
The planet, the land, the ‘āina (as Native Hawaiians call it) has invested much in each of us.
Now we face climate change, endangered oceans and many disappearing life species. Islands are disappearing to ocean sea level rise. Will we become like the polar bears, trying to find a sustainable life?
The greatest gift we can give our families and our children and those yet unborn is to give our best to protect this jewel of a planet, and slow climate change dramatically. Famines and floods cause mass migrations and warfare to control resources. When life is sustainable, Peace reigns.
There is enough for everyone, with no one left out.
I see eight billion miracles out there, and every one of them is a gifted human being who can contribute to the planet, each in different ways. Other people are gifts that we cannot see, because their wrapping paper doesn’t look like the first one we would open. Take the risk.
• Virginia Beck, NP and Certified Trager® Practitioner, offers Wellness Consultation, Trager Psychophysical Integration and teaches Malama Birth Training classes. She can be reached at 635-5618.
Here is a gift. I wrote it for you in 1976.
Give the planet and each other the best you have to offer no matter how big or small.
Aloha includes us all.
Located in Kapa‘a (Kaua‘i) behind Coconut Marketplace Open Tues-Sat 5:00-9:00 pm l Reservations recommended 808 822-0600 l 520 Aleka Loop l hukilaukauai.com
Located in Kapa ` a (Kaua ` i) behind Coconut Marketplace Open Tues-Sun 5-9 pm l Reservations recommended 808 822-0600 l 520 Aleka Loop l hukilaukauai.com
“A miracle is not something that happens to you. It is what you are. The way a wave is just a wave, And a star is just a star.”
“Some of the worst mistakes in my life were haircuts” – Jim Morrison I think we’ve known each other long enough by now, so I can share this story with you. It is both personal and public, and there’s no way around it. The thing with hair is that other people see it, no matter what you see when you look in the mirror.
Speaking of looking in the mirror, show me someone who is capable of completely ignoring one, especially when it is in their line of sight. Don’t even waste your time thinking about it. I, too, am guilty regarding how I look, no matter how hard I try to seem like I don’t care most of the time.
being covered by one of a half-dozen Kangols, for however long it took. Growing up, and for that matter, my entire life, I never liked hats. Without having the words back then, I’d say I wanted God to see me, for the sun and moon to find me, and for her breath to exhale through me.
Just around two weeks ago, my life changed. I was shown how to do something called a half ponytail. Once I saw myself in the mirror, yes the mirror, I realized I was free, truly free. My hair was never a pain, but it was really annoying me these past months.
Once I got used to the rubber band business, I realized how liberated I felt, and I’m not kidding. Now, the first day, the half pony was done for me. I was very nervous about replicating it on day two, because I had a lot riding on the new style. Happily, I can report I got it down.
East Village, down the street from the Hells Angels on 4th St.
Every now and then, I do think about my life and some of the incredible adventures I have had. Most of the time, like all of us, I kind of take my life for granted. I do love quietly reminiscing and just found myself doing it a bit more than usual.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I don’t sit down and knock out these classic stories in one shot. It is predictably the result of two sits, each one contributing about half. Just before pressing the button, I give it a final read and fix.
For a bunch of months, I’ve been fiddlin’ around with letting my hair continue its white march down my back. I hate to think of it as some latent, biblical sensibility, conjuring the persona of the old, wisened Man of God. What I do know is that I got a gift from the Gods of Hair and I owe it to all the bald guys to fly the flag.
Lest you think this is some hairy fairytale, you’d be wrong. Growing hair, so it is the long enough to be captured in a pony tail, takes months. Think about how long hair has to be to go from your hairline, bordering right above your forehead, to be captured by a rubber band in the nape of your neck, with a couple of inches to spare.
In the beginning, when my condition was barely showing, I started wearing the Kangol hat, made seriously famous by Samuel L. Jackson. Over time, it was getting increasingly annoying to corral my hair. If I took my hat off outdoors, I’d be seeing my way through a seriously, shredded white curtain.
I realized I needed to commit to going all the way, resigned to
Yeah, the new do got some kind of theatricality about it, but that’s not my fault. It did look familiar. I was immediately referred to as, King Viserys Targaryen, a key player in House of the Dragon, which was new to me. His austere visage is a bit much and my character is not nearly as serious.
Pulling my hair back has opened up my past to me, almost transportive in a way. I have started traveling around back then, with sensory flashes of all kinds, imagining myself in those scenes. There are no details whatsoever, just delicate threads of a time. For some reason, I just feel lighter.
Two people from my past chose to surface within days of each other, and let me tell you, that is a curious coincidence. Hector was my neighbor in Park Slope, Brooklyn in the early 1980s. We became partners in a bar in Easton, Philadelphia, a financial mistake of gargantuan proportion. Subsequently, he moved to Perth, Australia, making him a Puerto Rican-Australian.
I met Paul sometime in the late 1960s, as a result of my being a Page at NBC, calling 30 Rock home. I was on the younger end of a bunch of hard-partying, hard-drinkin’ crowd. I lived with a halfdozen of these guys in a dinosaur of a once luxurious building in the
This Saturday evening is the second sitting and it started somewhere up there and who cares exactly where. Earlier in the day, I was introduced to a legendary Buddhist figure, Guru Rinpoche. I pride myself in my ignorance about this practice, and I was stunned to learn about the legend and lore of this person and his extraordinary significance to this day.
I immediately thought about this unfinished story of mine and the metaphor of pulling back the covering, opening myself up to history and possibility.
The perfect ending here is me buying The Lotus Born, the story of the second Buddha, which is how he is referred to. I do not remember the last time I bought a book for myself. It has to be decades, seriously. On top of that, my Zen practice could use a shot in the arm, and there was something about him that I have been waiting for. I suspect there is more to come here.
Well, there you have it. My beginning, cosmetic conversion somehow worded its way into my private cosmology, my place in this world of ours.
Isn’t it funny how life works?
• Visit www.buzzsprout.com/1292459 if you want to hear the news of the week, like you have never heard it before. Or go to www.youtube. com/channel/UCiKB7SheuTWKABYWRolop4g to watch two guys, seemingly having nothing in common, put on a weekly show of what it’s like to be friends.
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Four daily Tee Times have been reserved for Kaua‘i residents, with green fees of just $35 per player. Starting time blocks for Kaua‘i Residents are: Wednesday-Friday: 12 PM, 12:10 PM, 12:20 PM 12:30 PM Saturday & Sunday: 11 AM, 11:10 AM, 11:20 AM, 11:30 AM TEE TIME HOTLINE: 808-742-3010 (All golfers must provide proof of Kaua‘i Residency.) Please visit www.kolepakukuiula.com for more details.
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