Page 2 - MidWeek - May 4, 2022

2 MIDWEEK MAY 4, 2022
BA.2 Omicron subvariant cases cause concern (“BA” must stand for “Bad Attitude,” as this stealth stinker pro- liferates), but many people still smartly appreciate sensible safety measures learned and practiced over the past 750 days. So, maybe now we can look forward to things finally staying stable, and maybe even getting beautiful.
“Leʻaleʻa kalakalai, manuma- nu ka loaʻa,”which translates to “work approached frivolously will be flawed” — a Hawaiian
In 1996, the first native speakers conference, ʻAha Mānaleo, was held in Hono- lulu with a few score of elders who were raised with Hawaiian as their first language. Teach- ers and students feasted on the bounty of insight and knowl- edge that these hulu kūpuna, or precious elders, shared over the weekend. At one early panel, six sages discussed the adages
Manomano (abundant) re- placed manumanu (flawed), which changed the meaning of leʻaleʻa from “frivolity” to “delight.”
Puakea Nogelmeier is a professor emeritus of Hawai- ian language and executive director of Awiaulu: Hawaiian Literature Project.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
Sure, there remain many post-pandemic issues and items to deal with, but perhaps we can now focus on fix- ing things without having to worry so much about fixing one another. This is not to suggest that PTSD and other post-COVID realities will just drift away, but should cool- er heads prevail, maybe we can rationalize that working together with empathy to resolve issues beats going into self-serving bubbles, playing tribal games, or resorting to “gotcha” at the expense of making things better for all.
KELLEY
Listen Like It Matters — It Does
“Nu ‘anu‘a ka ‘oia ‘i‘o. Truth is layered.”
IBeautiful Moments
An important men- tor in my life was Kamuela Kumuka- hi. Raised by his great grand- parents in the hinterlands of South Kona, Kamuela did not learn English until he was 8. His Hawaiian was the language of generations past, his cultural knowledge was expansive and his worldview rarified. Kamuela and his be- loved Ululani took me on as a hoʻokama, an adult son, an elder brother for their darling girl Kuʻuipo. Kamuela was a great mentor and that circle of relationships has been one of the great blessings in my life.
went to a play two weeks back and it was just beau- tiful. No, seriously, it was Beautiful, the Broad- way-in-Hawai‘i version of the Carole King story.
work yields abundance.” Lively discussion followed, with consensus that both were “right” and both were “tradi- tional.” Kamuela often re- ferred back to that event when reflecting on how things can, and should, be seen in differ- ent ways. Truth, it seems, has many layers.
Attendees surely knew of King’s artistry through her multi-million selling Tapestry album (1971), but many were no doubt stunned to learn of the lengthy list of mon- ster hits that King and her Brill Building cohorts wrote for others. King is considered the most successful pop female songwriter of the 20th century with 118 written or co-written songs that charted, and Beautiful provided two-plus hours of pure joy at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.
Through discussions with our elders, the author argues that we can learn a lot about life, and those memories will stick with us for years to come.
But this story gets even more beautiful. Two thousand people sitting side by side without anybody getting in any- body’s face about what they were or were not wearing on their face. It was like fantasyland, or at least 2019. Most concertgoers were respectful of the “request” to keep one’s mask on, leading one to perhaps sense that we’ve entered a calmer, gentler moment.
Kamuela delighted in my interest in Hawaiian language and culture, so we enjoyed long discussions about the wide range of things he knew, including words or phrases that had greater meaning than any dictionaries could provide. One of his familiar adages was
twist on “anything worth doing is worth doing well.” I took it to heart, which pleased the stern old gentleman.
and homilies that are famil- iar parts of Hawaiian culture. Kamuela’s saying about “worth doing well” was brought up, and Mama ʻAlina Kanahele ex- plained that folks in her Niʻihau community knew that old say- ing in a slightly different way.
Almost all of those precious elders are now gone, but that re- flection keeps both sayings, and many related memories fresh in my heart.
New Century Schoolbook bold (scaled H 73.6)
“Leʻaleʻa kalaka- lai manomano ka loaʻa” means “delighting in one’s
with Puakea Nogelmeier
While expecting little of value from the self-focused flotsam and jetsam working (not) in our nation’s capital, we can now proactively get back to putting our (big pic- ture) island home in order as we put our personal island homes in order. The willpower appears to be there; the funds are certainly there (for now). How about a couple of years of transition, breakthroughs and small wins, fol- lowed by bigger celebrations?
How about we all start singing from a songbook of accomplishments and successes? Great things can happen when no one cares who gets the credit. Doing that would really be beautiful.
Think about it ...
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com