Spirit of Aloha | Features | September/Octobert 2004

Aloha Shorts

News and notes from around our world

Taking Care of Me

We owe a great Roman philosopher and tutor of Nero a lei and a pat on the back for pointing out that “what you think of yourself is much more important than what others think of you.” It is, of course, highly unlikely that Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 B.C.–A.D. 65) was alluding to the luxury of home spa products when he penned these memorable lines. Still, we can imagine him sitting back after an arduous day at the Forum, perhaps in his own home Roman bath or spa, enjoying the purity of fragrant Hawai‘i-made gardenia, pïkake hydrosol body misters and u‘i emollient oils.
Since this issue of Spirit of Aloha celebrates body, soul and the joy of just being, we are pleased to point out that many notable home spa products are now made right here in the Islands.
From Mälie Kaua‘i, a company based on the Garden Isle, comes a luxury line of Hawaiian hydrosols and other soothing products that employ liquids derived directly from flowers. Hydrosols are legendary for their healing properties, are water-based and can be applied directly to the skin as therapeutic remedies. Mälie, as you might expect, means beautiful, calm water. (Visit www.maliekauai.com)
U‘i is the Hawaiian word for beauty and healthfulness, also the signature of another product line from Hawaiian Skin Care Systems, developed by Waialua-based Oils of Aloha. These products use kukui and macadamia nut oils, applied to the lipid barrier of the skin for effective moisturizing, for many kinds of sensitive and sunburned skin conditions, or simply for normal skin.
Whatever the condition, old Seneca, had he been around to see it, would surely have basked in the knowledge that the magic of Hawai‘i could add so much pleasure to his life.


The Sweet Life of Moloka?i

September and October are especially pleasant months to visit Moloka‘i, where special events for everyone add a little zest to a normally quiet lifestyle. We note from the calendar of events just handed us that on Sept. 17 and 18, Uncle Jimmy Duvachelle, the 60-year-old, fourth-generation paniolo (cowboy) will be hosting a rodeo at Moloka‘i Ranch, where he’s worked for 38 years. On Sept. 26, Nä Wahine o ke Kai, the women of the sea, will celebrate their 26th year of outrigger canoe racing by competing in a 40-mile race to O‘ahu. Then, in October, the island is filled with local Aloha Festival events, town shows, music and parades, culminating with the Oct. 16 Moloka‘i Business Fair & Food Festival, where chefs from Maui County serve up good things to eat using Moloka‘i products..


The sweet life of Moloka‘i was underscored recently when a new fact sheet was gently dropped on our desk. For the edification of all, we quote from it: “When you come to Moloka‘i, you become a Molokaian. As one island native put it: ‘People try to tell us, oh, you could have this, you should do that. But no sense try to change us. We want you to change.’ On Moloka‘i, with fewer than 7,000 residents, everyone knows everyone else. They don’t get many outsiders. When they see one, they’re likely to slow down and wave you through the intersection. They don’t have a tourist industry. They’re not at all sure they want one. But they’re happy to have visitors.”

See you there.


A Good Shaggy Dog Story

Like a lot of animal lovers, we’re suckers for a good dog story, and this one comes from the North Shore. Out at Püpükea, a man named Dennis Kileen has brought to our attention the Hawai‘i Fi-Do program, which trains dogs to provide as many as 90 commands and services, including the dog that now lets Kileen, a quadriplegic, swim at his favorite beach, among many other things. “My dog has changed my life,” says Kileen. “I can do tasks I never thought I’d be able to do.” Hawai‘i Fi-Do was started on O‘ahu in 1999 by a woman named Susan Luehrs, a special-education teacher who incorporated a unique youth project involving students at Kahuku High and Intermediate schools in the training of the pups. Subsequently, Luehrs started a Read to Willie program that, believe it or not, employs dogs to motivate children to read. Training a service dog is costly and complex: it takes two years of constant training and as much as $16,000 to raise, train and certify a working team of handler and dog. You might want to know more about this organization that Kileen says has given him “a new leash on life.”Contact Hawai‘i Fi-Do service dogs at 638-0200 or e-mail hifido@hawaii.rr.com




Diving for Jewelry

When does a dive shop giving scuba tours on the island of Maui become a distinctive maker of black coral jewelry? When the company happens to be Maui Divers of Hawai‘i, the successful manufacturer of handcrafted designs featuring Tahitian black and other pearls, precious corals, Hawaiian gold and many gemstones, which this year is celebrating its 45th anniversary. The story goes that during a fishing expedition in 1958, in the deep waters of the ‘Au‘au Channel between Maui and Läna‘i, divers representing the company discovered Hawaiian black coral. Since Hawaiian coral is considered to be among the world’s finest, is more lustrous than corals found anywhere else and makes stunning signature pieces, demand was almost immediate. Maui Divers Jewelry is, rather than a dive company, now the largest jewelry manufacturer in the state. All of its pieces are handcrafted in its Honolulu design center, and sold nationwide at more than 40 store locations. It didn’t surprise anyone, therefore, when Hawaiian black coral was proclaimed the official Hawai‘i state gemstone in 1987.



Life for the Islands

A terrific, ongoing public awareness program, involving a broad cross-section of community organizations and public and private agencies, continues to reach out to protect and nurture Hawai‘i’s coral reef ecosystem. This essential ecosystem feeds, shelters and provides habitats for fish, protects the shoreline from wave and sand erosion, and creates Hawai‘i’s famous white sand beaches and underwater paradise. Hawai‘i’s islands have some 410,000 acres of living reef in the main islands, more than the landmass of O‘ahu. The Coral Reef Outreach Network program is now honoring groups and individuals that promote reef ecosystem wellness, and seeking to help protect and nurture the coral reef ecosystem by reminding everyone—residents and visitors—how much our life in Hawai‘i depends on the living reef, whether we go near the ocean or not.

Visitors to Hawai‘i can help preserve the livingreef ecosystem in many ways. Among them: dispose of rubbish properly. Take only fish you will eat that day. Never release aquarium or nonnative plants or animals into Hawai‘i’s waters. Stay off reefs when swim-ming, snorkeling and diving. Never anchor a boat on the reef, which will kill it. Leave marine life alone. And don’t flickcigarette butts into the water.

Much more information on this vital program is available on the Web at www.hawaiireef.org



MUSIC: Now Hear This

Brickwood Galuteria, Hawaiian 105 KINE’s “Aloha Morning Show” radio host, chooses this list of recommended music from the Islands, with all selections widely available at Island record stores:

• ‘Ike Pono—Ka Mäno Wai, The Source of Life: The quartet of Stanton Oshiro, Bobby Yu, Michael Lowe and Donovan Collier blends voices on songs they remember from “small kid time,” honoring the sources of life—including families, love and nature. Some standouts: “Tico no Fuba,” featuring Oshiro on lead ‘ukulele, paying a debt of gratitude to a mentor, ‘ukulele virtuoso Roy Sakuma; and “Jumpin’ Rock,” written and composed by Yu, which recalls the carefree days of his youth at Waimea Bay, on O‘ahu’s North Shore.

• Don Tiki—Adulterated: You’ll be mesmerized by the classic wild sounds of the Don Tiki Six, along with guest stars such as the legendary Martin Denny, who first spread the sounds of exotica across America a half-century ago. This remixed album of all the great original Don Tiki sounds by some of the master studio mixers of the world gives you an album to take home and play whenever someone suggests a mai tai party where all guests are required to don a mu‘umu‘u or lavalava. Bust a forbidden move.

• Sarah Ka‘ilikea—Banyan Tree: An honored recipient of Hawai‘i’s prestigious Living Treasure Award, Sarah Ke‘alamäpuana Malina Ka‘ilikea is a composer who has lived on Kaua‘i since her birth there in 1911. A lifelong student of ancient Hawaiian chant, hula and language, “Aunti Sarah” pays tribute to the Garden Island of Kaua‘i and some of her dearest friends in this collection, which includes original compositions. Like the banyan itself, the songs have deep, powerful roots.




Books: Tales of the Pacific

As certain sessions of the 2004 Maui Writers Conference on Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 2 to 6, held at the Wailea Marriott Resort, Maui) will demonstrate, there are as many different kinds of books as there are different kinds of readers. For travelers who love nature and food, or are thinking of getting married or retiring in Hawai‘i, here are four new books for reference and enlightenment.

• Thirty Three Chefs, edited by Lorry Kennedy and Nina Pfaffenbach, photography by John De Mello. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Dolphin Days at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, 33 leading Hawai‘i-based chefs cooked up a gala of food, wine and music—and then did a book about their work and recipes. Proceeds go to the Hawai‘i Shriners Hospital for Children and the Pacific Marine Life Foundation.

• Hawai‘i Weddings Made Simple, by Keri Shepherd. Mutual Publishing, Honolulu. Everything you need to know about planning the perfect Island wedding, including laws, regulations and the mother of all dresses. A helpful reference.

• Living and Retiring in Hawai‘i, by James R. Smith and Diane Smith. iUniverse Inc., Lincoln, Neb. Second edition of a thoughtful, thorough guide to planning a secure dream retirement in Hawai‘i, including a forecast of living expenses and a list of senior centers.

? Common Hawai?i Trees, published by the Friends of Hawai?i?s Urban Forest. Island Heritage Publishing, Honolulu. A beautiful reference guide to the 48 species of trees grown from seedlings that have been given away to Honolulu residents in celebration of Arbor Day, a program sponsored by the Hawaiian Electric Co. and Kalunani Urban Forestry. Originally a small brochure, now a handsome book.

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