Pictures can tell the whole story...

What happened to it all:

This past week I decided to start on a project I’ve been meaning to do for a long time. And that is to go thru the hundreds of black and white oldie photos that my parents and family took back in the day. These have been kept in a box for most of my adult and I have taken the challenge to copy each one, name, and put in a digital file on my computer. Now how modern is that.

These priceless photos paint a picture of love and happiness back in the day. I can only wonder about how things really were back then. Life seemed just more simple and less complicated. As I look at each photo I can really look through it and feel the love that was there. So here are a few from the past that I have chosen.

While digging through these photos I came across a shot of Honolulu with Diamond Head in the background. We didn’t have too many shots like this, the Hawaii before. For the most part the high risers were in Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. It looks like the photo was taken during the early 50’s from Punchbowl National Cemetary, where my Dad was buried. He was a lifer in the Army and served in North Africa, Italy and Korea. A man’s man. And from that cemetery you get a nice view of Honolulu and surrounding areas.

This past October, my wife and I went home to visit my mother in law and a son we haven’t seen in a few years. And there, we decided to visit my Dad’s grave where I took a few photos from the top of the mountain, almost the exact area that this 50’s picture was taken.

The difference is simply amazing, amazingly scary that is. The cement jungle has over grown the island. People build up, second and even third stories on top of their original home in an effort to accommodate and provide housing for families. And of course apartments and condos are the natural habitat in a situation like this. Coupled in with too much traffic and no room for new roads or highways, and you have a giant mess on your hands.

I’m not making any statements here to justify or put blame on what happened. I’m just saying that there is a lesson here for others to follow. The damage is done. Someone learn from this mistake. I just have a really bad feeling that as time comes and goes, so will each island, come and go.

But I remain hopeful, that things may change. Hawaii is still a beautiful place, and I enjoy myself each and every time I come home. There is no place like home, the tradition, the people, the aloha, (and of course the food), are always in my heart.

So I am glad at this point, that I have this project going on. I can reflect, think about the old days, my family and loved ones. Thanks for taking this short ride with me. Life is good for this ohana (family), and I hope it is so with yours. God Bless…

Note: pic 1 and 2: my sister and yours truly, pic 3: with mom, pic 4: mom and dad, pic 5: me, my sister and childhood friends, pic 6: Honolulu in the 50's, pic 7 & 8: taken this past October on vacation. Please click on the last two shots to give you an idea of just how much cement this island can hold... Aloha