Aloha!

by
July 29th, 2009

Last summer my mother was facing surgery. And so this summer, with God blessing me with more time with my mom and truly reasonably-priced airfares from WestJet, my mother and I, in good health, enjoyed a mother-daughter visit to Hawaii in July. What a delight! We found everyone so friendly and hospitable, from the traffic security at the airport to the people working at McDonald's. My mother aged 83 would arise with the surfers to go get coffee from McDonald's which we would enjoy on our lanai (balcony) at our hotel room. We'd watch the beautiful sunrise colours of the sea and sky as the surfers headed out to catch the early morning waves.

Later we went to Duke's for a great lunch buffet of delicious fish, salads and fresh fruit. We discovered Duke's the restaurant is named after Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968), Hawaii's greatest athlete and ambassador of Aloha. He won many Olympic medals, loved surfing, played parts in over twenty-eight movies, but he was also known for his sportsmanship, charm, integrity and courage. Duke's creed was ''In Hawaii we greet friends, loved ones or strangers with Aloha, which means with love." When I read about Duke and his life, I thought 'yes, it is the stories of people's lives that we meet as we travel that inspire us and warm pure hearts.'

The day before we left I went for a swim and met a lovely man named John who regaled me with interesting stories. On the last day I ran into John again. We chatted. He asked if he might join my mom and I at lunch for an iced tea. As i sat looking at the waves, I thought 'instead of feeling like an ending this feels like a beginning.'

Aloha to you!