Newlyweds

We enjoyed a wedding at Halekulani Hotel - such a wonderful ceremony and reception! Ahhhhh....weddings! Enjoy the bliss before the kids come!!!! :)

Baseball Action Shots

We had our first game last Saturday - lots of fun for the team! They took their team photo too. What a hoot!

Batter Up!

We signed Big K up for baseball - he's on the Dodgers team. (Yeah L.A.!!!) Games are Saturdays at the beach park - play ball!

Memories of Grandpa

Last few weeks have been pretty crazy, not the least of which was the unexpected passing of Grandpa. He was 89 and quite a character. We had a simple but memorable Buddhist ceremony for Grandpa. I gave the eulogy and will post it here but we should remember all of the great times we had with Grandpa.

Here is the eulogy:

A EULOGY
February 28, 2008

Yesterday afternoon I sat in front of my computer, staring at the blinking cursor and wondering where to start for a eulogy for my grandfather. This being the 21st century, I quickly did a Google search and found a helpful web site on eulogy writing. The web site recommended that I develop a theme, since that would give unity to the eulogy and help my listeners visualize the rich patterns of Grandpa’s life. Those of you familiar with our household will no doubt appreciate the theme I selected - THE PLATE LUNCH.

I consider this a fitting theme because not only did Grandpa appreciate his plate lunches, but the dish itself is a metaphor of his life.

Grandpa was born on Lahaina Maui. He was the first born son and second child of parents who emigrated to Maui from Japan. We can only imagine how difficult life was for these plantation families and the backbreaking labor they endured to achieve opportunity in their new island home. Similarly, the history of the plate lunch is directly tied to life on the sugar plantation and believed to have evolved from the Japanese bento. As the story goes, each ethnic group of plantation workers would bring their own cultural dishes for the midday meal, gather together in the fields and share food with each other.

To me, the plate lunch is the true symbol of cultural harmony - differing ingredients come together on the platter to create a unique and tasty experience. Grandpa also embodied this harmony - though he retained the strong Japanese cultural ties of his ancestors, Grandpa was an American at heart. When our country was pulled into the Second World War, Grandpa enlisted in the 100th Infantry and set off to Europe. He embodied the fearless spirit of the Japanese samurai warrior while serving as a patriotic American, and did so successfully and without compromise. You see, Grandpa was part of that wonderful generation which understood their duty and responsibility to serve America, and in typical Japanese fashion, did so with diligence and quiet fortitude.

Recently, the buzz word “comfort food” entered our vocabulary. This phrase references dishes that we cherish because they are reliable, familiar and consistent. The plate lunch is definitely comfort food, and we each have our favorite lunch wagons and dish combinations because they capture these qualities. Those of us who have spent long periods away from Hawaii probably experienced times when we had the “onos” for mochiko chicken, beef stew or roast pork with gravy all over. We yearn for these items not only because they taste good, but because we find comfort in the familiar.

Similarly, Grandpa provided a familiar and consistent personality in our home. For example, if you stopped by their house, Grandpa would either be taking his afternoon siesta on the back porch or sitting in his La-Z-Boy chair, never far from the front window where he could monitor the activities on the street as the unofficial “block captain.” He was able to take everything in stride, with a steady and confident manner that was equally comforting to us as children and adults.

Visitors often comment on how after eating a plate lunch, they experience “Hawaiian stroke” or “Polynesian paralysis.” This is often blamed on the starch overload from two scoops rice and mac salad, or, my personal favorite - spaghetti with meat sauce, rice, AND garlic bread! However, if you think about it, the carb loading was necessary for the type of physically demanding work required for cutting sugar cane. The plate lunch was created to provide sustenance and energy, preparing the consumer for the grueling work ahead.

Similarly, Grandpa ensured that his family members could endure life’s demands. Like the energy the plantation workers got from their starchy plate lunch that allowed them to go back to work in the merciless cane fields, Grandpa taught us how to be strong and persevere. He prepared us for life in that unique Japanese way: Nana korobi ya oki, which means “fall down seven times, get up eight.”

Plate lunches are a local Hawaiian experience, and similarly, Grandpa was too. There are attempts nowadays to “refine” the plate lunch into a lighter, more acceptable and heart-healthy version. My personal reaction - why bother? Like nonalcoholic beer and decaffeinated coffee - sometimes a watered-down version just isn’t the same as the real thing. And like Coca-Cola, Grandpa was the real thing: a to-the-point, shoot-from-the-hip, no-nonsense guy. When he first met my then-boyfriend, the first thing out of his mouth was, “You one Pollock? I knew some Pollocks in the Army...they talk too much!” Grandpa entertained us with his funny Portagee jokes, grimaces behind the newspaper and gassy “signs of good health.” Yup, Grandpa was 100% local - nothing refined or watered down about him - and we loved it.

So think about what the plate lunch stands for. To me, it represents history, harmony, comfort, sustenance and the local experience - all great qualities that I saw in my Grandpa. But if you really need the details, I think right now Grandpa is enjoying a plate lunch with his favorites: rice, chow fun, mac salad, and hamburger steak. With sashimi on the side, followed by one good cup of coffee with cream and sugar!