Category: Living Life

  • Yes! A Memoir of Modern Hawai‘i

    Politicians must join ranks with leaders from business, labor and community groups to accomplish common goals. Crafting many of these alliances in modern Hawai‘i are public relations and marketing professionals like Walter A. Dods, Jr., former chairman of First Hawaiian Bank, Alexander & Baldwin and HawaiianTel, and a campaign organizer for governors and senators. In…

  • Each Other – A Book Club’s Greatest Benefit

    We age like a book and advance, hopefully, toward maturity through the rise and fall of the turning pages of our lives. Consequently, when members of the West Maui Book Club come together to discuss a novel, we’ll often share\ relevant chapters of our personal stories. For us, this is the greatest benefit of all.…

  • It’s Never Too Late to Take the High Road

    Four mature Native Hawaiians, including two retirees, recently were ordained as deacons of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai‘i. In the spring, “God willing and the people consenting,” they will become Episcopal priests. Phyllis Mahilani “Mahi” Beimes is the first Native Hawaiian woman to be ordained in the worldwide Anglican communion. After she retired as a…

  • Stay on Your Feet in 2016

    Maui Na Hoaloha has made their falls prevention program, Stay on Your Feet, part of their regular service to clients. Teams-4-Assessment are trained to implement complete falls risk assessments, engage clients in falls prevention training and help clients physically make their living quarters safer. The need is great. Na Hoaloha is seeking more volunteers. Na…

  • Cops, Killers and Corruption in the Aloha State Sunny Skies, Shady Characters

    If truth is stranger than fiction, then this book is the strangest you will ever read. James Dooley, a former investigative reporter for The Honolulu Advertiser, KITV 4 News and Hawaii Reporter, details public corruption and criminality in Hawai‘i during the 70’s and 80’s. A lot of Dooley’s sleuthing formed the basis of the original…

  • Book Review: A Nutritional Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease

    When it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, anything that offers hope gets attention. Dr. Blake analyses the latest scientific information and results from his clinical trials with Alzheimer’s patients at Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience Institute on O‘ahu, and dishes us up a simple diet — berries, green vegetables, nuts and beans — to prevent and slow the…

  • Leeward Y Offers Something for Every Senior

    Laughter, potluck snacks, and fresh coffee are the mid-morning, sounds, sights and smells at the YMCA of Honolulu’s Leeward Y Branch, in the heart of Waipahu. Comfortable chairs and tables in the brightly lit community lounge host yummy potlucks, spirited board games, craft activities and friendly socializing. This “reward” time follows senior health and fitness…

  • A Happy Day in the Park

    As my friend and I searched for interesting activities near the blue jungle gym in Ala Moana Beach Park, we spotted a group of women making dance formations and speaking Chinese. Upon closer investigation, we discovered a happy, healthy dance group. Judy Wu, dance class coordinator, along with thirty women and her husband, were gathered…

  • Lifelong Learning, What’s Stopping You?

    Senior citizens can attend classes on University of Hawaii Manoa campus through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. For 10 years OLLI has been offering non-credit, college-level courses and other activities to encourage older individuals to engage their minds, enrich their lives, and serve the community. While the institute primarily serves mature learners aged 50+, the…

  • A Leeward Legacy

    Rosemarie Dungca has been working for the City and County of Honolulu since 1978. In 1983, Whitmore Village asked her to teach hula classes. Her popularity grew and soon was teaching throughout the Leeward area. Now seniors from the Mililani, Wahiawa, Pearl City and North Shore areas may learn how to dance hula and play…

  • Who Was That Mermaid?

    Synchronized swimming is alive and beautifully executed by Mermaids Hawai‘i, home-pooled at Windward YMCA in Kailua. Since 1971, they have been “teaching and performing water ballet for fascinated crowds.” It’s not a paid act — just teacher Alice Robert’s vision to “dance” in the pool like her Hollywood idol, the great Esther Williams, and to…

  • Hawai’i CARE Act Coalition

    Caregiving became a full-time responsibility for Lahaina resident Montella Lopez in her mother’s final years. In the six times her mother was discharged from the hospital, Lopez said she received little or no instruction on how to care for her mother at home. As Hawai‘i’s population ages and the number of people with chronic conditions…