The night before her marriage to Menelaus, Helen joined other young girls to dance and sing on the last night of her youth. In the morning, Helen joined in the preparations for her new adult life. Within the immense palace complex, a massive banquet is being prepared. Accounts of entertainments
Articles Categorized Uncategorized
QUEEN LEDA’S DAUGHTER
I’m reading an engaging book, Helen of Troy by Bettany Hughes. The author uses ancient literature, modern archeology, and personal visits to ancient sites to unravel the Helen’s myth. Was she a goddess? A slut? A woman with no voice or one who made her own way? Do we judge her too harshly? Have we
How My Mother Learned to Cook
My mother couldn’t cook. She could, however, follow directions to their furthest extreme. When she got married in 1946, she purchased three cookbooks. The books lived on a kitchen shelf and were so well used that two of them are held together with now brittle cellophane tape. I don’t know if the third book was
GODDESS PELE’S PATH
Goddess Pele, creates land and destroys whatever impedes the process, whether vacant forest or inhabited towns. The land is hers, and she does with it as she likes, when she likes. The goddess can be beautiful and loving as shown here in Arthur Johnson’s depiction of Pele carrying her embryonic sister Hia`aka in an egg.
Better with Butter
I went to Europe for the first time when I was 19. It was there that I discovered two food products. The first was disgusting white, greasy glob that the purveyors identified as margarine. This was a revelation to me since U.S. margarine was infused with some sort of yellow food coloring. The moment I
THE MANY “FACES” OF LABOR DAY
The symbolism of Labor Day has come a long way from its roots as a day to celebrate the contributions of the men and women who built American industry. For most of us, the day marks the end of summer. Ah, summer, the mythical season of endless days of relaxation. Labor Day marks the return
“GIVE MORE THAN YOU TAKE”
(Quotation by B. K. S. Iyengar, 2002) Approximately 20.4 million Americans, 8.7 percent of the adult population, practice yoga. I’m one of them. Without the work of B. K. S. Iyengar, it’s unlikely most practitioners would even know yoga exists, let alone be able to do the poses. He was the teacher who introduced
ROTARIANS, RUNNERS, & WINE
Rotary Club of Hilo Bay staffs Aid Station Number 5 at the annual Volcano Rain Forest Run. Station 5 at the corner of Wright and Amaumau Roads had a slightly funky appearance this year due to the first purple portable toilet I’ve seen. I’m more accustomed to motley green or brown colors. But purple has
WHEW! WHAT A WEEK IT WAS
Last week featured three large events in three different life categories – Personal, Statewide Severe Weather, and State Political Shifts. In chronological order: Tuesday – Personal A few weeks ago I went to the optometrist for my annual check-up. I was hoping for a stronger glasses prescription. Little did I know, what my eyes were
A SYMPHONY OF ORCHIDS
ORCHIDS. The very word conjures up exotic flowers and romance. At one time, every girl hoped her escort to the high school prom would give her a large orchid corsage. Ideally, the corsage should look like this. The blossoms screamed expense, status, and an adoring boyfriend. Alas, most boys could barely afford a
WHITE DUCK TALES
Last Monday, the Seattle Times ran a story about Darin Welker, a US Army veteran who fought in the 2005 Iraq War. Mr. Welker ran afoul of the law (pun intended), because he keeps 14 pet ducks at his home in West Lafayette, Ohio, where the personable birds are classified as farm animals. Fowl and
Sandra & The PNWA Conference
Today’s featured image is a Wildebeest scratching his head in the dirt. It perfectly illustrates how I feel after spending the weekend at the 59th Pacific Northwest Writers’ Conference in Seattle. The conference is well-organized. The sessions are high quality. The information — there’s just too much for my synapses to digest. So, what did
TEN REASONS TO GO TO A WRITERS’ CONFERENCE
As a “general” rule (ever wonder why there’s no “private first class” rule?) fiction writers are shy. That’s why they create artificial worlds and imaginary friends. Writers like to sit at a cozy desk more than they like to go to parties, because at parties they have to talk to actual people. Or else sit
NANI MAU GARDENS – An Oasis of Floral Enchantment
Once upon a time in paradise, Makato Nitahara transformed a 20-acre papaya patch into a tropical dream. I don’t know what inspired him – perhaps just the joyful satisfaction of creation. Nitahara called his garden Nani Mau – Forever Beautiful. In 1972 Nitahara opened his garden to the public, and it’s been a
MOKU`AIKAUA CHURCH: Historic Past, Present Crisis & Unknown Future
In 1820 a company of fourteen New England missionaries with three Hawaiian protégés arrived at Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai`i. Seven men, seven women – all determined to bring Christianity and American know-how to islands most of them probably couldn’t point out on a map. Two men were ministers; one was a doctor.
WHALES, RAPTORS, & BEARS
This is the last installment of my “Cruise Adventures in Alaska” series. And, I must say, from my perspective these events were the best of all. KODIAK After leaving Homer on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, we cruised across Shelikof Strait to Kodiak Island (Kodak city population 6,130). Kodiak is the second largest island in the U.S.