A Tumbleweed Over the Deep Blue SeaThe earth is but one country and mankind its citizens ~Baha'i

The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens ~Baha'i

Hawaiian Wedding Trip

Monika Skiba, Joe Spotts, Jericha at Pearl Harbor

Nu'uanu Pali lookout view

Peak at Nu'uanu Pali lookout

Emily, Joe, Jericha, Monika at Pali lookout

Carved into mountainside

Nu'uanu Pali lookout view 2

Field and trees from Pali 2

Pearl Harbor sailor memorial

Arizona gun turret 2

Missouri Memorial 2

Arizona wreckage 2

Arizona smokestack

Arizona's sailors later buried at ship site

Arizona through floor of memorial

Fallen Marines of Arizona 3

Memorial wall 2

Passing ship flags at Arizona Memorial

Zebra Dove at Pearl Harbor

Paul's first stop after landing

Lookout view of Hanauma Bay

Jericha at Hanauma Bay

Joe Spotts checking out dangerous reef inhabitants

Beach at Hanauma Bay

Joe and Monika, Hanauma Bay

Emily, Monika, Joe, Hanauma Bay

Floral Jericha!

red hibiscus

Unknown duck at the Polynesian Cultural Center

Traditional Hawaiian dancing

Tonga dancers 4

Tahitians on outrigger

Our view from the porch

Samoans again

Musician 2

Fiji float turning

Noni fruit

Noni flower

In one of the villages

Happy Jericha

Rehearsing readings

Kimo, with Manning, Kata & family further down the row

Keahi talks about the chant's meaning

Jericha reads prayer for Persian Baha'is

Paul's vow

The kiss

Ringing the huge bell

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My daughter, Jericha Lee Phillips, and her long-time boyfriend, Paul Emerson Franz, were married on March 21, 2010, in a lovely botanical garden on Oahu. She worked very hard to plan my week on the island to incorporate side trips and family events in such a way that I never had a chance to be a bit bored. Which worked very well in making sure neither of us slept much, either! Spring break was in full swing as evidenced by hearty singing many a night in the streets below our Waikiki hotel room's lanai.

Since Michael Andrews of Los Angeles (http://mandrewsphotography.com/) was the official wedding photographer, I trusted his photo journalist's skills to capture the feel of events.

In a month or so Michael's photos will be ready, meantime, here are a few of them on his website:

Jericha and Paul in Hawaii

Here, to the right, are a few photos that I managed to get whilst being transported up, down, over and all around the island in a spiffy wheelchair van. My renta-Jazzy-powerchair was strapped into the middle section with windows all around and air conditioner nozzles aimed at me from four directions. Cleopatra would ask no more. Word for the wise who may not be initated into the handling of such specialized vehicles: Don't drive over anything higher than three inches -- those babies are LOW!

In honor of my late father, Horace Lee, and other veterans of the Pacific conflict in World War II I visited Pearl Harbor. Despite the current quiet sea and comfortable tourists all around one could envision horrific violence in that otherwise relatively small, beautiful area almost like a paradise... Nearly 70 years later it is quiet, but serene it will never be. Not with the great, rusting battleships just below the surface of the water, ever oozing small quantities of oil... Not with so many thousands of dead so close. The presence of the USS Missouri, reminds one that wars do end. The Japanese surrendered on her deck.

Jericha arranged an afternoon trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center on the northeastern part of Oahu, where visitors can spend a day into late evening. There we encountered people from eight other Pacific islands who contributed to the unique blend of Polynesia in Hawaii. Colorful, featuring music, food, stories, narrative and lots of interactions, another time it would be pleasant to spend a bit more time there.

An afternoon at Hanauma Bay acquainted me with warm, windy beaches, where Jericha's companions snorkeled amongst colorful fish and sea turtles on the reef as she and I did a Skype conference on my laptop under a palm tree. With Paul and his brother, James (James and I were witnesses to the Baha'i wedding) also connected from their family home, Jericha and I spoke with a representative of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is who would perform the legal necessities for the marriage. I love technology! We didn't have to rush away from the beach to make the deadline for the conference. The afternoon did have a sobering reminder of the danger lurking even in beautiful places. A Japanese man died in the choppy sea while we were there. This and Pearl Harbor made a refrain in my mind, from the Baha'i Writings: "Sorrow and joy have embraced."

The Sunday wedding was simple, thoughtful and unique -- carefully planned by Paul and Jericha to include passages from a few of their favorite philosphers and authors. Ever the musician, writer and Beethoven lover, Paul composed a song for us all to sing to the tune of Simple Gifts. Not only was it a lot of fun to get everyone actively involved -- it also brought in good thoughts from the Lord of the Dance and Ode to Joy.

After the ceremony at the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden the entire wedding party adjourned a few miles north to the Byodo-in Temple. This is a recreation of an ancient Buddhist temple in Japan. There Paul and Jericha led the way in ringing a huge Peace Bell, then everybody else took a turn pulling back the enormous log and letting it swing into the bell. The mountains were ringing! From there we travelled further north to a beach house for a terrific and food-filled reception. The evening ended with what Hawaiians consider a blessing -- rain. Just heavy enough to drive most people inside for dancing after dark. Loathe to make my hardworking friends haul me up the stairs into the house in my little manual wheelchair (as they had done so many times at the Franz's beautiful Portlock home) I opted to sit in the van. Peaceful contemplation was a fitting end to the emotional and busy events of the day.

Here's a picture of Jericha's ring:

page42_sidebar-jericha-ring

The musical notes are a line from Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Ode to Joy. Fine memories returned with me to New Mexico, and in due course may write another blog about the experiences. The wedding program with its writings and prayers, are included in Paul's blog, Nicht Diese Tone: http://nichtdiesetone.blogspot.com/ (See the March 26, 2010 entry.)

Dry in the Sea

Filming Schwarzenegger
Occupy Wall St. and Baha'i Views
Farewell to the Visionary Jobs
Countering Animal Cruelty
A Curious Day, the plight of people
Worldview Change
Summer! Sailing on the sandy sea
Losing the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra
Spring and the Elephant Manifesto
Springtime!
Atoms and Drops
Warm Afternoon in the Baha'i Fast
Hawaiian Trip Photos