Happy Independence Day...Again...

Another year has gone by and I’m sitting in a middle eastern desert, reflecting on the birth of our nation.

I landed in Kuwait a few weeks ago, on my way to the ‘Stan (still in route).  I saw the dust, I felt the heat, I smelled the “smell”, and the last four years of my life seemed to disappear.  It was like I never left this place:  I never went back to the fire department,  I never had my bionic surgeries, we never bought our house or raised our kids.  All of it, disappeared.  That was a little disheartening.

Under the airplane in the Kuwaiti heat (about 110 degrees F), I spoke with a young soldier who was deploying for the first time.  He said he felt the blast of heat as the flight attendant opened the door, and thought to himself that the engines were really hot. He stepped out the door walked down the gangplank and thought, “wow, I can really feel the exhaust from those engines.”  Not till he got to the bottom of the stairs did he realize it was the air that was hot, not the engines.  I smiled and chuckled a little bit, then said, “Welcome to the desert, son.”

This is my third time in the gulf. My experience this time has been so much different than any other tour I have been on.  It is eye-opening. It is also extremely rewarding to see the fruits of our labors, and the positive, sometimes life saving, impact we have on the soldiers doing the fighting in the wadis and villages in Afghanistan. 

My gratitude to all those who have sacrificed so much to make the "land of the free" a reality - yesterday, today and tomorrow, not only to the soldiers who fight, but the families, especially the wives (spouses), who stay home and maintain the home front.  That is the hardest job of all.

And to all my brothers and sisters in arms down range-keep your heads down and your powder dry...

Remember my friends, Freedom is not free…

Happy Independence Day.

Mom passed away today...

D Keala Naluai

30 Jun 1951 - 18 Apr 2012

Today I received news I was not ready for. My mom passed peacefully at home, in her sleep.  Before she went to sleep for the last time, she was reading about her favorite thing, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, specifically an article in “Daughters of Zion” titled “Charity Never Faileth”. Charity was a subject that came up a lot over the years, especially the need for us to help other people.  Looking back, that may have been the foundation that led me into the careers I am in, the military and the fire department.

My mom loved the Gospel and tried hard to instill its values in us, her children.  One of her favorite scriptures was, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Although we didn’t always see eye to eye, especially when I became an adult, the Gospel was one thing we agreed upon.  I learned the importance of faith, prayer, quite supplication to the Lord, the power of tithing, the need to serve our fellow man, 'Remember who you are, and what you represent and act accordingly,'  'Wisdom begins with the proper naming of things,' and so many other lessons she learned from her family growing up.

She always reminded us how ‘cleanliness was next to godliness’.  Of course when I was young, that meant chores, and I didn’t like that.  However, to this day, I have an innate desire to keep things orderly, though I don’t always succeed.  I guess that’s where my “OCD” started. 

Tonight, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into her home and see various things that meant a lot to her carefully and lovingly put in places of honor.  Her glasses were carefully placed on her computer. The ukulele I first learned to play on resting on the nightstand.  Her dissertation for her doctorate was neatly organized on her table and her 'Windward Homeless Coalition' binder was staged at the door. Even my 1984 Cub Scout Day Camp patch with all the pins of all the ranks I earned up to Eagle was in a bowl, with her pearls, on her bureau. Her home was peaceful, clean and orderly, just like she liked it.

I do know she had a tough life, full of pain and heartbreak.  Some of it was her own making, some of it was not.  But despite it all, she kept the faith that she tried to instill in us. And for that example, I am grateful.

Tonight, I have regrets.  I regret I couldn’t spend more time with her, I regret I couldn’t help her more, I regret I didn’t listen to the Spirit a week ago and check on her and tell her I love her.  

I told my sisters as we conference called with each other today, don’t worry about the “What ifs” – what if I called, what if I stayed, what if I emailed, what if…whatever it is… I told them she has no regrets now. She is at peace. She is happy. It’s a peace and happiness that can only be matched in the Temple and by the Spirit.  I told them if we focus on our regrets, we will drive ourselves insane, and fail in our roles as parents, spouses, workers and friends.  I told them that this is the time that our own faith in the Gospel is truly tested…do we really believe what we say we do?

I am grateful for the lessons my mother has taught me over the years. I am grateful that she has finally found peace and rest in the Lord. I am grateful to have had her for a mom. Her final lesson for me- make the most of each day, because you never know if it’s your last.  Live so you have No Regrets…

Thank you mom, for all you’ve done. Yes, Charity never faileth, and hopefully neither will we.  We are glad you're happy and finally at peace.  We love you, mom ... always have... always will...  Aloha pumehana, poina‘ole.  We'll see you when we get there…

Post Script

Today, many of us reflect on how much our worlds were changed 10 years ago. The promising future shattered in a matter of seconds.

I try to describe to my children what life was like before 9/11, but they just can’t understand. My children have known no other world but this one...the one where gas and housing prices keep rising...where incomes for the middle-class keep falling...and where Daddy goes over seas to “fight the bad guys” every few years, leaving them behind.

They know the tears that come with separation, the fear that comes with uncertainty, the joy that comes with reuniting and the pain that comes with change...

I was inspired by the stories of the brave souls on flight 93 and their last calls to their loved ones. I  wrote this poem 1 year after 9/11, 9 years ago today. I have only looked at it a couple times since then. Sometimes the pain is so strong that it’s nice to forget, at least not be reminded...even if we can’t...

I share Post Script with you:

Post Script

9.11.02

Hello Babe.  I’m okay.

I wanted you to know.

Many things have changed today.

We're still . . . nowhere to go.

They tried to change our way of life,

But they could not see

That we find joy, peace and life

In the roots of liberty.

The honor to serve everyone,

To be American

Gives me hope to carry on

And helps me live again.

You’re the calm within my storm,

The light that fills the dark.

Above the rest, above the norm,

You’ve led me to ‘the mark.’

Live to help others live.

This should be our call.

Give our time, our souls, just give-

Just give to them our all.

I’m glad we had this time to talk,

But it’s time to go.

He is walking where we walk. . .

They’re saying now, “Let’s Roll!”

Know this babe, I did my part.

Remember this much too-

You always will be in my heart.

P.S. – I love you.

Throughout our History, generations have had to deal with their 9/11’s and the changes it brought, whether it was the Boston Massacre, the shelling of Ft. Sumter or the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Each time, our fore fathers stood up to the challenge, and each time they triumphed.  We have and will continue to do the same...

E Pluribus Unim – Out of Many, One...

If you're not into it, get out...

13 July 2011

"If you're into something, get in it. 

If you're not into it, get out."--Zig Ziglar's Mom, Viola

There is a lot of change happening.  Most of us don’t like it.  The Status Quo has shifted and we are left holding the crumbling dust of past success.

But we had been warned. 

Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki co-wrote a book called “Why We Want You to be Rich” in 2006, more than 5 years ago, well before the economic collapse, real estate bubble burst and the Great Recession.  The main point of the book was there would be a shift of power and wealth in America and the world; that the Middle-class was about to become extinct.

Steven R. Covey revisited his “7 Habits of Effective People” and wrote “The 8^th Habit” to address the shift of wealth everytime there is an economic revolution. He said that while the “7 Habits” were still applicable, they were more designed for the Industrial age.  Dr. Covey also said in essence, without the “8^th Habit,” finding your voice, we would fail.

An Article “22 Statistics That Prove The Middle Class Is Being Systematically Wiped Out Of Existence In America” by Michael Snyder in his blog | Jul. 15, 2010, the author examines many reasons why the Middle Class are becoming extinct and that it wasn’t accidental. But these two responses to his blog were just as interesting:

Trex: Power is now being consolidated not by country, but by CORPORATIONS!!! Remember the warning the US got when Eisenhower left office. He didn't warn of Communism, or Marxism, or any country. He warned us about the "Military/ Industrial Complex". He has now been proven right. While we bicker over taxes, health care, and Palin, the true powers are taking away any hope for us to be truly free. The multi national corporations simply don't care if the US exists. They only want a place to sell products and services somewhere at a higher price than it took the corporation to make the product or deliver the services. If it's the US great, if it's China, thats ok too. They have no allegiance to the USA, and we should tax the hell out of them.

(There is a 2005 documentary called “Why We Fight” by Eugene Jarecki that addresses the Military/Industrial Complex)

hannas mott: 'We should more rightly call Fascism corporatism because it is a merger of the state and the corporation'---Benito Mussolini 1935.

The reason the middle class is fading is because of the political fascists who like to call themselves CONSERVATIVES despite the fact that they conserve nothing and are simply another group of murderous racists seeking to form their own authoritarian regime here in the United States.

Interesting food for thought.

Okay, so we were warned. None of us listened. Or none of us had time to hear, because we were busy working to pay our bills.  Or none of us turned the tv and radio and other distractors off long enough to hear. Okay. So now what?

That is a good question. 

The past is the past. And no matter how hard we try, we can't change it. But, can the wisdom of past generations help us in this day and age?  Is the beginning of our journey to reclaim what we lost found in the first quote of this blog? What about this last one?

“You can get everything in this world that you want, if you will only help enough other people get what they want.”    --Zig Ziglar

Thanks Mr. Ziglar. I think we needed that...

The Fourth of July - Land of the Free because of the Brave.

I am Alika Naluai, fire fighter, soldier, husband and father.  This is my first blog. 

I want to say thank you to all those veterans who have fought, bled and died for an idea; the idea that everyone has the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"; the idea that someone else's life or someone else's family or someone else's freedom is worth saving at a cost of your own.  It's not an easy thing to do. 

I also want to thank the spouses and children left behind to care for the home front, who can and have been casualties of war along side all the other tally's kept by the statisticians. My own family has teetered on the canyon ledge of oblivion but has avoided becoming a statistic.

What saddens me is the disregard some people have for all of this sacrifice.  If we look closely around us, even in us, we can see it everywhere - whether it’s the 1% of U.S. citizens and their families who are actually deploying overseas, or the mentality of, “I’m grateful you serve, because I could never do it,” or the speed we race to view trivial distractions like celebrity gossip or FB gossip or virtual gaming worlds, to the entitlement mentality that is prevalent in our society, and even to the Founding Fathers’ original intent being undermined by self serving politics and corporations.  If we look, we will find it.

This poem by Charles M. Province really says it all:

IT IS THE SOLDIER

It is the Soldier, not the minister
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

©Copyright 1970, 2005 by Charles M. Province

When I came home from “the Sandbox” the first time, in 2006, people asked me if the Iraqi people appreciated the freedom we gave them. I told them, from my perspective, about 20% did. But a vast majority, 70% were impartial to the idea of freedom.  They would look at me confused, unable to comprehend why that would be.  I would then say - freedom cannot be given, it has to be earned. And they would give their freedom to the next dictator that came along, because they didn’t fight for it.

I hope this never happens to our Land of the Free - because the Brave sacrificed so much for us to have so much.

If you are reading this, remember – Freedom is not free…you have to fight for it - inside and out.