Well past 60, no kids and taking care of my wife who has only partially recovered from a stroke in 2004, I was feeling a bit down and sorry for myself. However, two nieces came out from England and visited us, so providing a welcome break. I took them sailing off Waikiki On the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend - first time the boat had been out for months and this was not entirely uneventful due to the growth of barnacles on the prop (is there anything yet to prevent this). This is because the diver had not been down to do the bottom for about 3 months. Perhaps you might know that there was a sewage spill into the Ala Wai Marina during the 45 days of continuous rain we had. In fact a guy who fell into the harbor and scratched his leg had to have it amputated and then died of septic shock! Back to the sailing - the footage is very short because there was panic everytime I left the helm! On Monday, I wanted to go in person to the Buddhist lantern floating ceremony that I had seen on TV last year. This was held at Ala Moana Beach Park, Honolulu. About 20,000 people were present and about 1500 lanterns were floated with names of departe, ancestors etc. There were many Japanese tourists there and one woman I spoke to had travelled all the way for just 4 days to float a lantern named for her dead fiance. I am amazed that I was able to make half decent edits of the footage, because I was standing in the crowd and had to hold the camera at arms length above my head (no proper support) but I think the image stabilization must have helped a bit. The music was incredible, based on Buddhist chants, Hawaiian songs and a finale (tragically not captured) of a full orchestra, two choirs and Taiko drumming. The effect was extremely moving and people were "choked up" yet happy/sad way that we all need to feel more often -especially in these times. PS The streaming video is in Quicktime, which is a free download if you don't have it. I made a DVD for my nieces and some relatives.
Emotional Memorial Day Weekend (video)
- Thread starter Jim Willis23135
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Very nice
Thanks for sharing, it's always nice to see other cultures engaged in activities that have significance for all. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to your wife. PS, I'm English so I'm sure your neices were OK!!
Thanks for sharing, it's always nice to see other cultures engaged in activities that have significance for all. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to your wife. PS, I'm English so I'm sure your neices were OK!!
Memorial Day
Very nice, and my best to your wife. However, if I lived where you do, and had two visitors from England, I'd have taken them to the Punch Bowl...especially on Memorial Day.
Very nice, and my best to your wife. However, if I lived where you do, and had two visitors from England, I'd have taken them to the Punch Bowl...especially on Memorial Day.
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