pink ribbon

one of my dear aunts has terminal cancer. she fought a first bout of breast cancer into remission almost ten years ago, only to have it re-appear four years later. right now i can’t help but sound childish: i hate cancer. i hate it hate it hate it!!

i used to go to a church where certain people believed that our emotions manifest in the body. they also believed that we could heal our bodies by changing our thinking. while i think there’s some truth somewhere in there, when considering my aunt i wonder: is this how spunkiness manifests? is it fair to think that we bring on our own ailments? no wonder i don’t go to church anymore.

although i adore all of my aunts, when i was a kid i secretly called this particular aunt my favorite. she and i bonded over tennis. i loved her no-nonsense style and that she looked like debbie allen and was homecoming queen of her high school. whenever i would come home from college, she would take out her whistle and blow it in celebration. she is known for being the family secretary and a whiz with the curling irons.

as we grew older, i came out and she became an evangelical minister, so i distanced myself a little bit. i’m still her fan, and hope that (miraculously perhaps) her pain will disappear.

three good things

1. Caroline, or Change now playing at the curran theater. loved it!! great to see tony winner aniki noni rose return to the s.f. stage (as an alumna of a.c.t.).

2. Unforgiveable Blackness - the rise and fall of jack johnson. whew, white folks were mad crazy racist at the turn of the 20th century! and in the middle stood - arrogantly - world champion boxer jack johnson. stories of survival in the face of such persecution and vitriol always amaze me. good job, ken burns.

3. Nickel Spa for Men - thanks, larry, for the gift certificate. terrific facial and massage in a clean, relaxing environment. i've never had a facial before, and even though it was...uh, uncomfortable... for a few minutes, my nose has never been softer!

hawai'i happy

there are few better ways to ring in the new year than on a beach in maui, which is where ray, reggie the ferocious, and i were fortunate enough to spend the week (thanks parrish!). hawai'i is one of my favorite places on earth. i especially appreciate the bits of native hawaiian culture that have been preserved over the years of western domination: the words of the twelve-letter language - mahalo, ohana, keiki, mana. the island music - a softer edged reggae with sweet vocals and guitar strumming (check out the belated iz kamakawiwo'ole's version of "somewhere over the rainbow"). open-collared, floral print hawaiian shirts. and most of all, the tranquil spirit of aloha, which is well-described in this passage (from "the betrayal of liliuokalani" by helena allen):

"Aloha was a recongition of life in another. If there was life there was mana, goodness and wisdom, and if there was goodness and wisdom, there was god-quality. One had to recognize the 'god of life' in another before saying "aloha," but this was easy. Life was everywhere - in the trees, the flowers, the ocean, the fish, the birds, the pili grass, the rainbow, the rock - in all the world was life - was god - was aloha... Because of aloha, one gave without thought of return...[it] could not be thoughtlessly or indiscriminately spoken, for it carried its own power. No Hawaiian could greet another with 'Aloha' unless he felt it in his own heart. "

may my new nephew joshua miles, born on january 6, always know the spirit of aloha! happy new year to everyone!