December 29, 2002

•      I took my son to the Farmers Market this morning. While there, I picked up a few veggies & a luscious crepe, made by a Peruvian woman who has been a mainstay of the market for nearly all of its 7 years in operation. The crepe was filled with pieces of ham & cheese slices, artichoke heart, spinach, basil, tomatoes, black olives, keppers, mushrooms & her home-made special sauce. Yummmm!!!

  
  

       Louisa owns a small restaurant in Hilo & also markets some of her Peruvian fare in some of the local stores, especially health-food grocers. I have been addicted to her tamales & smoothies at various times, as well as her special Inca sauce (parsley, cilantro, vegetable oil, garlic & secret spices).

  
  

       She came from Peru by way of New York City, after marrying a 'hauole' (white) man with red hair... an NYC (Bronx?) native. He is the one who started the Farmers Market in Pahoa. Fortunately, Louisa finally got smart & left her abusive husband, who was also holding her back, business-wise. I had seen bruises on her neck years ago, while they were together, that I questioned her about. She hid her eyes from me & shrugged her shoulders, clearly embarrassed about the truth. Having been there myself, I easily recognized the signs. I told her she was a wonderful person & did not deserve that kind of treatment. Others were surprised when they got divorced, thinking that they had a good marriage. I praised the end of her abuse!

  
  

       Last Sunday at the market, I was side-tracked to a car's trunk full of puppies. Looking at the one the man was holding, I guessed them to be a cross between German Shepard & Malamute. I wasn't far off, because he informed me they were Husky/Akita. Oh, wow! Two of my favorite breeds! I glanced around at the various puppies, trying to determine if any of them was 'special.' At first, I didn't find one that clicked for me. Then, near the left taillight, I found one with unique markings, compared with her siblings. This one had Husky markings, but an Akita tail (curls more than 360 degrees!). She was also very mellow. I picked her up out of the trunk & held her to me. She stank! The owner said he'd bathed them before bringing them, but I rather doubt he did, especially since, as he informed me, he had a dozen to start.

  
  

       Maluhia (tranquility) came home with me, to my son's 'stink-eye.' I gave her a bath & put on the new collar I picked up at the hardware store. I also put on a flea collar, but worried about it since it cautioned about using on puppies under 12 weeks of age. I took it back off & later replaced it with one rated for puppies as young as her. She was only 6 weeks (born November 6th).

  
  

       She is an adorable puppy... very personable. She, without training, already shakes hands! She also sits on command. I didn't teach her any of this stuff; she just knew how to do it! I wanted a smart pup & I got one! She is also very good about her toilet habits, letting us know when she needs to go. She quickly wormed her way into my son's heart as well!

  
  

       After the market & dropping my son in town to skate, I went into Hilo for pet food. That meant a stop at Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, as with the last time I went there, they are still out of the specific kiity food that my kitties love & doesn't cause them to have the runs... Special Kitty Original (blue bag), which is also cheaper than the Gourmet flavor by $1.50. More of a sign of the shipping delays out of California.

  
  

       After packing the items I bought into my car (I, of course, didn't stop with just the critter food!), I went back in to use the facilities & to get a 64-ounce, $0.69 fountain Coke from the McDonald's located toward the front of the store. As I was heading into the restroom, I saw a woman I haven't seen in several years, who used to have a little cafe in downtown Hilo. We hugged & asked each other how we were doing. I let her know about my mastectomy. She showed me a round band-aid on her shin, which she said was her latest dealing with bone cancer. She told me she is to start chemo soon.

  
  

       Linda is a sweet lady. Besides having run a small cafe with devoted clientel, she once was a school teacher. She currently is writing grants for the local Catholic school & is about to partner with her brother, who has an agri-business. He grows taro (for poi), papaya & awa (kava-kava). She told me she is going to use the bi-products from these plants to develop a line of cosmetics. I told her about the botanical that I recently learned is a cure for several health problems, including cancer. She has been using noni juice since finding out about her cancer. She is going to ask her brother, a botanist, about this other herbal medicine (which I will write about in an upcoming blog... sorry for the delay, I'm still researching the findings & these other issues that are important to me have come up).

  
  

       So I add Linda to my White Light list. Blessings, Linda! This cancer affliction list of people either I know, or a friend is related to, is getting quite long & very disheartening! Most are supposedly too young to have the cancers they do, based upon 'statistics!'

  
  

   

  
  

  NAVAHO MESSAGE
  
  

  
  

  
  

  When NASA was preparing for the Apollo Project, they did some astronaut training on a Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona.....
  
  One day, a Navajo elder and his son were herding sheep and came across the space crew. The old man, who spoke only Navajo, asked a question which his son translated.
  
  "What are these guys in the big suits doing?" A member of the crew said they were practicing for their trip to the Moon. The old man got all excited and asked if he could send  a message to the Moon with the astronauts.
  
  Recognizing a promotional opportunity for the spin-doctors, the NASA folks found a tape recorder. After the old man recorded his message, they asked the son to translate it. He  refused. So the NASA reps brought the tape to the reservation where  the rest of the tribe listened and laughed but refused to translate the Elder's message to the Moon.
  
  Finally, the NASA crew called in an official government translator....!
  
  He reported that the Moon message said.........
  
  "Watch out for these assholes, they have come to steal your land."
  

  • 9:37 pm
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