Int’l Arbor Day 356 of 2007 9 days left in this year

HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY — “The branches grow because of the trunk.”

Today thru December 30th: Maui Film Festival’s First Light Screenings 

Today, nothing untoward seemed to happen in Maui’s history. The sun shone down on the emerald green valley isle, ringed by 83 beaches. No ship sank, no one was murdered, no one was lost at sea, or on a hike. No one of any importance visited us, and no one of any importance left in a huff. It is one of those days that just is, and you’d better enjoy it while it’s around.For Haole Anna.

HISTORICAL EVENTS ON THIS DAY – December 22nd

• 1877: “American Bicycling Journal” begins publishing  
• 1894: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is court-martialed for treason
• 1936: The first common carrier license is issued by the ICC 
• 1943: WEB Du Bois is elected as the first African American member of the National Institue of Arts & Letters 
• 1990: Lech Walesa is sworn in as Poland’s first popularly elected president
• 2005: Astronomers announced the discovery of two more rings encircling the planet Uranus.

BORN ON THIS DAY – December 22nd

•  1400: Luca della Robbia, sculptor
• 1639: Jean-Baptiste Racine, French dramatist
• 1696: James Oglethorpe, general/author/colonizer of Georgia
• 1727: William Ellery, signer of the Declaration of Independence
• 1858: Giacomo Puccini, composer
• 1901: Andre Kostelanetz,  conductor
• 1903: Dr Barbara Moore, walked across U.S. in 86 days in 1960
• 1905: Kenneth Rexroth,  poet/critic/translator
• 1907: Peggy Ashcroft, stage actress
• 1912: Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, first lady
• 1922: Barbara Billingsley, actress
• 1922: James C Wright Jr, (Rep-D-Texas), Speaker of the House
• 1936: Hector Elizondo, actor
• 1944: Barry Jenkins, rock musician
• 1945: Diane Sawyer,  newscaster
• 1949: Maurice Gibb, singer
• 1949: Robin Gibb, singer
• 1950: Rick Nielsen, guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist
• 1960:  Chuck Mead, country musician
• 1960: Ralph Fiennes, actor
• 1968: Dina Meyer, actress 
• 1974: Heather Donahue, actress

I remember one Christmas Eve, when I was alone in the heart of a dark, dank and misty redwood forest, which was made even more inhospitable by unceasing rain.

I had found an old abandoned cabin, which still contained a small tin wood stove and had two filled kerosene lamps.

As Christmas Eve turned to Christmas, I sat close to the stove, which sizzled and smoked, because of the wetness of the wood, and read by kerosene lamp.

At one point, I paused to recall all of my past Merry Christmas Eves, spent with a house full of laughing relatives. I recalled the food, the frivolity, the great warmth of related hearts. How had I ended up on the edge of the opposite coast, alone, almost lost, homeless and without purpose? I didn’t ask myself that question that night, but I did write down a prayer to get me through the night and the succeeding difficult days.

Lord, it is not for me to understand your plan and purpose, or why my soul has consented to accompany or direct me to this place of uninspired darkness. But all extreme positions turn into their opposites, and in the greater light ahead, I will remain focused on the commandments of the heart and the needs of those still wandering through the dark woods and nights of their souls.

Lord, let me achieve in active service to this goal.

– Raphael O’Suna,   Haiku