by Raphael O’Suna

I do not scare easily, but the immensity of the universe: the quantity of matter and the aeons of time are intimidating.

I remember once, on a beach on Long Island, when the sky was full of stars, and a woman, speaking, unintentionally drew me out of my body, and unbeknownst to her, I had drifted off into the starry night. She had talked me into relaxing on the sand. Her voice and instructions almost hypnotized me. And out I went, into the starry night.

Quickly, I realized that something was amiss. I didn’t immediately realize that my consciousness had peeled away from my body. When I did and sensed the dark immensity, the loneliness of a speck of light in all of that darkness.

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Lame Duck Day Day 37 of 2010 328 days left in this year

February 6th, 1960: Frank F. Baldwin dies on Maui. One of the most effective leaders of the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S) empire on Maui, Baldwin began his business relationship with the family fortune in 1906 when he became a manager of HC&S.

During his time,  he saw the growth and expansion of the business from a sleepy sugar business into one of the largest property management companies in the U.S. In 1911, when his father died, he became manager and president of HC&S. In 1936, he oversaw the conversion of sugar equipment from steam to gas. In 1948, he oversaw the merger of the Maui Agricultural Co. and HC&S Puunene.

In 1947 his son Asa took over management of the company, but Frank remained president of Alexander & Baldwin (A&B) until he died.

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