Sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses.
Or in the case of the recent May Day celebration at Koloa Elementary School, it was the plumeria, the stephanotis, the pikake, the ti, and so many others.
Surrounded by the sweet scent of countless memories blending with the music and the sounds of children laughing, babies crying and friends shaking hands … you get the picture.
It was a chicken-skin moment that rolled into a chicken-skin morning and a powerful- yet-gentle and beautiful reminder of how lucky we are.
I was there supporting my mo‘opuna who stood proud and tall with fellow classmates singing “Hawai‘i Pono‘i,” followed by a rousing chant of “I Ku Mau Mau.”
Standing there in the crowd, surrounded by family and friends, watching those beautiful children, supported by their dedicated teachers, parents, aunties and uncles, bedecked in lei and hugs and smiles, was heartwarming.
Everywhere I looked, I was reminded how lucky I am to live in such a very special place.
The pride, respect and love of Koloa Elementary School and the Koloa community swelled to the point of bursting when the May Day Court, led by the Mo‘i Kane (Royal King) and the Mo‘i Wahine (Royal Queen) danced to “He Mana‘o He Aloha.”
The radiance, the grace, the smiles, the pure joy of that moment, is a testament to the ‘ohana which is Koloa Elementary School.
The program continued with one inspiring mele after another. Grade by grade the students would file out onto the grass, the parents would swarm furiously taking photo after photo, and then retreat back to make room for their keiki to perform.
While every performance was memorable, for me, the Koloa Keiki ‘Ukulele Band struck just the right chord when they sang a full throated rendition of: “I hear babies cry, I watch them grow, They’ll learn much more, Than I’ll ever know, And I think to myself, What a wonderful world.”
“What a Wonderful World,” written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, first recorded by Louis Armstrong in 1967 and most recently made famous by the beloved and late Israel “Braddah Iz” Kamakawiwo‘ole, was made famous again that morning for me and for many others in attendance by the Koloa Keiki ‘Ukulele Band.
Mahalo plenty to all who played and sang that song so loud and so clear that every one of us in attendance got it.
We got how special you are. We got how lucky we are. And we got how very important and very special our community is.
We also know deep in our heart that beneath all the lei and all the smiles and hugs are the daily challenges faced by every student and every family.
While we know our world is indeed wonderful and we are extremely fortunate to live in a place dominated by rainbows, beaches, mountains and streams, we are reminded of our responsibility to lend a hand to our friends and neighbors in need.
Witnessing the Koloa community come together that day was a clear reminder of the importance of community and our collective responsibility to do what we can to help each other and keep our community strong.
For me that morning at Koloa Elementary School, standing side by side with family, friends, neighbors, coaches, teachers, uncles, aunties, parents, grandparents, looking around the school grounds, watching those beautiful faces performing with pride in front of us, smelling the flowers, listening to the music, was a much-needed, reaffirming reminder of the fundamental love and aloha that is our island home.
Mahalo to all who helped make it happen.
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Gary Hooser is the former vice-chair of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and served eight years in the state Senate, where he was majority leader. He also served for eight years on the Kaua‘i County Council, and was the former director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control. He serves in a volunteer capacity as board president of the Hawai‘i Alliance for Progressive Action and is executive director of the Pono Hawai‘i Initiative.
