Lou Christie "Beyond The Blue Horizon"

The Most Beautiful Flower by "Unknown"

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read 

Beneath the long,straggly branches of an old willow tree.

Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
For the world was intent on dragging me down.
And if that weren’t enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.

He stood right before me with his head tilted down
And said with great excitement, “Look what I found!”
In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,

With its petals all worn – not enough rain, or too little light.

Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,

I faked a small smile and then shifted away.
But instead of retreating he sat next to my side
And placed the flower to his nose and declared with overacted surprise,
“It sure smells pretty and it’s beautiful, too.

That’s why I picked it; here, it’s for you.”
The weed before me was dying or dead.
Not vibrant of colors: orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.

So I reached for the flower, and replied, “Just what I need.”
But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,
He held it mid-air without reason or plan.
It was then that I noticed for the very first time
That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver; tears shone in the sun
As I thanked him for picking the very best one.
“You’re welcome,” he smiled, and then ran off to play.

Unaware of the impact he’d had on my day.
I sat there and wondered how he managed to see
A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.

How did he know of my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart, he’d been blessed with true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see.

The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.

And for all of those times I myself had been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life,
And appreciate every second that’s mine.
And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose
And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose
And smiled as I watched that young boy,

Another weed in his hand,
About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.

One Great Love

There will be many loves in our lifetime;
But, only one truly great love.
Our destiny will determine if we end up with that one great love;
However, all our loves will have some of what that one great love has given us.

--Choc-Talk--

The HIGA Name

比嘉

Minnasan konnichi wa: (Nihongo o benkyo shite imasu kara taihen heta desu yo.)

Higa no namae wa do iu imi ka na? Muzukashii desu ne? De mo kono 'explanation' wa anatatachi ni de gozaimasu.

I remember Mom describing the name once to me when I was in Okinawa searching for Granpa Higa's sister, Waniya Kobashigawa. Also, my good friend Stan Sotsuda (who retired from the US Army, married an Okinawan lady and raised his family there - he was the manager of the Commissary at Camp Butler, and of course, a bowler) who helped me to locate the Kobashigawa in Nakagusuku-son.

While there is no completely solid definition for "Higa" ('Fija' or 'Fiija' as it is said in Uchi-na-guchi - Okinawan Language) the characters in our last name are made up of "Comparison" and "Praise."

Mom and Stan both agreed that the closest definition could be, "peaceful cooperation," or "calm negotiation" - or something to that effect.

This uncertain definition and/or meaning in translating Japanese to English makes sense to me since, in my attempts to study Nihon-go, I'm finding that a great majority of Japanese words and phrases have only literal meaning when translated into English.

This is possibly why many English words are popularly used in the spoken Japanese such as, "I Love You," "Thank You, "Okay," "Good Luck," and "Congratulations." (Phonetically - "Ai Rub Yu" "Sank Yu" "OK!" "Guud Ruck" "Congra-chu-ray-shun" (remember Nihonjin learn to pronounce words by memorizing "ma-mi-mu-me-mo; ka-ki-ku-ke-ko; sa- shi-su-se-so; ta-tchi-tsu-te-to; etcetera)

When I was traveling in and out of Japan back in the 1980's, it was reported that the Crown Prince, (now the current Emperor of Japan) proposed to his fiancee in English because it was easier to say than in Japanese? Might be Urban Legend but that's what I understood it to be.

As omoshiroi as it may sound, modern-day Nihon-jin, nowadays, will tend to pop in an English word in the middle of a sentence, much the same way that Hawaii Japanese have been doing for many years. It's because the meanings of English words or phrases have a more direct meaning than if they were to be said in Nihongo.

Ta-to-e-ba, take the phrase, "I Love You." In Nihon-go the phrase could be said in various ways such as: "Suki desu," "Dai Suki Desu," "Anata no koto was suki desu," and so forth.

So, anyway, let's stick with "Peaceful Cooperation" or "Calm negotiation," for the meaning of "Higa," okay?

It's too bad I never asked Mom about, "Matsumoto." From my little knowledge of Japanese, the most common translation would be - "Matsu = Pine Tree" and "Moto = Foundation, origin, or base."

I-jyo, desu.

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

Lynne and Leighton Moved Homes

Hello Higa clan,

Just to let you all know that the Tannos have moved.

We have downsized and now live in a two bedroom that accepts pets.  House was sold, but no profit at all.  It was our albatross to get rid of.

We found out our Kimokeo house was everyone’s store room.  Had Kavin’s, Mom’s, Great-grandpa Matsunaga’s, Grandma Tanno’s, Grandpa Tanno’s plus Carole’s stuff.  On top of that us LTs used it for storage too.  Found lots of boxes of fabric so want to start up crazy quilting like Mom did.  We still have stuff that we had to store, but will have to cut that down within the next few months.

Have been living here for about 2 weeks now.  I can walk to work in 5 minutes.  Lots of eating places within walking distance that we’re starting to explore.  Big difference between eating at the restaurant and doing take out.  Our lease is for one year and then we’ll decide what to do.  If we have to move again, I’m going to be hiring movers.  Leighton is coming up on age 64 this year and it was taxing for him.

We’re all well and trying to adjust.  Will drop a line later.

Aloha to all,

Sis Lynne

It's Meant To Be

Friends we are and friends we'll be,

What we both know is meant to be.

Be true to your heart and you'll always be

Happy and joyful as it's meant to be.

-Choc Higa

May 31, 1991, Harker Heights, Texas

It's A Sparrow

I received a video in my email this past week that really made me think. It showed an older gentleman sitting on a bench with an adult, younger male reading a newspaper next to him. A bird lands on a branch of a nearby tree and the old man says, "What is that?" "It is a sparrow," the younger man answers.

A few seconds later, another bird lands on a nearby bush and the old man inquires, "What is that?" The younger man looks up from his reading and says, "It is a sparrow." Still another bird lands on another tree branch and the old man again asks, "What is that?" The younger man looks up, visibly annoyed, and answers, "It is a sparrow, a sparrow, the same as the other birds you asked me about  a s-p-a-r-r-o-w!, Why are you doing this to me?"

The older man stands up and heads into the house they are sitting in front of. He comes back out with a book (it turns out to be a diary or journal that the old man has kept), turns to a page, and asks the younger man (by now I have figured out it is his son) to read the passage he points to.

In summary, here's what the son read out loud: "Today, I was sitting in the park with my young son and he asked me the name of a bird that had landed nearby. I answered him that it was a sparrow. Twenty-one times he asked me, 'What is that?' and, twenty-one times I answered that it was a sparrow. Twenty-one times I hugged him because of the affection I felt for this young son of mine…"

What does that have to do with bowling? On the surface there seems to be no connection, however, as a coach, I sometimes have to answer the same question over and over again. Because it is a student of mine asking the question, I tend to be very tolerant. Sometimes, before we can move forward with a lesson, a point must be clearly understood or the coming lessons might not make sense.

Patience - "It is a sparrow." "It is the second arrow." "It is a smooth follow-through." "It is a pendulum swing." "It is a reactive resin bowling ball." "It is your pre-shot routine." "It is your positive mental attitude." "It is your ability to adjust to different lane conditions." "It is your practice session routine." "It is your 'why'?" "It is your love of the sport." "It is a sparrow." - Patience. It is, indeed, a virtue.

First Written April 11, 2007

Kids bowling on Saturday and/or Sunday mornings in an organized and monitored junior bowling program are the future of our sport.

I grew up in a junior bowling program that bowled on Saturday mornings. That was the greatest thing that could have happened because it took me off the streets and away from getting into trouble. My circle of friends changed from the government housing arena to a group bowling in an organized, well-coached, and chaperoned club.

The head coach became my surrogate father and he made sure that we worked hard to remain in the club. Our report cards and all school work went to him first so that our eligibility for continued membership rested in our hands. Very simply, if you wanted to continue in the kids bowling program, you made sure you had passing grades.

From 1960 through 1966, youth bowling was organized nationwide under the American Junior Bowling Congress (AJBC) and later, the Youth Bowling Association (YBA). This would later become the current Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA). Regardless of the governing body, getting kids involved with an organized junior bowling program from a young age helps them to develop into responsible adults having learned about teamwork, organization and taking leadership.

By age groups and divisions, a good program they will have elected officers such as President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. This helps the youngsters to build their self-esteem and develop their sense of responsibility. They are taught bowling etiquette and courtesy, help to increase their math skills learning how to keep a score sheet manually, and learn general respect for each other and the bowling accessories and equipment. Learning how to socialize with their peers is another important aspect of them belonging to a kids bowling program.

It should not be overlooked that with regards to YABA and the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), many events have scholarships as prizes. This means that beginning at an early age, kids can win funds for college. While medals, patches, and trophies may be nice for immediate recognition, winning scholarship money can spur and direct them into thinking about getting a higher education.

Any way you want to look at it, getting children involved with a junior bowling program as early as they show interest can be very beneficial for parents. I know that my mother was very grateful as she remarked quite a few times that when we began taking an interest in bowling, she rested easy because we weren't running around creating mischief. With many of our friends ending up on the wrong side of the law in later years, she had much to be thankful for.

First Written April 10, 2007

Bowling is growing in popularity after a 20 year decline in participation and is poised for even greater growth because of the female and junior bowlers.

In the heyday of the 1960's and 1970's, automated machinery and equipment along with modernized and cleaner surroundings in bowling centers began to bring the sport of bowling into the forefront of family-style entertainment. With the help of television programs such as "Championship Bowling," "Bowling For Dollars," and the "PBA Tour," the game was given a much needed thrust into the national spotlight.

Beginning in the early-1980's and continuing for over twenty years, however, the popularity of bowling experienced a steady decline in participants. There are many studies, reports, and statistics attempting to explain why this occurred, but, when you get right down to it, they don't really matter. What matters is that bowling is gaining popularity again and as a recent issue of the US Bowler magazine stated, "the latest National Sporting Goods Association Sports Participation Study" showed "there were 45.4 million regular bowlers in 2005, which is a 15.2 percent increase from 2003." The study continues that, "bowling is ranked number 5 in growth among the 47 sports studied."

Further to those statistics, the Winter 2006/2007 issue of the US Bowler cites a study by The Simmons Research Co. reporting that  in the preceding year (2005) nearly 70 million people went bowling. Membership in the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is 2.7 million people (2.4 million adults and 0.3 million youth bowlers). While I have yet to see any statistics reporting how many are female, my travels in and around Arizona have me believing that young girls and women are becoming a larger portion of those regular participants.

Although it's not based on any organized, scientific study, my observations while watching my granddaughter participate in junior leagues and tournaments conclude that an equal number of young girls are actively participating in the bowling competitions alongside their male counterparts. Additionally, in my role as a promoter of amateur bowling tournaments, I am also seeing an increase in the number of women willing to enter and challenge the men for the prize monies and prestige.

While many lament the demise of the Ladies' Professional Bowler's Tour (LPBT), it may be seen in future years as a blessing in disguise. The women are now "forced" to enter so-called "Men's Competitions" instead of only competing among themselves (like in all other sports). Bowling may be the one sports competition that truly embraces the "level playing field."

Indeed, there are now some top female bowling athletes bringing down the barriers at the professional level and it will not be very long before many of them make it to the television broadcasts on a regular basis.  This is a welcome phenomenon that can only serve to help the image of the sport of bowling and help to advance the popularity of the game.

We Won!!!

While most league playoffs go 3-game total pins (with or without handicap depending on the type of league it is), we found that ours was the "best-2-out-of-3" format. Well, we lost the first game by 9 pins with me shooting a 176 game; took the second by 40 pins and then the third by 11 pins. I threw a 4-bagger in the 8, 9, 10, and 11 frames for a 217 in the second game which took the pressure off the anchor man; then went the back 5 strikes for a 247 in the third game, although it still took a double by our anchor man in the 10th to garner the win. We all did great and when one was down, another was helping, as a team should do working together.
Series-wise our anchor man threw a 266 game and a 701 so he was the high man for the night; however, in his humble way, he kept telling everyone that if it hadn't been for "Choc getting all those strikes and setting up the POSSIBILITY for the wins," he would not have had the chance to shoot for the victory. It was a TEAM championship, and we won as a TEAM.

End Of Season Playoffs

My Friday nite bowling team ended up winning the 2nd round so we have the all-league playoffs tonight against the, of course, 1st round champs. I shot a 740+ series last week to help my team take all the points that enabled us to clinch the playoff spot.

Loring AFB, ME

Two buddies of mine were in the Air Force Security Police and part of their regular duties was to stand guard at the edge of the base. (Loring AFB was a Strategic Air Command (SAC) base for B-52 bombers.) They had guard dogs (K-9's) with them. Both of them being from Hawaii, they didn't like the cold that much. Well, when the temperature got to be (as best I can remember) minus 60 degrees with the wind chill factor, a portable heater was brought out for the K-9's! In the time we were there, it never got cold enough for them to find out if they even brought out some kind of heating device for the humans.

Report Cards Are In For Kobi & Megan

Kobi has made the Honor Roll!!! For the first time in a lo-o-o-ong time, Kobi stopped fooling around and got all high grades. Congratulations, Kobi!!!
Megan made all (the equivalent of) "A's". She got a minor infraction for (of all things!) speaking out of turn. Like Mother, like daughter, I'd say. LOL.
Mikela's report card hasn't come yet, but she always makes the Honor Roll and/or Principal's list so we can expect the same. She also made first chair in the Deer Valley Junior High School Honors Band.

Saturday Is Junior Bowling

Saturday mornings are reserved for Junior Bowling at Glenfair Lanes in Glendale, AZ. Mikela, Kobi, and Megan have a lot of friends and a good time. Reminds me of my "growing up days" back in Hilo. They are all doing well and considered "stars" of the program. Mikela has already won over $100 in scholarship funds, Kobi 's name is listed on the High Scores Board at the bowling center front entrance, and Megan just shot her highest duplicate score of 71. Mikela is also involved with Club Volleyball.

Went to visit my friend, John, and we caught up for the past six months. He is in good health and spirits as far as I can tell. He seems to be mellowing out so that he doesn't seem to be so much the "curmudgeon" anymore. Of course, I don't always have to be right anymore and instead, I let him be right most of the time. We still have our moments and that's the way it should be, of course. I would guess our relationship is all about debate and if I agree with him 100% of the time, there would be no opinionated discussions and therefore, no reason to discuss things. Gotta laugh about that, but, then, good friendships are based on understanding why we are good friends.

Old Friends Are Catching Up To Me

Over the past month old friends have re-established contact with me and I have to say that it is very satisfying. A few weeks ago, my Air Force buddy, Big Al Flowers, (from Nakhon Phanom, Thailand where we were stationed together in 1970) found me again after losing contact sometime around the turn of the millennium. He is doing very well and I am happy for him.

Over the past week, my classmate, Emma Sousa, invited me to a website that has been started for the Hilo High School Class of 1966. I have re-connected with classmates that I had not heard from since 2002 when I moved back here to Phoenix.

In the past few days, Jyoji Yamaguchi, from my days in Japan has started sending me emails again.

I have been lazy with my oldest son and family in that I haven't visited them in over two years - and they live only about 15 miles from me. Lazy, lazy, lazy. And Tammy, my daughter-in-law posted a comment in my previous post. With all this "reunion" stuff happening, you would think that I would be seeing my family more often, huh?

Well, as they say, "better late than never." Got other friends in the valley that I haven't seen for too long. Got to make time for them.

Family Of Entrepreneurs

What can I say? My kids are all independent entrepreneurs. Tom is some kind of a Senior Project Manager at a Phoenix-based construction company while Tammi does scrapbooking and blogging. Api has his own dance and gymnastics academy (with Amanda being there right along with him) as well as performing at Disneyworld in Orlando, Fla in the "Lion King" acrobatic performance. Ying is off doing all kinds of things in the Thai community both here and in California (Los Angeles, mostly). Sara is continuing to work at her company as a "Creditor Liaison" while doing things like Avon while Jim has started his own landscaping business.

They should really be proud of themselves! It's starting to show in the grandkids as they are all very talented and doing very well in school. I really love them all so much.

Back To Full-time Work

I started a full-time position today after 1-1/2 years of trying to start my own business again. This time it was the internet and it damn near broke me. A lot of money and time invested but nothing to show for it. Oh, well, I gave it a shot. After working part-time at a local bowling center since last September, I applied for an internal transfer position in the accounting & finance department and got it. Today, 3/5/08, was the first day on the job and I am going to like it there. Keep you posted.

Another Winner

Kobi couldn't let his big sister hog all the spotlights. In a recent Western Regional PBA Tournament he captured the Boy's Division Placque by shooting a 714 series. Everyone - and that's everyone - who watched him bowl recognized his natural ability and predicted that if he keeps it up, he will be a star in the future.

Here he is with Andrew Cain, a rising star on the PBA National Tour.

Jeff Lewis Subs For Us In States

Aloha: I had not seen Jeff Lewis for about two years, since the days he and I were being looked at to serve on the Board of Directors of our amateur tournament bowling club. I didn't know exactly what happened to him but I was asked to serve on the BOD and the next thing I knew, Jeff had gone into the hospital with a very serious disease. He had to have all his limbs amputated to save his life. I saw him several months ago when he briefly showed up at one of our tournaments and in talking with him, he said he was just about ready to make a comeback to bowling. I wished him luck and felt that with his positive attitude, he would be back sooner than any of us would believe.
Well, this past weekend, I bowled in the state tournament and through a snafu, one of our teammates wasn't going to be able to bowl. I immediately went to the front desk to ask them if there was anyone on the sub list and there was Jeff standing at the desk. I said Hi to Jeff and was talking to him when one of the tournament officials said, "well, here's Jeff who's been waiting for a chance to sub." I knew fate had something to do with it and did not hesitate to let him sub for us. To make a long story short, Jeff had an entering average of 100 and bowled way above his average - I believe his series was close to or over 400. Jeff is sure an inspiration. Please visit his website: http://www.dontworryaboutme.com to read his amazing story.