Aftermath of Storm Flossie

Story and photo by Teresa Lopes.

This morning when I got to work I could hear the swishing of a palm tree against the concrete while walking from the Weinberg parking lot to the building entrance. I looked up ahead of me and saw John Kaauwai with a huge palm frond in his hands sweeping the entrance way. He was as busy as can be, and on a mission to clean up all the leaves and flowers that Tropical Depression Flossie left at the entrance. 

John said he was feeling real good this morning and he picked up the palm and swept the whole entrance way. He told me to find the housekeeper who normally sweeps outside and let her know he did it for her. Tori had come to work at 5:30am and saw all the leaves and flowers that she had to swept up after she finished cleaning the activity center. She was surprised when she went out a little after 7:00am and saw that the area was cleaned! When she saw the pictures that I took, her mystery was solved. Tori was so happy and appreciative of John's help. She said she was going to find John to thank him personally. Mahalo John!

This story illustrates several Eden Alternative Principles:

• Principle 4: An Elder-centered community creates opportunities to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness. - John not only provided care for Toni by helping to cleanup after the storm so that she didn't need to, but also for other staff, residents and visitors who use the walkway.
• Principle 5: An Elder-centered community imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place. This is the antidote to boredom. - John just happened to see the palm frond and thought it would be good to use to sweep aside debris from the storm.
• Principle 6: Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health. - John was feeling good this morning and wanted to help out by sweeping the building entrance.
• Principle 8: An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of Elders or into the hands of those closest to them. - John chose to sweep aside the leaves and flowers himself without having to ask anyone if it was alright.

Professional Baseball Player Visits

Eri Yoshida, a pitcher for Na Koa Ikaika Maui baseball team, did an impromptu visit at Hale Makua Kahului on July 15 to present residents with a signed baseball and tickets to baseball games. While at Hale Makua Eri spent time talking with Shinobu Abe, who joyfully shared that her nephew is Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki.

This visit illustrates the Eden Alternative Principle 5: An Elder-centered community imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place. This is the antidote to boredom. 

Supporting Our High School Scholars

Each year Hale Makua residents make lei out of yarn or fabric for the Hawaii Community Foundation. The Foundation helps many people on Maui and one way they do that is offering scholarships for college students. The lei made by our residents are given to scholarship recipients at a ceremony honoring their achievements.

In the photo Joyce Falconer winds yarn for a lei. The work that residents do every year making lei illustrates the Eden Alternative Principles 4 “An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.” and 6 “Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health.”