Footloose and Fancy Free!

Aloha Kakou,

This is really cool! Thank you, Benson, for keeping us connected.

2008 has been an exciting year… We closed 2007 with my final cancer treatment (hooray!) and I am now feeling strong, in good health, and truly enjoying the pleasures of life.

With our two kids grown and out of the house, Bernard and I decided to “downsize.” We moved last month into a new 2 bedroom condo. We were concerned that the transition from house to apartment would be difficult, but we’re finding that the gorgeous view of Honolulu Harbor makes up for the loss of space and our convenient downtown location offers many new “adventures” within walking distance. We’re having a great time – and I'm feeling footloose and fancy free!

It’s wonderful to be at a place in life where I have the time, energy, and inclination to try out and learn new things – no grand children yet!

I started taking hula lessons a few months ago and was thrilled to be able to join a class comprised of women our age who are just as forgetful as I am. It’s challenging, good exercise, and I enjoy pretending that I’ll someday be as graceful as Bernie Naipo.

I also recently started in a Hawaiian language program called Kealaleo. It’s an immersion method from New Zealand that uses hand signs and manipulatives as learning tools. Debbie Lau Okamura and B.J. Tang are also in the class. We meet for 4-hours on Sunday evenings and our brains are numb at the end of every session. Although the lessons are sometimes tough, it’s amazing how much the learning tools help us remember words and sentence structures. Our kumu says we’ll be able to speak fluently in 3 years, but that remains to be seen.

Debbie and I are also busy helping Gerry Johansen organize Kamehameha’s first Relay for Life event. The KS Relay for Life will be held on Aug. 23 – 24 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. at Kunuiakea Stadium. All alumni classes are invited to participate. We’re working with an amazing group of alumni representing many Classes, including our own Kevin Lima who is managing security; Duane Chun who is charge of Finance; Dan Kalili who is assisting with donations; and Derrick Tsukayama and Joe Doughty who will help photograph the event. We’ll be sending out a message with more information about the Relay within the next week or so. Please think about joining us in supporting this event.

BTW, the Junior class is looking for adults to help serve meals at the Alumni Luau on Saturday, June 7. Please let me (kila@hawaiiantel.net) or Debbie (bdokamura@hawaiiantel.net) know if you’d like to help out.

Hope to see some of you at "First Friday" on May 2 at Pohl Gallery (for Charlie's artshow) or Murphys Bar for the Aloha Airlines fund raiser.

A hui hou,

Sue Peterson