Thanksgiving 2008

I am thankful this year for the life and health that our Heavenly Father has bestowed upon me and my children. Although we've struggled to make ends meet almost everyday, we always feel blessed and richer than many people because of the fact that we still have each other. We feel much closer to each other as a family even with the fact that their Mom is only with us in spirit and in our memories. Our love for her transcends even the boundaries of the here and beyond. She's always missed.

I pray today that the good Lord will continue to bless us and to guide us in our journeys through this life so that we will always honor Him and each other. May we never stray from under his protective wings, and may we always keep the love, the trust and the respect that we have for each other.

This world is already full of hatred, envy, turmoil and death. Let's not add to its woes.

Peace.

Our First Webcam

LOL! We'd just installed our first webcam and IS went POSTAL. We were like those early Oneopese men when they saw knife for the first time. The "ground chief" in lefalen Aur was the first to acquire a brand-new knife from the Spanish traders. The rest of the Oneopese men were envious of the powerful implement that can slice through flesh very easily. They were so awed yet afraid of the mysterious weapon that whenever the chief came out of his "faal" with it and if the sun just happened to glint off its shiny edges, they would yell, "A pwal lep maniwe!" and they would run away screaming.

The Remaining Faal's on Oneop Island

I cannot help but wonder what will happen to the Oneop landscape, say, ten, fifteen or twenty years from now. Looking back fifteen to twenty years in the past, I recalled Oneop as a once robust and vibrant community with a healthy population with a simple but unique lifestyle. The small closed-knit community where everybody knew everyone was alive and well at that time contrary to what one Bad Volunteer tried to portrayed in her publication some years later.


View Larger Map of Oneop Island from Space

Around that time, there used to be about twelve "faal"s strategically located on each lineage's land or property near the shores throughout the island. There were Ukomw, Lemelech, Olap, Lemwar, Aur, Lamangu, Unufou, Lerong, Lanean, Lepu, Mesen and Kusan. The "faal"s were not only meeting places and storehouses for the islanders' canoes or boats but also served as the sleeping and living quarters for the males--from the very old and invalid "warrior" down to the young pubescent lad who just got kicked out of the ladies' quarters. In these faal's, stories and legends were told, history was preserved and handed down to the next generation and skills, crafts and local trades and knowledge were taught and practiced.


The Old Faal

In each of the faals, there were at least two or three elderly men over the age of ninety who were confined to their weip's who could still read books without any presciption eyeglasses; there were a dozen able-bodied seamen/fishermen who always talked about fishing and night-crawling and argued about who caught the largest or the most beautiful fish; and there was always the clutch of adolescent boys who always lingered around just to hear the next episode of the Legend of Saiochol or the Adventure of Rakumur.

Today, some of the faal's are no longer standing--they were deserted and became dilapidated and later torn down with the hope of being rebuilt one day. Some new ones were built instead: Asipelong, Sopowou, Lamangu 2, Wenupuker, and Lepu 2. These new faal's were built with modern materials and were very nice. However, unlike the faal's of old, the spirit was no longer there. Where have all the old men gone? There doesn't seem to be any more old people around. And why are all the young men going to Guam, Hawaii, and mainland USA? There is nobody around anymore to teach the boys in the ways of the islands.


Lefaalen Asipelong (Tomuo, Junior, Kipiter & Berwit)

The faal is the institution in which one can find the strength of unity and the sense of belonging. It binds everybody in that community together to live in relative peace and harmony. It is the place where knowledge is acquired and direction is provided for the advancement of the people of that community. Without the faals, the community and their survival are at stake.

Thurstie's Graduation Photos

Alshina, Norie, Lynn, Darla and Marshalyn

Daniel Lodge,Thurstie Ruben & Atina Ruben

Kita Hillario Mokut & Alshina Johnny

Lisin Lynn Simina and Edlynn Beyond

Thurstie and Atina Ruben

Some Family Photos

IS & Twinsa - Going Away

IS Ruben & Cousins

Twinsa, Salome, Adina & Manny

Twinsa Ruben & Marie Jean Sorim

Constitution

Once in a while a good story comes along that you just have to share it with everyone. Here goes:

While here in the US, a lady from Losap went in to see her doctor for treatment of a backache that has been bothering her for some time. Her daughter who usually accompanies her and interprets for her was not available on that day so the poor woman went alone.

"What can I do for your, maam?", the doctor asked her.

"Ewue, met ei upwele arapw?" the woman asked herself. After thinking for several seconds she remembered and said, "My doctor, my doctor, I seeck."

"What seems to be your problem?" the doctor inquired, flipping through her chart and glancing at her from the top of his eyeglasses.

"Ewueuwe, mwa ia we itan chuulap lon kapasan Merika?", she panicked. "Well?" the doctor was getting impatient. "Wait, wait my doctor. I'm dingking." she implored.

"Chuulap, chuulap,mwa ia we wewen ewe mwasan chuulap?" Then a light went on in her brain and she remembered it well. She smiled.

"My doctor, my doctor", she yelled triumphantly. "My Constitution pain!"

Constitution = chuulap

YES!

I Will Eat You...

This is one of my Wanikar clansmen by the name of Mario. Those of us that know him, call him "Aten Le Pwangekis" which means he fits in all the tight places--he is very handy to have around. He is an all-around-kinda-guy. He is self-taught in many fields including auto and diesel mechanic, carpentry, heavy equipment operator, local herbology and love potions, Oneopese customs and traditions, healing and message(especially of the female ailments and meteks), and many other trades and skills.

What's so amazing about brother Mario is his diligence and perseverance in learning and acquiring these skills given the fact that he had dropped out when he was only in the 5th grade at OES. Right now, he is in Honolulu working as a supervisor in a construction company. Other Oneopese guys (some with college degrees)had to go through his rigorous application process and screening, trying to get employed in his company. Mario turned every one of them down. According to him,"They don't know da kine...shit!"

In his free time, Mario is now volunteering as an Oneopese-to-English-to-Oneopese interpreter and translator. Just the other day while listening to the Chuukese oldie "Upwe Ochek Pwe Niwinin Omw Oput Ngang", a Marshallese girl asked him what is the meaning of the song. Mario stared deep into the girl's eyes, licked his lips, smiled and said, "I will eat you because you don't love me."

Ain't that sumptin'?

Kidney--A Valuable Commodity

I heard the story of a fellow islander whose kidneys failed and was medevac to the Philippines for treatment and to get transplants. The story goes on to say that upon arrival at the hospital in Manila, donors were already lined up outside to be screened and hopefully to get a match so that they could give one of their kidneys to the patient in exchange for cash. Luckily for the patient, his bood type or DNA or chromosomes or whatever was matched with one of the donors so his operation was done and he received his new kidney. And also luckily for the donor, he walked away with only one kidney but was richer by several thousands US dollars in cash.

Whether or not the story was true, that is besides the point that I am trying to make here. As one can deduce from the story, each person has two kidneys but can survive or live with only one. As such, some people, especially poor folks such as me, now view the kidney as a valuable commodity that can be sold, exchanged, or traded for money, food, designer clothes, jewelry or used for dowry. It's value is right up there with gold, a Google share, or a studio in Honolulu.

It has become so important that some Chuukese are now thinking of using it to name their kids. Until recently, they only used the names of other important organs for names (i.e., Apple of My Eyes, My Heart, etc.). Just the other day, my friend Masaichy (masai=eyes; ichi=number one)was telling his son J4 that, because he loved him so much, he is going to change his name to "My Kidney".

How about that?

A Trip to the Library

I eventually come back to this moment in my life where I begin to acknowledge this "itch" to post something on this blog regardless of whether they have anything of value or interest or they are just a total dissaray of unrelated ideas, rants, complaints, melancholic recollections and dejected yarns. However the outcome, I am still going to post whaterver comes to mind as part of this illiterary nonsense.

Yesterday becomes another milestone in my very simple and lazy life. It may be a milestone to me but to the average person, it is only A Day in The Life of that individual. Something that I kept putting off because of my laziness which I often excused as being busy all the time, was finally accomplished today. After only about three years in the planning, research, and development stage, I finally took my kids to the Library and got them their first library cards. Yeah! Tell me about it. That was hard. All you have to do was fill out the half-page application form, sign it and give it back to the grim and constipated-looking librarian. BTW, she was (the librarian that is) trying to ruin my day by asking too many unnecessary and stupid questions, but the ear-to-ear grin on Seven's face as he clutched his new library card in his little hands was a good excuse to forgive her. As for Najna... Where is that girl? Oh, there she is! As soon as she got her card, she literally flew over to one of the computers, logged on using her new card number and off she went. ONLINE, of course! Well, what you know? She already has her own page about Space and was already chatting with her cyber friends. I think getting her a library card was a mistake. Instead of using the card to borrow books to broaden her mind to the vast and exciting world of literary treasures, she decides to downsize it to a minuscule storage room of acronyms, chat-room lingos and terms that contribute to the deliberate degradation and pulverization of the English lexicon, spelling and grammar. I have to talk to that girl! She sure has a good coconut on her shoulder but I think she is just too spoiled. It was my fault to call her "Princess" eversince she was born. Now she's really acting like one. Whatever she says, she thinks will go. She will be disappointed that girl. I wonder where she gets her stubborness from. Anyway, I luv dem kid. Their my life.