A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....11-01,02-05....Aloha! Back to Hawaii

Billie

[Billie]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Dutchess, DollyCali, Mama_Bear ~

History and Statistics

Hawaii was admitted to the union on August 21, 1959 - the 50th state. The state of Hawaii consists of eight main islands: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Big Island of Hawaii. Its capital is located in Honolulu, on the island of Maui. Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the face of the earth. It is 2,390 miles from California; 3,850 miles from Japan; 4,900 miles from China; and 5,280 miles from the Philippines.

Hawaii is the only state that grows coffee, and more than one-third of the world's commercial supply of pineapples comes from the islands.

There are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet. The Vowels are: A, E, I, O, U, and the Consonants: H, K, L, M, N, P, and W.

State symbols of Hawaii include the bird, Nene (pronounced "nay-nay"), or Hawaiian Goose. The tree of Hawaii is the Kukui, or Candlenut. The beautiful Hibiscus, or Pua Aloalo is Hawaii's flower.

In 1988 the yellow hibiscus, which is native to the islands, was selected to officially represent Hawaii, but you might see the red hibiscus, or any other color, as the state flower in many older photos and postcards.

From east to west Hawaii is the widest state in the United States.

There are four counties in Hawaii (Kauai; city and county of Honolulu; Maui; and Hawaii). Each city has a mayor and council in charge.

Hawaii has its own time zone (Hawaiian Standard Time.) There is no daylight savings time.) The time runs two hours behind Pacific Standard Time and five hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

The wind blows east to west in Hawaii. The highest recorded temperature is 96' F (Honolulu Airport), but temperatures over 92' F generally occur only once or twice a year. The lowest temperature (under 3000 feet altitude) is 56' F. Temperatures under 60' F may occur, but rarely more than once a year. In July the average daytime temperature is 82' F. Average daytime temperature in January is 72' F.

There are no racial or ethnic majorities in Hawaii. Everyone is a minority. Caucasians (Haoles) constitute about 34%; Japanese-American about 32%; Filipino-American about 16% and Chinese-American about 5%. It is very difficult to determine racial identification as most of the population has some mixture of ethnicities.

Hawaii was once an independent kingdom. (1810 - 1893) The flag was designed at the request of King Kamehameha I. It has eight stripes of white, red and blue that represent the eight main islands. The flag of Great Britain is emblazoned in the upper left corner to honor Hawaii's friendship with the British. The combination of the stripes of the United States flag and the Union Jack of Great Britain is said to have pleased the merchant shippers of both nations. The flag was adopted for official state use in 1959.

December 7th, 1941

The surprise was complete. The attacking planes came in two waves; the first hit its target at 7:53 AM, the second at 8:55. By 9:55 it was all over. By 1:00 PM the carriers that launched the planes from 274 miles off the coast of Oahu were heading back to Japan.

~ Eye Witness Account (excerpt)


Pearl Harbor: Remembered
USS Arizona Memorial

The final resting place for 1,102 crewmen of the U.S.S. Arizona who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. (75 were recovered) They are still entombed within the Arizona herself. The sunken battleship is commemorated by a 184 foot-long memorial structure that spans its mid-portion. No part of the edifice touches the ship.

There are three sections in the memorial: The entry and assembly room, (a central or middle area) used for observations of the sunken ship and for ceremonies. Many visitors drop flower leis into the water from this section, honoring the dead. The third section is the shrine room. The room contains the names of all those killed on the Arizona and their names are engraved on a marble wall. Upon entering the shrine room, the reverence and honor it is was intended to inspire is immediately noticeable. All persons are keenly aware that this is hallowed ground.

The memorial's architect was Alfred Preis. After years of fund raising efforts that began 1950, the memorial finally was dedicated in 1962.

The USS Arizona is no longer in commission, contrary to popular belief. A flag of the United States of America does fly above the sunken battleship. The flag is attached to a severed mainmast of the USS Arizona.

In recent years, the memorial has come to represent all the military and associated personnel killed at Pearl Harbor.

http://my.execpc.com

I have a whole new appreciation for Mama Bear's "State" threads after spending several days researching endless Hawaii websites, collecting all kinds of information and graphics to edit and then trying to put it together in some sort of orderly fashion. Hats off to you, Lori - you have this stuff down to a science! It is not easy!

Aquamarine, Dansangel, Dutchess, Lori and I had already spotlighted our own state, and when Lori offered not long ago to 'give' us any other states we might enjoy featuring, I thought it would be fun to do Hawaii. Well! It was fun to do, but at the same time, I was a bit overwhelmed and couldn't begin to touch upon all the wonderful things about these beautiful islands. You just must go there yourselves. I did, and how I loved it! The beaches, the water, the history, Pearl Harbor, the people, the luahs.....truly an unbelievable Paradise!

I must also credit the following websites for the information used for today's post:

encarta.msn.com
www.50states.com
www.hawaii.com
www.colormatters.com
www.aloha-hawaii.com
www.melekalikimaka.com

Oh, and one more thing ..........

No Hawaii post would be complete without Hula Dancers, because we all know that in Hawaii, everybody and their dog can hula.

Mary Lucas Faustine's delightful Hawaiian art

09-27-05 ~ Hall of Fame #13

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 10-31-05 Military Monday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[Billie]

[Billie]

[FreeTheHostages]

[The Mayor]

November 1, 2005

Joy Over One

Read:
Luke 15:1-10

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. —Luke 15:10

Bible In One Year: Luke 14-17

Many Christians have succumbed to the false notion that their witness to one individual doesn't count for much. But that certainly isn't supported by what we read in the Gospels. Even though Jesus' public ministry was limited to a little more than 3 years, He was never too busy to deal with one person at a time.

It's true that Jesus preached to multitudes in Judea, fed 5,000 people gathered by the Sea of Galilee, and ministered to the large crowds in Capernaum. Yet He never lost sight of the value of one soul!

We are encouraged when we read of His conversation at night with one man named Nicodemus (John 3); of His visit with one woman at a well in Samaria (John 4); and of His personal interest in one man named Zacchaeus, who had climbed up into a sycamore tree to get a better look at the Lord (Luke 19). How thrilled he must have been when Jesus singled him out of the multitude and said, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house" (v.5).

If you are ever tempted to minimize the value of your personal, individual witness to a single soul, remember Jesus' example. The Bible says there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. —Richard De Haan

The One who made the heavens,
Who died on Calvary,
Rejoices with His angels
When one soul is set free. —Fasick

Never underestimate the value of a single soul.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
How Can I Break The Silence?

[Billie]

Hi, Freezie. I'll be back later. Have spent two hours trying to get today's thread formatted and posted so that it didn't look like a first-grader did it. Man! I had problems. :(

[dutchess]

Have spent two hours trying to get today's thread formatted and posted so that it didn't look like a first-grader did it. Man! I had problems. :(

((((????....YOU had formatting problems????? NOT YOU!!!!!))))))

Anyways...it's LOVELY and a perfect place to visit as it's cold and rainy today in Ohio!

[Feiny]

Thanks Billie, now I will never get to work. I'll be thinking about Hawaii all day....dreaming...and knowing it is a short plane trip away.

This is gonna be a looong week!

[DollyCali]

Have spent two hours trying to get today's thread formatted and posted so that it didn't look like a first-grader did it

I am so sorry Billie.. I tried to keep Murphy here but he insisted on a quick trip to Texas.

Well, you won the arm wrestling, I see & we have a great, informative & beautiful thread.. thank you... it is lovely & fun!!!!

It is funny one of my favorite "Hawaiian shirts" is the blue with the colors you have used..the dark coral, bright green.. I will see if I can round it up for a pix later. Dutchess & I will be doing Ohio sometime after the first of the year.

[DollyCali]

[MoJo2001]

Aloha Kakahiaka to the Finest Crew!

[MoJo2001]

For you:

Aloha Kakahiaka, Pili!

Good morning Billie in Hawaiian!

[LadyX]

Yo, youse guys!
Rusty here, subbing for my "Mom."
She decided to remain in Hawaii for another week,
and I will be your doggone pilot,
getting you back to reality the Mainland!!

(Yes, I had my rabies vaccine this year,
and have a Finest Flyer pet pilot's license]

[Diver Dave]

Aloha!

Beautiful place to visit but we sure didn't care much for living there back in '69. We were living in Kailua, Kona on the Big Island.

My first visit to Hawaii was aboard the cruise ship USS Piedmont (AD-17). :)

[PreviouslyA-Lurker]

Good morning, Mayor.

[Billie]

Good morning, Mayor.

[Billie]

((((????....YOU had formatting problems????? NOT YOU!!!!!))))))

ME! Dang! I could NOT get it right - it was too wide, and the last picture was messed up royally - finally reworked it and the paragraphs I had rewritten above it and bingo! It worked again. I know that there is something about WordWrap and not being able to copy and paste an old thread source code in XP the way I used to be able to, but I'd 'fixed' it on another one and thought I had this one fixed, too. Plus, it's one of those that I was foolish enough to use a gradient background for the main background, and couldn't afford to be *off* too much or the graphics would stand out like a sore thumb!

I think they DON'T line up as well with firefox as with IE, Dolly, so what you see won't look as good. :(

[Billie]

Hi, Dolly - I don't like Murphy very much. LOL

[Billie]

Morning, Feiny - Hawaii is such a beautiful spot to be thinking about and wishing you were there!

[Billie]

So glad Dutchess flew us to Billie's Thread in Hawaii...

I am too - just wish she had a bigger plane so more people could have come with you. :(

[Billie]

Looks like your plane will be able to handle getting all the visitors back to the mainland. :)