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Honor Is

When growing up in Goleta, one of my best friends lived a block away. Chris Maxwell’s Father was Joseph Maxwell, who worked as a Real Estate agent and Broker. Joe Maxwell was a pilot during the war. Flew a bomber. In taking enemy fire on a bombing run, the plane was badly damaged and caught fire. Joe waited as long as he could, so his crew would not be behind enemy lines, and then ordered them to bail out. With the windscreen having been shot out, and crew now having bailed, Joe had considered the options, and decided to try

Dec 7, 2016

I have some personal history that connects with this day, Dec 7, 1941. In fact, even my name does. When I was about 7 my parents took us to Hawaii to meet our family there. I recall my Dad walking me out to a small wooden bridge which crossed the creek on the family property. Standing me up on the railing, he had me look down valley and through a lush tunnel of greenery I could see Pearl Harbor. As he held me up, he said “This is where I stood when I was about your age, and watched the

Memorial Day, 2016

I made this piece for my friends in the Phoenix Patriot Foundation. The clock just struck midnight. It is now Memorial Day in the US. I dedicate this piece to my brother RJ Fenwick, who has ended his time here on earth this weekend. Beloved Father, loyal career LEO, lifelong waterman, and dear brother, who understood honor better than most one could ever meet. The song in this is written by another brother in arms, Samuel Shoemaker. I will be off grid this day, but in our Ocean off of Costa Rica, thinking of RJ, praying a bit, and spending

Memorial Day Is….

A culture which does not connect accurately, reverentially or beautifully with it’s past, is akin to a rudderless boat: doomed to be at the whim of waves and weather. So today is Memorial Day. So what? Why should you or I care? Only because to not do so, is to engage in our personal demise and that of our families, and in turn, our Nation. Wiki does a great job with relating the History of Memorial Day. In the course of my work, on a somewhat regular basis, I get the opportunity to serve the various Military Communities which heed

Breathless

Is not the same as being full of life. The word Ha’ole in Hawaiian translates roughly as being without breath. When we come into this world, it is the first thing we do, draw breath. As we leave, it is the last. We expel it. I have long seen it evidenced that the heart and soul of culture can benefit deeply by being connected to Nature, especially through water. It is both breath and life. This is why indigenous cultures consider themselves to be a vital part of nature and the eco system. They are inseparable from it. This is

Hope and Change

While both the Democratic and Republican camps spend an incomprehensible amount of money, the country suffers as a result of their awful mismanagement and extremely deep corruption. Several years ago, I began to notice, as I returned from travel around the world, and would fly into LAX, that it was beginning to feel increasingly more like a Third World Nation, here in the US. I am not saying that I was not grateful to be home. I always am, and thank the Customs Officers as they welcome me back. Some of them have been at their post for as long

Truth Glows

Big difference between the darkness of a Lie and brightness of Truth. Seth Godin absolutely nails the job description of the Creative, in this blogpost he titles Transparent or Translucent. Below is a fascinating story taken from an internet hoax of sorts where someone twisted the TRUTH and did it to their own benefit. My Colleague and friend, Shawn Alladio injected some light into it. This is the true story! Glowing. CELEBRATED AS OUR AMERICAN HERO Petty Officer Second Class (SEAL) Michael Anthony Monsoor April 5, 1981 – Sept. 29, 2006 Petty Officer Second Class Michael Anthony Monsoor was

Repose

Our lives are a lot like that of a wave, in how we roll through the sea of life, in an ocean of existence, headed for some place. But unlike a wave, we have choices we can make that determine our final destiny. Those choices determine who, and what we are, because we learn from them. Hopefully making for a somehow “better” you and I. The ability to choose is what makes us human. The desire to select by principle, can make us something else. In the Gospel there is a key saying that has always spurred me when I

Collateral Damage

I was 23 years old and saying a tearful goodbye to my wife of one month in LAX departures. As I slunk back in my seat moments later, and heard the soft thunk of the cabin door closing, I noticed Shaun Tomson sitting a few seats away. Dane Kealoha was nearby, and behind him I saw Mark Richards. We were all headed for Hawaii and what would be my first travel leg of the then IPS world tour. The next ten years or so of my life consisted of moments like that: traveling alone, or with some

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