“‘Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind”.  We all know dis line from da movie, “Lilo and Stitch”, yeah?  We saw how dat thought of ‘ohana was a thread dat wen run all throughout da movie. Is one ting for see dat in one movie.  Is anodda ting for experience first-hand, like I wen in Tacoma, at da 3rd Annual Alohaworld Pacific Northwest Mini-Gathering chree years ago.

On Saturday morning, I was all ready for leave Damascus for Tacoma; but my car no would start.  I tot I wen forget to close da lights oa sometin.  Nolemana an Orvill, our friend who was ova hea at da time, wen get out da jumpa cables, and my car wen start up right away, and I wen holoholo ka‘a to Tacoma wit no pilikia at all.  But at 10:30 p.m., when I stay ready for leave for my motel, ho, da car no like start again.  So Rory and Ralph wen jump um again, and I wen get to da motel jass fine.  I wen park da car across from my room, but den I wen think, “Mo betta I turn um around jass in case da bugga no start in da kakahiaka, mo easy for jump um dat way”.  But ack!  Da car no wen start!  Da battery wen make dat mahkediedead sound again.

K’den.  I thought, “Well, in da kakahiaka I jass going call AAA, get da car started, den holoholo ka‘a back home.  I going hafto skip Seattle and Todai wit my friends, cuz I no can keep jumping dis car erry singo time I stop”.  I stay choke disappointed, but nomo choice.  So I wen think.

Around 9 a.m., da phone in my room wen ring.  Was Ed.  He wen tell me dat him and Koni going come check out my battery; dey awreddy wen call the auto parts stoa, and knew it was open.  Even early on one Sunday morning!  Ed wen tell me, “Eh, no need make pono, we awreddy know wat u look like… jass get out hea an open up da car.  We going take u to da stoa so u can tess yoa battery”.

An das exactly wat dey wen do.  Ed had alla tools for take out da battery, and him and Koni wen hemo da bugga from my car, den wen take me to da stoa.  Da salesman wen tess um on his $500 testah, and da battery stay mahkediedead for shua.  Da braddas wen axe alla right questions to da salesman, den dey wen gimme kokua foa choose one good battery, den dey wen take me back to da motel, wea dey wen install da new battery in my car.  Dey neva wen make one big deal about it… dey neva wen get all high makamaka cuz dey wen kokua me.  Dey wen kokua me cuz dey no like me hafto miss Seattle and Todai and Part Two of da Mini-Gathering.

All time dis was going on, I stay thinking how blessed I stay for have dese two braddas in my life.  Even doe dey neva wen see, I wen get wai maka cuz dey wen mālama dis wahine so good.  I wen look at dese two kane, working so hard foa fix my car, cuz dey no like me hafto hele home so soon, and I wen feel so grateful to dem.

From da motel to Seattle, from Seattle back home, my car worked perfect.  Nomo anykine pilikia.

Alla way home, I wen think about dis whole concept of ‘ohana, especially my Alohaworld ‘ohana.  Is not jass one word, is not jass my immediate family oa my calabash cuzzins.  Is not jass peeps I meet in cyberspace.  ‘Ohana is one living, breathing thing, is aloha in action, is mālama dem ones who need kokua.  And even doe, on da Lanai, oa at anykine gathering, we tease each odda, give each odda hahd times, and even if odda peeps think we stay beefing, wen comes down to wat stay real, we stay ‘ohana, deah foa each odda in da good times, in da bad times, and alla times in between.  My two braddas was dea when I wen need kokua, and dey know dat if dey need kokua, I going come runnin’.  Dat is ‘ohana.

So to u two, Ed and Koni, I say “mahalo nui loa”.  Mahalo foa remind me once again dat “‘Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind oa forgotten”.