There are millions of stories swirling around us — tales of whoo-hoo! Tales of OMG-you-have-got-to-be-kidding…
All happening. At the same time. In this crazy world. Like feeling dumb-struck grateful for having two opposable thumbs. Or waking up at three o’clock in the morning with another blast of existential angst. The utter joy when a Gen Z cashier with tattoos, piercings and a beautific smile, bags my groceries at Trader Joe’s. That quick jolt of numbing cold when I get another notification on my phone from… well… the bad news bears.
Stories about remembering — that good health is temporary. So is every one. Every thing. Every moment. Tales about holding on…for dear life. Letting go… for dear life. With a sorta-open heart and kinda-unclenched hands. Thank you for sharing your personal bandwidth and precious time with me and may you find yourself in these stories too.
Please leave your comments because this story-telling business goes both ways. I can’t wait to hear from you!
The CC Strummers and Cali Rose are performing a Strum & Sing Along Show at the 2026 Los Angeles International Ukulele Festival. This article, written by Kiana Kalahele, is produced by the Journalism Arts Initiative, which is underwritten by donations from arts organizations and others interested in supporting excellence in…
This is a story about my first (and life-long) crush. We met at the movies. I was perched between my mother and father in a grand theater near downtown Washington D.C., my little legs dangling well off the floor. I remember the thick red curtains opening ever so slowly, revealing a screen of…
Yes, there’s that “practice, practice, practice” thing. But it takes a village to get there. It takes a village to get anywhere. A village of one or two, hundreds, thousands… Our Zoomers and local CC Strummers all know Tom Kuwata. He’s been strumming his uke and picking the U-bass with us since 2010. I remember the last…
I am not a “sports” person. But then something happens, like the local team does good or the underdogs do good or the entire world puts angst on hold and worships at the altar of G-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-L So I do the Google-Deep Dive: Who are these UCLA women basketball players? Who’s this guy Jalen Brunson from the New York…
We don’t all win the “living long” lottery, but sometimes we can remember to live wide… I’m calling him Mister 95 because he’s taken 95 spins around the sun. Well so far. That’s 832,753 hours of playing in the sandbox and the school yard, falling in love, enlisting in the military, college, getting that…
“This was not easy…when you’re out there, you just want to get back to your families and friends.” Astronaut Reid Wiseman After a glorious spin around the moon, four astronauts aboard Artemis II splash down in the Pacific, just a few miles west of San Diego. We are glued to…
