My Life In The Lum Hawaiiana Room

In an effort to find out all the history I possibly can on the trail I will be cleaning up, I have found myself sitting for multiple hours, and throughout all of our in class work days in the Lum Hawaiianna Room in Cooke Library. It really is an amazing source and the people that work in there (mainly the one specialist and sometimes student workers) have been extremely helpful. That is not to say however, by any means, that finding information on the Waimano/Manana areas has been easy. I had no idea how tedious the process of finding a seemingly simple legend could be. First the book for authentic place names, then the index book of place names, then the index book of the place names legends, then the books that the previous index book referred you to, and then if you're lucky, they will have the book in stock, and if you're even luckier, that book will have the information your looking for. It's an extremely good feeling after an hour of looking through shelves of books, (most of which were printed in the 70's) and mountains of indexes, to find what your looking for. An immense quality sense of accomplishment from an immense quality of time searching.

Screw = Sierra Club Response

Since I am no expert in trail maintenance, I tried to call (and relied on a response from) one of the members of the Sierra Club that was leading a hike on the same trail that I will be cleaning up, in order to get some feedback on things that the trial needs, ie. trash pickup, trail markers etc. However now I am stuck, and as Robert Prisig would point out, am living quality. The process of my own thinking, my own judgement and creative ideas on what I think the trail needs, based off of almost no prerequisite knowledge or feedback, is quality in itself. Another thing quality about my un-returned phone calls, is the time my mind has been spending thinking outside of the box, quality time for it to develop as it delves into the depths of environmental conservation.

Quitessencial Engagement Ring

What could possibly say I love you any better than the diamond ring of her dreams? And better still, wrapped in the glowing electric blue box and white ribbon we all know and love, that of Tiffany and Company, and the quintessencial engagement ring. For anyone looking to pledge their life and devotion to the woman of their dreams, the Tiffany Setting engagement ring, is the perfect ring to ensure you that "yes", for no woman on earth can resist such a stone. Its round cut and classic platinum band is classy, down to earth, but will undoubtably catch the eye of other jealous mothers at soon to be PTA meetings. And rest assured that with Tiffany & Co. quality and prestige your diamond will never waver, from its setting, nor her finger.

Exodus Literature Circle Work

For this chapter of the book, and for out literature circle group, I was designated lexicographer. So here are some words from Exodus that we had trouble with

Unequivocal-leaving no doubt "It's had to believe any water on earth could be so unequivocal." (390)


Gnashed-to strike or grind " A day ago we;d have given up our teeth for a good rain, and now we gnashed them in frustration over the deluge." (389)

Deluge-an overflowing of the land by water "A day ago we'd have given up our teeth for a good rain, and now we gnashed them in frustration over the deluge." (389)

Fledge-to rear until ready for flight or independent activity "On the day a committee of men decided to murder the fledging Congo, what do you suppose Mama Mwanza was doing?" (383)

Entreat-to make an earnest request "Each child has its own entreaties to body and soul." (381)

Precocity- exceptionally early in development or occurrence "You examine ever turn of flesh for precocity, and crow it to the world." (381)

Emily Dickinson, The Belle of Amherst.

Since my last posts have been a lot about Adah and her love of Emily Dickonson, I thought it would be suiting as a commonplace post to do a little research on the acclaimed poet. In doing so iv'e also swiftly developed an admiration for her work.

Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830 and died at age 55 on May 15,1886. While living, most of Emily's work had never been looked at, let alone published and her fame came mostly after her death. She has come to be regarded as one of the most influencial poets of the 19th century. Her sister Lavinia Dickinson was the one who encouraged the editing and publishment of her sisters writing, though most of it wasnt touched untill they were found after she had passed. Some of her most words include, "It is better to be the hammer than the anvil," and "Hope is the thing with feathers." A couple of her most famous poems are "Because I Could Not Stop For Death," and "I Cannot Live With You."

Adah Price-Dickinson

Emily Dickinson: Because I could not stop for death


Becuase I could not stop for Death-
He kindly stopped for me-
The Carriage held but just Ourselves-
And Immortality.

We slowly drove-He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too
For His Civility-

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess-in the Ring-
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain-
We passed the Setting Sun-

Or rather-He passed Us-
The Dews drew quivering and chill-
For only Gossamer, my Gown-
My Tippet-only Tulle-

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground-
The Roof was scarcely visible-
The Cornice-in the Ground-

Since then-'tis Centuries-and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity-

My job in our literature circle was to analyze some of the character's reactions to Ruth May's death. My favortie one though was that of Adah. She opens her response by quoting her favortie poet, Emily Dickonson, "Beacuse I could not stop for death-He kindly stopped for me." At first after reading Dickonsons poem, I thought it was the recirpocal of events that had been happening in the book. Now I see however that this opening line in particular expresses the surprise and abrubt halt of Ruth May's life. The rest of the poem goes on to say how the carriage led by death himself passed through differenct terms of life. Ruth May seemed to be the only character in the story unwilling to give up the ghost, to succumb to the dread of the Congo, that leads the rest of her family towards the end (death) as they complain about their non existent fellowship, frizzy hair, and lack of food. Ruth May embaraces the culture, the people, and she is the one that doesnt stop for death, so he kindly stops for her.

Selected Paragraph

This is Adah speaking on page 365 in response to Ruth May's death.
"I was not present at Ruth May's birth but i have seen it now, because I saw each step of it played out in reverse at the end of her life. The clsoing parenthesis, at the end of the paindrome that was Ruth May. Her final gulp of air as hungry as a baby;s first breath. That last howling scream, exactly life the first, and then at the end a fixed, steadfast moving backward out of this world. After this howl, wide-eyed silence without breath. Her bluish face creased with a pressure closing in, the neeeear proximity of the other-tan-;ofe that crowds down around the edges of living. Her eyes closed up tightly, and her swollen liped clamped shut. Her spine curved, and her limbs drew in more and more tightly until she seemed impossibly small. While we watched without comprehension, she moved away to where none of us wanted to follow. Ruth May shrank back through the narrow passage between this brief fabric of light and all the rest of what there is for us: the long waiting. Now she will wait the rest of the time. It will be exactly as long as the time that passed before she was born."

Besdies being incredibly poetic and really just an amazing parallel to draw between the life of Ruth May and her love of palindromes, this passage of Adah's reaction to Ruth Mays "closing parenthesis" is very interesting. Her idea of after-life contradicts those of her fathers, the one he preaches of, and the one she had been taught (im sure.) This paragraph was preceeded by and again followed by the same sentence, "Beacuse I could not stop for death-He kindly stopped for me." A famous opening line of one of Emily Dickonsons poems. This line seems like a typicall one for Adah to say and its placement is as well, parenthesizing the paragrah describing the "palindrome that was Ruth May." This passage was written with some real witt, (snaps for kingsolver) and is definately my favorite in Bel and the Serpent, its the epitome of Adah's intelligence, if it has one at all.