I had no idea there were so many horses in Oahu!  O.K., O.K. so I am a city dweller.  But Saturday I went to Waimanalo to meet my hanai daughter and to watch her daughter ride.  I followed the directions she gave me.  But turned at the park gate instead of 20 feet past it.  And I ended up at a big horse ring with 6 or 7 girls (do boys ride?) on horses doing fancy turns.  I'm here, I thought.  No.  A phone call had me back on the road.  And I finally arrived at Malu Olu!  

I was just in time to watch her lovely young daughter prepare her horse -- a big black horse called Major.  First she curried him.  I had to admit the totality of my knowledge of horses came from reading Dick Francis mysteries.  And I thought currying was it.  Not so.  First you curry -- rough up the coat to loosen the dirt -- then you brush the dirt off.

Then came the blanket, the saddle (English) and assorted pieces of leather -- bit and bridle and other stuff that remains nameless.  Meanwhile the horse had it's head fastened on either side with spring clips to keep it from objecting.  Although the horse seemed calm enough -- except when another horse came back from riding and went into the stall next to it.  Stall isn't the right word.  There was no need for a solid siding.  It was more like a pen made of recycled conduits left over from some big company's spin off that failed.  Anyway, Major put his ears back flat and I gathered that was not a good sign.  

Another horse had his ears covered so flies wouldn't unsettle him when he jumped.  Another horse had a blue cover over his head and neck to keep him from rubbing off part of his mane.  I just never thought horses wore much besides saddles!  I actually petted that horse.  They don't seem so big when they are friendly.

My friend's daughter jumped with her horse.  We got to watch the lesson.  Straight back, fluid movements, hands held just so.  A lot of stuff to master.  She is eleven and looked so grownup up on her horse.  The teacher had a walkie talkie and gave instructions that way.  
Hands up!
Push in with your left leg
bend your horses neck to the right 

Oh my.  Another world!

I missed seeing her hose her horse down -- perhaps another Saturday I will return to the world of horses and watch through to the end. 

Life can get really busy without our even trying -- especially true if one is curious and somewhat extroverted.  One of my goals is to LIVE as if I live in Hawaii. Twice a week I jog around Queen Kapiolani Park and then swim at San Souci Beach.  Being out in the green and blue of this marvelous world is such a joy.  

Driving around Diamond Head on my way home, I found myself singing a song from my teenage years in Southern California:
       Don't like shoes upon my feet
       To be at easy is such a treat
       Smile at everyone I meet
       That's the Hawaiian in me

Ethnically, I am not Hawaiian.  But my Heart is AT HOME in these islands.  The Aloha Spirit has been hard pressed in these self serving times but it has survived.  After our recent earthquake on the Big Island there was no looting.  People gathered together to cook for one another.
It doesn't take much observation to understand that the people with the biggest hearts are not the ones most likely to end up at the top of the heap.

Some people see our islands as isolated.  But to me the water doesn't isolate us but connects us to the rest of the world.  Our islands have received countless waves of people coming from north and south, east and west.  We are delighted by our kaleidoscopic diversity.  Here we are all minorities -- all of us between cultures -- or perhaps, among cultures -- free in ways one cannot be in the presence of a dominant majority.