Page 11 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - May 12, 2021

62 Former Russian
CHASING THE LIGHT
with Linda Tagawa
When I was a young- ster, I thought of my mother as plain, old “Ma.” She never wore fancy clothes. Her nails were kept plain and short.
“Neva mind if crooked. Just cut,” she’d say.
I slid open the closet door. There was one muʻumuʻu5,/o9n/2e1 dress for weddings. I ran my hand down the silky, flowery one she wore for PTA meet- ings, the dark one for funerals, and three uniforms from a life- time of caregiving as a nurse.
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ANSWER TO TODAY’S PUZZLE
“God could not be everywhere an7d3 tChearllenfgoerse he made Mothers.”
— Rudyard Kipling
74 They may be blocked
Ma never went to the beauty shop for stylish permanents.
space station 63 Tired
MAY 12, 2021
HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 11
65 Removed all evidence of 66 Graphic for
Remembering A Life Well Lived
a personal
well-being
magazine? 70 Esoteric
75 Workmanship
Shorts and a T-shirt stained from cooking and weeding the garden were her daily attire. Sometimes she’d ask me to cut her hair when it grew too long.
78 Pressured, with home; he“ronb”edroom was the
gave all the rest away.
This was the woman who
same. Nothing fancy. Home-
79 Legend on the
ice
made 8c0urItnadianns,wbrapre walls, a
never wore fancy clothes, who never went to the beauty shop,
but her radiance glowed deep.
I felt that warxmwtohrdwedhietnore@vearoIl.com walked into her home. Those were her treasures, the true wealth that far exceeded the su- perficial glitter. Before I closed
Linda Tagawa is a retired school teacher, and enjoys writing about island life.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
82 Whoop-de-do
dresser, a file cabinet.
83 Three-__ engine
“Takes too long and costs too much,” she’d say.
the closet door, I slowly ran my hand down her flowery dress one more time, with so many memories of this loving wom- an, and whispered, “Thank you, Ma.”
“So the dirt won’t get under my nails when I work in the garden,” she’d say.
As far back as I can remem- ber, she was always plain, old, “Ma,” although I admired and loved her. I carried my sweet memories of her even when I married and left the islands.
“Take only what you need,” she’d say.
She was usually at home picking Haden mangoes, cooking chutney, grating co- conut for haupia and pouring hot paraffin on freshly made jellies.
I was living in Japan when a relative called and said Ma wasn’t wearing her seat belt when the accident occurred. I arrived in Honolulu for her fu- neral and went straight to Ma’s
She kept only bare neces- sities and gave the rest away: braces for my sister, piano and swim lessons, Boy Scout fees, the new suitcase for my trip, the Chinese dinner when my sister got married, college fees, the down payment for my brother’s new home. She
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