Everyone Needs a Little Luau in their Life!

Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, which provides tuition, financial and emergency assistance to military in need, is run by just one full timer and a volunteer workforce of more than 70. The organization not only helps its own but provides charity afar--sending shipments of clothes to orphanages and refugees from Africa to Afghanistan!

So the staff thought it'd be cool to throw a little luau in Sicily to thank people who care enough to work for free for a worthwhile cause.



Volunteers Annise, Kelley, Mary, Robin and me took charge of production -- cutting down palms, shopping for table coverings, designing invitations....Rob and I championed lomi lomi salmon making and chicken long rice slinging!



And friends in Hawaii Suzanne Meisenzahl, Gina Baurile, Janet Hyrne, my mom and dad, as well as Hawaiian at heart Lisa Nabb in Palm Springs, sent gifts of aloha for prizes and drawings! Now is that the aloha spirit or what?!



Since most don't know much about Hawaii's beyond it's shoreline, here were some of the trivia questions I came up with to spark interest in Hawaii's history and culture!

What famous Hawaiian Surfer is a 3-time Olympic gold medalist for swimming?

True or False? During WWII following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, the 442nd combat team was formed in which the Army sought 1500 Japanese volunteers from Hawaii despite the fact that most American Japanese were placed in internment camps on the U.S. Mainland. More than 10,000 Hawaii Japanese volunteered! The Battalion went on to become the most decorated for its size in WWII and in U.S. history.

Name 3 tv shows filmed in Hawaii.

True or False? Aloha means hello, goodbye, and the spirit in me honors the spirit in you.

True or False? The 18-mile long Niihau is the only privately owned Hawaiian island where 600 Polynesians live and speak Hawaiian They have no electricity, running water, liquor or firearms. There is no jail, nor are there police officers and just 1 arbitrator to resolve disputes.

True or False? The last Hawaiian Queen Liluokalani had her prison sentence of 5 years hard labor for having firearms buried at Iolani Palace (the only royal palace on U.S. soil) commuted to imprisonment in an upstairs bedroom.

Name the NFL football game held every year in Hawaii?

Here comes the rain again...

Today I awoke with an agenda.

Walk the dogs. Meet Mary for coffee. Take the bombola to be refueled. Finish yesterday's gardening. Drive to Sigonella for yoga. Go to the travel agency. Attend Rob's volleyball game.

Rain has a way of washing away the best laid plans.



Today is the first day the rain was sincere since May. Not a fickle little squirt. Not a passing shower. Not a mist on the face. No today it rained with a steadiness that inspired me to hop out of bed, shower and promptly put my PJs back on for the rest of the day.

I should've known it was coming. After all, we did wash the car on Sunday. And yesterday, I planted grass seeds in our last bald spot in the yard.



So today, instead, I lit a fire in the fireplace. Substituted yoga live for a pilates DVD. Made Indian food. And snuggled down with a red pen and my final draft of the Hawaiian Humane Society's 110 Anniversary Annual Report.

Stepping outside to feel the cold rain on my face and stand in the clouds, I can't imagine a more perfectly unplanned day.

Sicily on Sale!

Today I met the Brickleys, a lovely American teacher duo, whose life is calling them to Florida. An afternoon in their villa nestled on the mountain slopes of Zafferana is like stepping into a page of Better Homes & Gardens.

Joyce is a passionate photographer. Her photo studio is more like a shrine to Sicily and her work truly captures the spirit of Sicily's food, faces and places.



Their Zafferana villa is for sale for 500,000 euro (about $700,000) and boasts a view from Mt. Etna all the way to Mainland Italy. Any kamaaina will tell you it's a steal.

Rob and are looking to buy a house on Oahu, where the median single family home is $650,000. I'm monitoring the Oahu inventory daily and $740,000 will buy you a 1900- square foot house with 4-bedrooms on a 1/10th of an acre in a track home community where you can toss a pineapple out your window and it'll land on your neighbor's kitchen counter. As a special bonus, the developer will even toss in a 1 to 1.5 hr commute to your office in downtown Honolulu for free--no charge.

For kids in Hawaii, the American dream is a mystery. And that's why the Census Bureau will tell you that there are more Hawaiians outside of Hawaii than there are in paradise.

A popular phrase is "Lucky we live Hawaii!"

Rather...Lucky we live Sicily!

For more of Joyce Brickley's photos, visit www.capturephotoart.com. If you see something you want, I can mail it to you.

Sigonella in the 60's

I've met a handful of Hawaii people who are living in Sigonella, Sicily now. But I've known a Sigonellan family living in Hawaii nearly all my life.

Meet Capt. John H. Caldwell - then and now.



Capt. Caldwell, his wife Eloise and son David not only lived in Sigonella in the 1960s. John was the CO of the base.



Here's Capt. Caldwell with screen siren Lana Turner during her visit to Sigonella.




The Caldwells pose with other Sigonellan officers and their wives. John and Eloise are 4 and 5th from the right.

Where the Caldwells lived in CO quarters in the 1960s.



June 5, 1966 - Joint review in Catania.

Do you believe in Miracles?

For Maryellen...

Contemporary, secular life is transforming Sicily. A few years ago, the arrival of its first sprawling supermall Etnapolis with a McDonald's drive thru, multiplex theatre and American style restaurants stand as a 21st century reminder that this island is coming of age.

Yet Sicilians still embrace their Catholicism with childlike wonder, unwavering faith and a genuine belief that miracles do happen in such a modern world.

Just a few miles from our house is the Belpasso sanctuary that Maryellen, Christine and I discovered. It took an American woman living all the way yonder in Olivieri to tell us about a little haven for miracles in our own backyard.

Welcome to the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Cliff.



It was May 1986 and a teenager Tuscany Rosary fell ill with a virus and was touched by a supernatural manifestation - the voice of the Virgin Mary. She first appeared in his villa and called him to a nearby wooded location.

He noticed a cloud swiftly approaching that arrived to the cliff he was called to. It opened like a flower exposing a magnetic light that manifested as Mary.

In his own words: She arrived dressed in an "incandescent white like the silver glares of the sun in placid and crystal waters." The Madonna spoke as well: "Abandon yourself to my heart completely as I am the manifestation of your saint."



She came to him 32 times during the next two years and only at this location.

Despite skepticism from his family and relatives, he maintained and consistently repeated his story.

Church officials rigorously investigated Tuscany and his claims and found the boy of sound mind and heart and in no way a publicity seeker.




This sanctuary and outdoor church was erected and opened in May 1988 to a crowd of 150,000.

Do you believe in miracles?

The sanctuary's opening marked Mary's last visit. At which time, she imparted to Tuscany: "I will return later on. I have not abandoned you. My Heart will be always with you and, the peace of the world has been entrusted to this love." After these words were spoken, the Madonna rose serenely towards the sky.



Thousands of Italians from Sicily and southern Europe make a pilgrimage to this location every year leaving reminders of their wishes and prayers on this gate.



Here my friend Mary Chiesa prays to the Virgin Mary and remembers the story in the news and the establishment of the sanctuary. The Virgin Mary appears here exactly as she appeared to Tuscany--in a gold trimmed cape, with piercing blue eyes, a red heart and and a rosary in her right hand.



Ever since Tuscany's visions, miracles have been attributed to this Belpasso sanctuary. No longer a teenager, Tuscany is now a Sicilian priest. His dialogue with Mary, photos of the sanctuary's opening are on the Internet.

Guess who's comin' for dinner?

For Ed, Sara and all the pioneers at WDI bringing a taste of Sicily to Hawaii...This blog is for you with aloha...

I firmly believe that the more you celebrate coincidences the faster and more frequent such synchronicity happens.

I've often said that Taormina is truly the Waikiki of Sicily. And guess what? A Sicilian concept restaurant called "Taormina" will open its doors in Waikiki soon!

How did I find this out? What are the chances...that on an island with 1 million people that my former boss... hired a PR person who is in the midst of launching the opening of a Sicilian restaurant ... to fill a position once held by her former staffer (me) who moved to Sicily...

Now is that the laws of attraction bringing people together or what!

When Hawaii's first Sicilian restaurant opens its doors, the kitchen god won't be Sicilian. The dynamic duo will be Japanese chef Akira Yamamoto who trained with a Bolognese chef and came to Taormina and was enamored of Sicilian seafood and Master Sommelier Roberto Viernes (featuring 100+ vino varieties).



The Sicilian chefs above who prepared today's Sunday feast haven't Chef Akira's prestigious Tokyo culinary schooling...nor have they apprenticed under a celebrity Bolognese chef either...Nor do they have sommalier credentials...

But man, can they cook! And these are exactly the kind of mom and pops chefs that inspired Hawaii to celebrate Sicily.

We can't wait to get home to Hawaii and see what happens when Chef Akira tosses out the soy and ginger for olive oil and parsley! As long as Nero d' Avola is on the menu and Sicilian olive oil in the kitchen, you can't go too wrong.

There is no such thing as chain restaurants in Sicily. So the experts at WDI, who manage more than 200 restaurants worldwide, have the power and potential to put Sicily's cuisine on the map! When I shared this news with some of our Sicilian friends, the proudest grin spread across their sun-kissed faces.



Take a peek at what at this tiny little restaurant in seaside Acireale with a kitchen featuring a 4-burner stove top no bigger than an American closet (no such thing as closets in Sicily) can produce for 10 tables. We only ordered two courses - the 20-dish anti-pasti and 3-dish pasta for $40 per person (inclusive of all the local wine and grappa you can drink).

Savor some of the highlights....

Steamed mussels with oranges!





Now does this guy look like a local boy or what? He and his wife joined the gang for lunch and turns out this braddah' is a Kaimuki High grad living la vita dolce in Sicily.

Baby shrimp in a sea of kiwi and raspberries.



Lightly fried fresh anchovies.



Baby eels fresh from the sea.



Sea urchin unadorned and fresh from the sea.

Sicilian Style Poke

A delicate, soft raw fish cooked/marinated in lemon juice with olive oil and parsley.



Swordfish prepared the same.



Salmon prepared the same with fennel and red peppers. Looks like seaweed but it's the delicate whisps of fennel.



Fish balls called neonati, which are tiny baby fish pressed together.

Breaded, baked mussels with a hint of vinegar.



Thinly sliced, rolled fresh swordsfish with vegetables.



Fresh anchovy fillets, breaded.



Mussels with fresh oranges, sun-dried tomatoes.

Take poke Sicilian style with olive oil, lemon and fresh parsley.



Fish skewers lightly breaded and fried.



Fish cake wrapped in lemon leaves.



Lightly fried, delicately cooked (never overfried), shell-on shrimp.

Northerners & Southerns agree that Incognito is fantastic!

Alfio, a Sicilian retired fisherman, and Onorio, a retired Tuscan farmer, both agree that the food at Incognito is excellent!



These are two of the three pasta with lunch. This one features clams...



This one features swordfish, as well as octopus...



On our way home we stopped along the roadside to buy some fresh peaches from this gentleman.

A Good Deal ...Sometimes!

This zany contraption is the car wash in Sicily. The car stands still and the machine slides back and forth with bushy brushes and water and hot air....

Last time I was here, it cost 10 euro to wash and vacuum the Jeep. Today it was 15. I exchanged words with the car wash guy in Italian and I felt pretty sassy and proud when we settled on 12 (or so I thought). Turns out what he was saying was that he'd be finished cleaning the car at 12 - Noon.

Such is life in Sicily!

At any rate this car wash contraption looks like so much crazy fun, I wonder what he'd charge to let Rob and me enjoy a few shots of grappa and walk through the car wash in our bathing suits.