Bringing Hula to the East Coast

Sabina Plaza McWilliams... Spreading Aloha

Here's Sabina dancing the hula on her last visit here. This

was at St. Francis West hospice

A childhood friend, Sabina Plaza McWilliams tries to come home to Hawaii once a year with her sister, Juanita Plaza Carter. Sabina lives in Southern Florida while younger sister Juanita lives in Glendale, California.

Here are sisters Juanita and Sabina in

front of St. Francis West Hospice

Sabina entertains at nursing homes in South Florida by dancing the hula with a group called Kamaaina Dancers. The group is based at the Northeast Focal Point Senior Center in Deerfield Beach Florida. This is in the Coral Springs area, just above Fort Lauderdale and below Boca Raton.

Sabina resting in the lobby of St. Francis West Hospice

The group is instructed and choreographed by Donna Flynn who began dancing 40 years ago in Palo Alto, California. She started Kamaaina Dancers over 15 years ago and they perform at least 8 shows a year for senior communities, assisted living facilities and other organizations. What nominal fee they charge goes to the Alzheimer's center.

When dancing in a group like this, the members must dedicate a lot of time to rehearsing, because although all are seasoned dancers, each school or halau has its own style when dancing a number. So the seven members meet once a week. The oldest dancer is 87 years young.

Sabina is the newest member, having been with the group for five years and is the only Hawaii-born member. Most of the members have been to Hawaii for a visit.

We grew up in Kapalama where the Post Office is now situated on King Street.

Sabina was first introduced to hula at Palama Settlement and eventually went on to learn from Kuulei Stibbard on Beretania Street. She also danced with a group from Papakolea where she developed her soft and graceful hand motions.

Sabina dancing to "To You, Sweetheart, Aloha"

After graduating from Farrington High School, she moved to Los Angeles where she performed with a small group in Hollywood and at private functions in Beverly Hills and Bel Aire. She is so happy to be back into hula.

Meet an outstanding person

JULIE PERALTA… YET ANOTHER INSPIRING PERSON

I was at Saint Francis West Hospice a couple of weeks ago and a young lady came into the lobby with a patient in a wheelchair. She parked him about 5 feet from the piano and settled in to listen to my offerings for the remainder of my hour.

While they listened, she was massaging the patient, doing dance moves and singing along with the music. Both were, I guessed, to be Filipino, so I played whatever Filipino music I had with me that day. They danced to Ma Ala Ala Mokaya, Ikaw and a few more numbers. They were having so much fun that I wanted to stop playing and join them. The young lady’s personality was intoxicating.

Most of the patients in a hospice are admitted if they're expected to pass within six months. The majority actually pass within two weeks because they're in a state where they deteriorate quickly. Many can't laugh or even smile. If they tap their feet to the musical beat, we know they're enjoying themselves. So laughing and carrying on is something I've not seen in my 8+ years that I've entertained at hospices.

Julie Peralta, it turned out, was a volunteer and has been volunteering at St. Francis Hospice since this past April. She is a caregiver by trade and decided to volunteer to help with the elderly, sick or handicapped. She is hoping to be a volunteer at the Community Living Center at the Tripler Army Medical Center.

At St. Francis, she assists wherever there is a need for help. She provides companionship, assists the staff in personal care of the patients, feeding and taking the patients out for fresh air.

http://www.stfrancishawaii.org/Hospice/Pages/InpatientFacilities.aspx

Julie was born and raised in the Philippines. She grew up in a farming village high in the mountains and earned a degree in Animal Science and in Agriculture. She was employed by the Philippine Government, working in farm communities helping with sick animals as well as introducing technologies to help the farmers to improve their crops.

Julie went through the Red Cross training program for nurse’s aids when she arrived in Hawaii with her then husband. She soon developed an allergy to latex while working in a nursing home and went back to the Philippines in 2000 because the allergies made her severely ill and she was unable to work. The fresh air at the village’s 7,000 foot elevation and the care her family gave her brought her back to good health.

She and her son came back to Hawaii and she has been working as a personal caregiver since 2005. Her son is in his fourth year at the University of Hawaii, majoring in electrical engineering. She beams with pride when talking about him.

Most of her work comes from referrals from those in the industry, the Child and Family Services and from a home health agency. She struggles to get by but is grateful that she is healthy and able to also give of herself to help others through her volunteering activities.

But life is not all work for Julie. She’s involved in ballroom dancing and is a member of the Hawaii Ballroom Dance Association. If she dances with the same gusto and enthusiasm that I’ve observed in her interaction with patients, she’s likely very good.

Our community is indeed lucky to have people like Julie giving so much of herself to her adopted community and country. She's certainly a jewel of a human being.

Cheyne Andrade. Refreshing to see some of our young step up

CHEYNE ANDRADE… A FUTURE LEADER THAT’LL GIVE KUPUNAS HOPE

A few weeks ago, I noticed a young man helping at the Center for the Aging, on the grounds of Tripler Army Medical Center. He had a pleasant personality and stood out among the workers.

http://www.volunteer.va.gov/

http://www.hawaii.va.gov/services/ecrc.asp

I have since found that he is a volunteer at the Center. He seemed to enjoy the music and as I went about the usual chatter that I do while performing and I found that he plays the ukulele and the guitar. So I invited him to join me.

Here's Cheyne with his 12 string guitar

He did so the next time I played there, bringing his ukulele. The next time, he brought his 12 string guitar.

Cheyne (pronounced “Shane”) is a 2008 graduate of Saint Louis High School and is home from the University of Hawaii at Hilo where is will be entering his fourth year. He originally was a Marine Science major and is seeking approval to switch to Pre-Nursing.

Cheyne had a few events in his life that made him realize that he could help relatives, friends and family members if he had “hands-on” knowledge and experience in dealing with health issues, and could better assist in their healing process. Thus, the decision to switch to pre-nursing.

At the Center for the Aging, he volunteers at least four days a week from 8 AM to 4 PM. He often goes in five days a week. His mother works for the Veterans’ Administration at Tripler so he goes into work with her and leaves when she does. Very impressive.

He has also previously volunteered with the V.A. at the E-Wing of Tripler at the State Office. When he’s at school in Hilo, he’s also volunteered at the V.A. in the outpatient clinic.

Cheyne was taught to play the ukulele when he was ten years old by his father. A couple of years later, he taught himself to play the guitar and has been playing both instruments ever since. I admire those who can play both because I get confused trying to convert the fingering whenever switching between the two. I personally use a baritone ukulele whenever called upon to play (which isn’t often because I’m so bad at it) only because the fingering is the same as the guitar.

He’s likely a better piano player than me, having taken lessons for about three or four years when he was younger. But, he’s too humble and polite to say anything.

Cheyne was able to keep up with me whether I played simple contemporary Hawaiian music with three chords or Sinatra type ballads. Very impressive because many aren’t able to do the complicated chords that I use.

Mostly, I’m impressed that someone as young as he is would rather volunteer than to cruise the beach with friends while he’s home from college. He has a very bright future ahead of him. Any business or organization that hires him in the future will have acquired a gem of a human being.

Quality people like Cheyne are hard to find. If more of the young ‘uns are like him, we in geezerdom can have more confidence in our society’s ability to care for the Kupunas.