AINA HAINA

                                                                  Aina Haina

Aina is land but Haina...not so sure. This view of Koko Head taken at 7am shows the glow of Aina Haina.
I suspect that there is no glottal stop in Haina ,and if so, this means sacrifice or offering. So I think that Aina Haina means Land Offering.

  I painted a small complementary color study of this "land offering". The morning sunrise was so bright we could hardly see the landscape. It was a perfect plein air day waiting to embrace us. I was on site early with only Mark and the gentleman that keeps the park looking beautiful. Mark knew this man and I was introduced.  Forgive me for not remembering his name, I'll add it later. He was hard at work keeping the park perfect for all of us. He had put a son thru the best art school, and he had been a graphic artist himself.  Now he was maintaining the park as a city worker.

It is not uncommon to get to shake hands with the locals while they work hard. The presumptions are almost always incorrect. It is not the poor lowly sad worker bee that keeps O'ahu beautiful. It is the best servants of this land who have their masters degrees in Physics or men and women that  have raised a strong family and managed to get second and third jobs while they pay off college loans. Always they have a smile while working. They are constant reminders that giving is the "getting". There is never toil showing in their faces.

I am taken aback every time I get the opportunity to talk to the men and women that have raised their families here on this island. They work as if they are blessed to do so here. They work for the money, yes,
but as an offering
for being allowed to live here.