Aloha Ohana,

So as many of you may have heard by now... I've been back in my hometown of bakersfield, cali for a couple months with my family. My father was ill from cancer and passed away the first part of March. What a sad thing, and so awful to watch the biggest, strongest, most dependable person that has always been there your whole life waste away and die... but my friends, what a beautiful and amazing thing it was too. I can only say that I am happy I was there to witness it all... the "good" and the "bad", and now I am forever changed. The most dramatic thing that I can take from this experience is how beautiful it was that my whole family came together for him and ourselves, and that in the end my father felt loved and found his peace.

Now I feel the loss, but also empowered... because folks, if I can do that, as hard as it was, I can do anything. This little perspective that I have into death tells me a very simple message. It's something we have heard before, but it really is true. It doesn't matter how much money you make, what car you drive, how much stuff you have, or any possesions. A lot of the problems and issues and griefs that we create for ourselves on a daily basis end up looking awfully petty when faced with the end of life. What matters is: did you love people, did you make a positive difference in others lives. I know my father did... he was a good husband, a good father, a good provider for his family, a loyal worker, and someone that was concerned to the end that he had done everything he could to take care of his family and friends.

Part of my father's medical problems started to affect his brain, and in the end he was confused and had a limited understanding of what was happening, but the one thing that he always knew were the faces of his family and the words "I love you". It's taken me longer that I thought it would to write this, but if you're still reading, I would encourage you to take a little time and tell those words to someone special in your life... because you never know how long that life will be or when you might get to say them again.