Veteran's Day

Our little town just had one super Veteran's Day celebration. Who'd believe it that a town so tiny could do such a grand thing! Wow. Ya know, while I thoroughly enjoyed our celebration, it couldn't help but feel that it was a dang shame that every other town in American couldn't be bothered to put on a celebration of its own. If little ol' Naalehu could do it, others surely could have had, too. 

A flag and a painted sheet tied up on the parks chain link fence.....inexpensive but effective. 

Information booths on one side of the ballpark.......nothing for sale, all the displays and info is free. Photos of many of the town's veterans. Stories about the vets. Free info phamphets and materials pertinent to our town and residents. 

Now get this.....free food! Yup. A free plate lunch, free drinks, free shave ice. It just can't get better than this. I'm so proud of my town and the group that put on this celebration for honoring our veterans! It was OKK - O Ka'u Kakou. Go look them up on the web. It's a great group. Every town should have one. Groups like this should be supported. 

While I was busy in the morning, I stopped in right at lunchtime and enjoyed the entertainment for the rest of the day. Did I mention free entertainment? Free! And not your teenage garage band and backyard wannabe musicians. No way. The Puna Taiko drummers preformed. The bands Shootz and Bottle of Blue. Mark Yamanaka (9 time Na Hoku Hanohano winner!) And 7 year old Rhyan Faith Anoi Demello gave a fantastic hula performance. This little girl is amazing. She recently won the singles completion at the E Malama Mau I Ka Hula Festival in Hilo. If you haven't seen her dance, you really should go look up the YouTube video of her winning the completion. It's amazing. And she's only 7 years old! 

I would have willing paid to attend this celebration, but it was all free. 

All veterans were honored regardless of where they lived. I saw plenty of tourists proudly wearing their veteran's tag. It was good to see something being done to honor those who sacrificed so much while serving their country. 

Thank you, OKK. If the group does this again, I'd like to offer to participate. It felt good to just be able to attend. Next year I'd like to offer rides for people who can't get there otherwise. I'd like to help in other ways.