Dear Frances – Wife-bathing Column Generates Interest
Frances H. Kakugawa Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Happy New Year, Readers! I hope you had an enjoyable New Year’s Day. My Nov. 1 column interest in which two husbands shared their experience of bathing their disabled wives generated the kind of interest I had not expected. Here is some of the feedback I received. Dear Frances,....
Dear Frances – Timeless Memories, Moving Memories
Frances Kakugawa Hawai‘i Herald Columnist I am writing this column before I leave for Hawai‘i to give several talks on caregiving and to introduce my new book on Kapoho. To be honest, I’m feeling a bit burnt out after spending much of my last 20 years doing talks on the road. As fate would have....
Bamboo Ridge – Treasures from Issue Number One
THE LADY AND THE FISHERMAN By Gary Tachiyama Every ulua has someone’s name on it some day I’ll find one with mine but just as he cast his pole, she folded the moon in half and stuffed it in the back pocket of her faded blue jeans and walked away on a ridge wave He....
Dear Frances – Bathing with Love
Frances Kakugawa Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Dear Readers, I’d like to introduce you to two male caregivers from my monthly support group in Sacramento. Bob first shared his “On Bathing Fran” two months ago. Then a month later, Ross responded to Bob’s poem with his “How to . . .” Their words speak volumes of who....
Dear Frances – In Praise of the Silent Caregivers
Frances H. Kakugawa Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Omoiyari . . . Think of others first and good karma will return to you. — Frances H. Kakugawa An Open Letter to the Press and Dr. Oz Special attention is suddenly being paid to Alzheimer’s disease on television and in the news media because a famous person’s mother....
Dear Frances – Seeing Half-Full
Frances H. Kakugawa Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Omoiyari . . . Think of others first and good karma will return to you. — Frances H. Kakugawa Dear Frances, I’m one of the elders who still open doors. When a young man opened the door for my wife recently, she told him, “Thank you for being a....
Dear Frances – Picking up on the Signs
Frances H. Kakugawa Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Omoiyari . . . Think of others first and good karma will return to you. — Frances H. Kakugawa Dear Readers, At a bookshop recently, the perfect book jumped out at me. “Buy me, buy me,” author Graeme Simsion whispered to me. “I’m the perfect follow-up to last month’s....
Dear Frances – More Thoughts on Surviving Loss
DEAR FRANCES By Frances H. Kakugawa Dear Frances, Funny (but not ha-ha funny) that you would bring this (February’s column on “To Help Us Make It Through”) up now about our loved ones who are no longer here. Just yesterday, the once-a-week mow-and-blow guy asked, “How’s your mother?” I must have looked stricken because he immediately....
Dear Frances – “Dear Frances” to Help Us Make it Through
DEAR FRANCES By Frances H. Kakugawa Dear Frances, So, what did you get from your mother this past Christmas? Lilly Hawai‘i Dear Readers . . . Lilly is referring to a story I shared with you some time ago in this column. Lilly . . . you will find the answer to your question at....
Dear Frances – The Mighty “P”: Poetry
DEAR FRANCES By Frances H. Kakugawa Omoiyari . . . Think of others first and good karma will return to you. — Frances H. Kakugawa Dear Frances, I was watching an Alzheimer’s program and it made me want to thank you for saving me from being who I was starting to become. It allowed me to....