Aloha means hello and good-bye...and a lot of other stuff too.

The year 2010 has been filled with many blessings for yours truly. Mrs. Tony C and I added to our family with little baby Eden this month. The teenager started high school and is doing quite well, and the 3-year old known affectionately as the Crazy Tomato in our home has made the transition from toddler to pre-schooler with great ease. Sure, chaos reigns most of the time at our house that sits at the top of the hill...but I love every minute and can't imagine things any other way.

My Sunday School class at church as been a tremendous blessing too along with playing worship music with the Praise Team. There's a closeness with my church family like never before...and that's not saying we weren't close in previous years because we were.

Near the top of the list of blessings would have to be reconnecting with a number of significant people from my past through Facebook...especially former Marines. Thanks to the photo archives of one such Marine named Joel Haase, I've been able to relive moments and places I thought were long forgotten. It has been a highlight in a banner year of highlights for me.








Marines in BSSG-1, Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station, Hawaii (1989 or so)







Nostalgia is a funny thing. Marketing professionals have known for quite some time it can be a powerful selling tool. Fortunes have been made on eBay from buyers trying to recapture a moment from years past by buying trinkets from collectors with foresight (and a lot of extra storage space). Facebook is revolutionizing the concept of reconnecting with the past, and I for one applaud the effort.

As I've browsed through photos and chatted with old comrades, I stepped into a metaphoric time machine that instantly transported me back over 2 decades to a time when my trouser waist size was much closer to my inseam length and running 3 miles took less time than conjuring the words for this post. A time when the major stresses in life were less about keeping what you have and more about getting what you want.

I've decided for my first few post in 2011 to share a few of those memories with you. I hope you don't mind...actually, I hope you really enjoy them. Nothing heavy. Just a few fond and mostly funny moments from a place most consider a paradise...that I once called home.

Happy New Year and Aloha to each of you, and may God bless your 2011 in a mighty way.