my Ate Myra and i traveled together to Kau’i, Hawai’i, many moons ago. we took a boat ride to watch dolphins. Fun! Amazement and Happiness filled our senses, blessed to watch several dolphins play and dance alongside of us, blessed to be with fellow sea creatures, smiles all around both humans and dolphins.We were on the return ride back to the docks as directed by Capitan MKink I, a local Finn-Islander, who was born and raised in the island of Kau’i. all of a sudden the boat was turning away from the shore and going back around. ‘did someone fall in overboard?‘ i looked around but noticed that the rest of the passengers, happy and calm, were all inside the boat. ‘what is going on?!’ hmm…do we get to see more dolphins playing and dancing?! alright!‘ I moved towards the bow, the front of the boat. simultaneously, as the boat turned, el Capitan MKink I, all by himself, with a netting on the end of a long wooden stick, carefully and expertly swooped up a floating plastic debris on the seawater, it was not so big, similar size to a container for a gallon of paint, and placed it inside the boat. oh, what a joyous moment! protecting and saving mother earth. i struck up a conversation with a 10-year old visitor and his parents visiting from mid-western America. This youth shared how he was awe-struck (well, I was too!) by what el Capitan MKink I did. we talked about how if we all cleaned up and swooped up one item at a time, and what we could do to be more sensitive to environmental concerns, how to protect mother earth, and be our own el Capitan MKink I!

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on current events:

post-flooding images flooded my fb (facebook pages) as manila, luzon had non-stop rains. television news reported debris accumulation increased as the flood waters subsided in the beautiful pearl of the orient. recently, i watched a documentary about floating light and heavy debris in the sea related to the tsunami debris.The International Pacific and Research Center in Hawai’i posted on their website:

The March 11, 2011, earthquake northeast of Japan and the impact of subsequent tsunami wave on the Tohoku coastline produced millions of tons of debris. A large amount of the debris was released into the ocean. Under the influence of winds and currents, floating debris is dispersing over a large area and drifting eastward; it is predicted to reach Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States within the coming two years.

from the documentary, tsunami large debris included a cement dock from a japan prefecture grounded in one of Oregon’s beaches. from the documentary, local communities in the pacific coast are at the table in discussion on how to address this as a global crisis post-global crisis. what about you? how could you help out locally for a global issue? i wonder about how bangka journey could be part of this effort.