January 2015 President’s Message
Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed Christmas day with your family and friends, or if you are a Grinch, enjoyed the day on your own!
Every year, my family gets together to make sure we start the year off right, cooking and eating traditional Japanese foods, with their massive symbolism and once-a-year favorites. My husband, although Caucasian, loves the “renkon,” which is lotus root stuffed with mustard paste and deep-fried. If done just right, it has a nice zing to it that he really enjoys. This dish hails from Kumamoto prefecture in southern Japan (Kyushu island), where my parents are originally from. The renken`s (lotus root`s) symbolism, with the holes, is, according to my 93-year old dad, that you can “see into the future.” I asked whether that means you can see a good future or bad future, but my dad just said, that “you can see the future,” that`s all. I`ll have to write it off as another one of those Japanese symbolism things that got lost in translation, I guess. I could google it, if it really mattered, but like a lot of the traditions I`ve inherited from my family, a little knowledge and somewhat vague traditions suffice for me. Another thing our family does is drink Akazake (“red sake,”) which is a sweet sake that is only sold in Kumamoto, and we can stomach it because it isn`t your traditional, clear sake. Rather, it tastes like sherry, so, again, my husband likes it, although I`m sure he`d rather be sipping on a glass of Akazake after lunch, rather than drinking three sips of it and a piece of kazunoko konbu (herring roe on kelp) BEFORE breakfast! Anyway, that`s the way we`ve always done it, and I believe, will continue to do it, long after my dad and mom have passed on.
With regard to Lionism, the start of a new calendar gives me and the Board of Directors a line in the sand to reassess, refresh, and recharge so we can attack the second half of our fiscal year with renewed vigor and intent. To that end, to avoid burnout, please note that I will be forwarding fewer project opportunities outside our Hawaii Kai area, and will no longer forward such e-mails if received from District 50. However, if you would rather receive such invitations, please let me know, and I will maintain a separate mail distribution list for just those desiring to receive such communications. I am looking to the second half of the 2014-15 Board`s year as a fresh start, so welcome your comments and will do my best to serve. I can`t say enough good things about the hard work the Board and our club and CISes have put in this year so far. Thank you!
Shinnen akemashite omedeto gozaimasu. Kotoshimo dozo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.
— Lion President Peggy Oyama