Mele Kalikimaka

December 24, 1957 -  I was 9 years old.

It was the night before Christmas and that was the year I discovered the truth about Santa -

he is REAL.

How did I know this?

My father worked for the railroad and he was away so my mother took my sister and me to her cousin's house for a family dinner.

We returned to our house about 11:30 that night and when we walked into the living room, we could see that Santa had already been to our house.

I went to bed that night assured that Santa really did exist - otherwise, how could all those gifts be under the tree.

Christmas morning was wonderful - my sister and I received a record player and several LP's - all Christmas music.

There was a Bing Crosby "White Christmas" album.

But, my favorite was "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" by a group of Warner Bros. Stars - it made the list of the Top 25 WORST Christmas album covers of all time!

Clint Walker sang "Silver Bells".

Peter Brown sang, "Winter Wonderland"

and Poncie Ponce sang "Mele Kalikimaka".

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would ever spend Christmas in "the land where palm trees sway".

This Christmas is definitely green and bright.

The sun shines by day, but we have seen no stars at night - they're obscured by rain.

Today we caught a rainbow as we walked along Hanalei Bay

and also a snow, or rather a sand man.

It is a JOY to have our family together, on a beautiful island, creating memories.

As I learned 58 years ago when Santa left Christmas albums beneath my tree,

is Hawaii's way to say "Merry Christmas" to you.