HONOLULU PEN WOMEN XMAS LUNCHEON

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Phil is wearing his favorite Santa hat and his favorite shirt with the fake epaulettes.  He wants me to sew epaulettes onto all of his shirts.  I'm game, but I'm drawing the line at adding stars, ribbons, medals, or eagle heads.

I'm wearing my favorite Big Head.  It always astonishes me how big my face is compared to Phil's.  Or is it just a perspective thingie because I push myself to the forefront to get more attention? 

The Honolulu Pen Women held their Xmas luncheon at the Outrigger Canoe Club on Kalakaua Avenue on the same day of the Honolulu Marathon, which meant that getting to the Club was a little more complicated because of various street closures.  Ordinarily Phil and I would just walk right over (a 10 minute walk through the park), but because we needed to leave the luncheon early to make it on time to the last performance at TAG (The Actors Group) across town, we took the car.  By the time we arrived most of the runners had finished.  My plan was to park the car at the Club, then run over to the finish line to take pictures.  But just then it started to pour again and I gave up.  Here are a few shots I managed to take before heading inside.

 Friends and family waiting along the route

 

You can see by the direction of the fountain waters how hard the wind is blowing.

On the left side of the picture you can also see a group of runners coming in.

 Someone needing help walking after the race.

From Hawaii News Now:

·         A thrilling finish at the 2011 Honolulu Marathon. Kenya's Nicholas Chelimo beat out two-time winner Patrick Ivuti by just three seconds, with a time of two hours, 14 minutes and 55 seconds.  It is the second straight win for Chelimo at the Honolulu Marathon.

·         Ethiopia's Woynishet Girma took the women's crown.  She finished just 12 seconds ahead of the top three women's finishers.

·         Conditions for today's marathon were extremely difficult: runners were dealing with strong winds, rain and possible thunderstorms. 

·         There were 22,615 people registered for the marathon.

And here are my pictures of Pen Women, Friends & SO's at the luncheon:

 

This is a typical Margo expression

Guys, don't believe a word she says.

HONOLULU MARATHON & WALKING ON WATER

Elsha Bohnert, "Annunciation"

Mixed media collage on mahogany wood panel

Since Christmas gets recycled, again and again, I figure I may as well recycle some of my older paintings too.  Above is my warped version of the "Annunciation."  Better not ask me to explain. 

Meanwhile it's raining cats and crocodiles tonight with storms, wind gusts, and flash flood warnings.  My heart goes out to the (as of 3 days ago) 21,286 marathon runners in town for the annual Honolulu Marathon.  If any came with hopes to better their records or even set new records this year, the weather is certainly not playing in their favor.  

The standard distance for the marathon race was set by the International Amateur Athletic Federation in May 1921 at a distance of 42.195 kilometers or 26 miles 385 yards.  That's a long way to go without resting!

The current world record time for men is 2 hours 3 minutes and 38 seconds, set in the Berlin Marathon by Patrick Makau of Kenya on 25 September 2011, an improvement of 21 seconds over the previous record.

The world best for women was set by Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain in the London Marathon on 13 April 2003, in 2 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds.  

It boggles my mind how someone can run that fast that long.

Compare that to the average:

4 hours 32 minutes 8 seconds for men

5 hours, 6 minutes 8 seconds for women.

And how about the following two record holders?

The world’s oldest runner is 100-year-old, Fauja Singh, who finished the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and became the first centenarian ever to complete a run of that distance. Singh, a British citizen, finished the race on 16 October 2011 with a time of 8:11:5.9.

Gladys Burrill, a 92-year-old British woman and part-time resident of Hawaii, previously held the Guinness World Records title of oldest person to complete a marathon with her 9 hours 53 minutes performance at the 2010 Honolulu Marathon.

Don't you think that people who accomplish these astonishing feats of running long distances without pausing,should also be able to automatically walk on water?  That way, if Kalakaua Avenue gets flooded (which it often does during heavy rains), they should have no problem.

Elsha Bohnert, "Walk on Water"

Mixed media collage on canvas 

And now for something non-related to running marathons and walking on water:

Elsha Bohnert, "Running in Place"

Acrylic on mahogany panel

Elsha Bohnert, "Telling True Stories"

Mixed media collage on mahogany panel

Ah, telling true stories.  I look forward to the workshops on auto-biographical storytelling by Mark Travis in January.  Here is a description of his workshop (see his website: www.marktravis.com).

"Autobiographical storytelling is more than telling your stories; it is taking the audience on a journey. This is a journey designed and controlled by the storyteller. And performing the solo show is perhaps any actor’s greatest challenge. Not only do you tell the story but also you create a unique and powerful relationship with the audience. You play all the characters, you play yourself at a variety of ages and you narrate the story from various different points of view. Ultimately, and most importantly, you get to take the audience on a very personal journey and allow them to share with you your life experiences in a profound and meaningful manner. For the performing artist this is pure self-expression." 

This is my annual treat, an opportunity to shed new light on my old stories; find the deeper, more subtle patterns; and practice weaving magic... watching my stories walk on water.