quotations about Hawaii
Hawaii is the only place I know where they lay flowers on you while you are alive.
WILL ROGERS
The Wit and Wisdom of Will Rogers
We, the Hawaiian people, who are born from the union of Papahanaumoku and Wakea, earth mother and sky father, and who have lived in these islands for over 100 generations, will always have the moral right to the lands of Hawai'i now and forever, no matter what any court says.
LILIKALA K. KAME'ELEIHIWA
attributed, goodreads
Eventually, I want to move to Hawaii and chill forever.
RILEY KEOUGH
attributed, instagram
The spiritual destiny of Hawaii has been shared by a Calvinist theory of paternalism enacted by the descendants of missionaries who carried it there: a will to do good for unfortunates regardless of what the unfortunates thought about it.
FRANCINE DU PLESSIX GRAY
Hawaii: The Sugar-Coated Fortress
Hawaii, Hawaii,
Queen of the tropic sea,
Smiling alone on the breast of the deep;
Child of the Ocean wave,
Grandly thy birth it gave,
Spreading its waters thy freedom to keep.
JOHN MACHAR MACDONALD
"Ode to Hawaii Nei"
Hawaii is not some magical pixie wonderland; it's an American state populated by atomic weapons, a remnant native population and people too stupid to spell their way out of a paper bag. Most of them came here to escape pathetic lives in the forty nine other states, so in some sense, Hawaii is a scenic cul-de-sac filled with people who want to drink themselves to death without feeling judged.
DOUGLAS COUPLAND
Worst. Person. Ever.
Dress in Hawaii is like the Hawaiian lifestyle-casual and laid-back. Almost everyone, from grandparents to preschoolers, swears by plastic flip-flops.
JESSICA LANE LUCIER
Let's Go Hawaii
In what other land save this one is the commonest form of greeting not "Good day," nor "How d'ye do," but "Love"? That greeting is Aloha--love, I love you, my love to you. Good day--what is it more than an impersonal remark about the weather? How do you do--it is personal in a merely casual interrogative sort of a way. But Aloha! It is a positive affirmation of the warmth of one's own heart-giving. My love to you! I love you! Aloha!
JACK LONDON
My Hawaiian Aloha
The Hawaiian people have been from time immemorial lovers of poetry and music, and have been apt in improvising historic poems, songs of love, and chants of worship.
LYDIA KAMEKEHA LILIUOKALANI
Hawaii's Story
Everywhere I went in the wild corners of Hawaii, I found that the biology was as astonishing as the beauty. The landscapes have value beyond the enchantment of a waterfall or the surreal drama of an expanse of slick rock with bits of green life taking hold. Exploring these islands intrigues the mind and stirs the imagination, for nature in Hawaii is at her most inventive and extravagant best.
CYNTHIA RUSS RAMSAY
Hawaii's Hidden Treasures
Hawaii is not a state of mind, but a state of grace.
PAUL THEROUX
Observer, October 29, 1989
Hawaii is still the single most frequent fantasy destination, not because of political stability or conveniences, but because Hawaii seduces the imagination. It's the perfect postcard, no props, no fillers.
ROBERT WINTNER
Snorkel Bob's Reality (& Get Down) Guide to Hawaii
Come with me while the moon is on the sea
The night is young and so are we
Dreams come true in Blue Hawaii
And mine could all come true
This magic night of nights with you
LEO ROBIN
"Blue Hawaii"
The history of funerary procedures in Hawaii is a fascinating one. Unlike many cultures which used their burial grounds as places to raise monuments to the egos and social power of their more prominent dead ancestors, there is an amazing egalitarianism in Hawaiian funerary procedures that has been oddly replicated in modern cemeteries and memorial parks built here. In Hawaii members of a community were buried together communally and often anonymously, chiefs and commoners alike, so outsiders would not be able to find the bones and bodies of the powerful and steal their spiritual power. This led to very egalitarian funerary procedures that brought about equality in death for all in Hawaiian society that may not have been found in life.
BOB KASHER
Tropical Bob's Where to Eat in Hawaii
Hawaii, Hawaii,
Land of the koa tree,
Land of the mountain fire, clime of the sun;
Mildly the limpid deep
Rolls on they coral steep,
Clear as the air of thy beautiful zone.
JOHN MACHAR MACDONALD
"Ode to Hawaii Nei"
Hawaii is the key to the Pacific. Every failure to give it the advantage of national legislative benefits common to other parts of the Union handicaps the Territory and the Nation in carrying out Hawaii's natural duty and logical mission in the great Pacific area of expandin commerce and friendly international exchange.
WALLACE R. FARRINGTON
Report of the Governor of Hawaii: To the Secretary of the Interior, September 14, 1923
Hawaii is like an isolated jewel set in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. And like facets of a gem, the islands have their own unique qualities. Travelers who take the time to look beyond their obvious beauty will discover a chain of islands that is at once lush and stark, modern and ancient, simple and exotic.
RITA ARIYOSHI
Hawaii
Many times, I have read that my home, the islands of Hawaii, is like paradise on Earth. What those writers mean, of course, is that the islands are so beautiful that they must resemble in some way what paradise must be like--a paradise that is separate from this world. What I saw, even as a child, was that there was no separation except what we had made. The whole world was an island in the middle of paradise, and all we had to do was just to see that.
JIM MURPHY
A View from a Height
We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than we did California. It is Manifest Destiny.
WILLIAM MCKINLEY
remark to his aide George Cortelyou, 1898
Even the sweetness of a freshly cut pineapple from Hawaii is a sermon.
J. A. MEDDERS
Gospel Formed