It comes as no surprise that Hawaii tops the 2009 list of the U.S.A.'s happiest states. It's an incredibly beautiful, exotic tropical paradise, surrounded by gorgeous blue ocean, with no border problems. What's not to be happy about?
America's big cities could take a lesson from the Aloha state. I have a Hawaiian daughter-in-law and can truly say, without doubt or hesitation, that I've never met anyone happier than she.
See that photo? That's the beach across from Chinaman's Hat, near where she married my son a year and a half ago. That beach is about a half-hour drive from the house she grew up in, where her parents still live. Again, I ask--what's not to be happy about?
Hau'oli means happy. The Hawaiian word for "sad" is so lengthy that it makes me think that Hawaiians can't possibly use it very often. I've learned a fair amount of Hawaiian vocabulary from my daughter-in-law; but, predictably enough, the word "sad" has just never come up.
