Uncertain weather. Uncertain left knee. Lilith's supine on the floor, only half-expecting a long walk, her eyes drifting closed, then open, closed again. A season of new birds; the smaller, duller colored, Brazilian cardinals chase their parents for food, though it won't be long until they'll need to find their own. Mynas squawk. Doves do what doves do, coo. Other mysterious cheepers add to the not-quite-dissonant cacophony.
Valley of the Temples was opened in 1963 by Paul Trousdale, a continental developer who built tract homes on the windward side of O`ahu. Waikiki also bears his imprint. The cemetery pre-dates the Temple that sits within it by five years. I've already written about the Buddhist clergymen who worked at the Temple for many years, ending in 2019, with the death of Bishop Fukuhara. By 2001, the property had been purchased by RightStar, led by John Dooley, a funeral management company (now called "death care" by the happy euphemists who write PR copy). According to one source (yes, I'm doing investigative journalism these days), RightStar had links to a Christian music group, The Imperials. I've been told that there were frequent concerts outside the administrative building.
By 2009, Dooley, who'd been fired years prior, plead guilty to stealing nearly $51,000 dollars from RightStar's clients. After being indicted in 2006, he'd been picked up for speeding in Oregon and brought back to Hawai`i for trial. The fraud had been much greater than that. By 2012, none other than former Governor John Waihe`e had suffered the consequences of being trustees of RightStar. Waihe`e had earlier lobbied for the corporation. Jim Dooley wrote: "Former Hawaii Gov. John Waihe`e and three associates have agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle claims by the state Attorney General that they helped to illegally divert some $30 million from funeral and burial plans sold to thousands of Hawaii residents." Large amounts of plunder came from the trust funds set aside for upkeep of the cemetery, which were paid into by those who bought burial plots. You can see an extravagant pay schedule for Waihe`e and other trustees here: https://www.hawaiireporter.com/exclusive-new-allegations.../
The state controlled the properties (which included other Hawai`i cemeteries on Oahu, the Big Island, and Maui) until the business was bought by the current owner, NorthStar, in October, 2011. This is the corporation headquartered in Houston, with no local ties to this place, which is currently milking the Buddhist Temple for all it's worth (and more--or less, if you're a Buddhist--). The general manager--said to be very honest--who'd repaired RightStar's damage was promptly fired. Plans to raze the Modernist/Hawaiian administrative building were made, but fortunately never enacted. Instead, NorthStar renovated the main building.
When Lilith and I started walking the cemetery in early 2017 there was still a local feel to the place. The Temple grounds were mostly quiet. (I read somewhere that young Barack Obama liked to visit, which tells you something about the pull on local introverts. He and his family visited in 2009, as well.) The graves were laid out mostly according to ethnicity/culture: there are Chinese, Korean, Japanese sections, along with a large Catholic section. Up the hill farther, there's a "patriotic" section that tells the story on a large plaque of how immigrants made America great. Something about "tilling her soil." At the very top, a newer tomb, vast, including many as-yet-uninhabited niches behind black stone, fronted by stone (cement) images of the White House, the Capitol, and likenesses of Lincoln and Washington. Christian iconography is everywhere, as well. It's owned by a rich Chinese guy, young, I'm told.
Something about this last reminds me that there's a UFC event tonight on the White House grounds between fighters who yesterday walked down the Lincoln Memorial steps, flanked by a military honor guard. It's intended to celebrate America's 250th, but just happens to coincide with Trump's 80th birthday.
Notes:
No comments:
Post a Comment