

Joy and Celebration
I hope that a little time on this page will bring a smile to your face. Here you will see artwork stories that display a pursuit of joy . The buttons will link you to full stories.
Hudson's Honu
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I ask “What brings the MOST instantaneous joy to your heart?”
If I stop and think a bit, there are many things I could answer. But my first thought is...
Ho'olaule'a Gecko
When Bill and I got married in the early 1980’s , his parents paid for us to have a honeymoon on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. I was young and adventurous, but I had never been anywhere. The time I had spend outside my home state could be counted in hours, and never more than one state away. Like Lucy in the movie of “While You Were Sleeping”, I had saved up and bought a passport, and carried it with me, but there were no stamps in it.
I still remember the feeling of stepping onto that 747 jet… the one I had observed and admired and wished I could travel on ever since it first came out when I was a child. I remember the feeling of being served my first real airline meal, and best of all I remember arriving in Honolulu.
Ho'olaule'a Mango
Experiencing joy in the midst of the mundane, or even struggles, in life can be compared to the purity of a fresh, island-grown mango over a store bought imported mango.
When mango season rolls around in... my mouth starts to water. There is NOTHING like a fresh ripe mango grown and picked right here on Hawaii Island. Juice pours out as you cut it. The flesh is dark orange and soft with no strings and it’s so sweet it tastes better than candy.
Have you lost your joy, or know someone struggling to find joy again? It happens to me all too frequently. Sometimes it’s because….
© 2025 Melanie Pruitt