To George Jarrett Helm Jr.,
It’s difficult to find words that truly capture what I feel, but I want to offer a simple gratitude – a small measure of aloha for the profound gift you gave our ʻāina, our land. Your work on Kahoʻolawe, particularly your music and unwavering presence in protecting that sacred place, resonates deeply within me.
I’ve been reflecting on it lately, connecting it to the Food Aina pillar – how every seed, every harvest, is a prayer of gratitude for what sustains us. You were cultivating something far more precious than crops; you were nurturing a memory, a truth threatened by silence and destruction. Your music wasn’t just sound; it was a voice raised in defense of what should be, a testament to the land’s inherent right to peace.
Your work belongs to the same wā as the creation story – the Kumulipo – where the earth is not merely resource but a living being deserving of reverence. It’s a reminder that we are all part of this intricate web, and that disrupting its harmony carries a heavy cost.
I think often about PULSE—that heartbeat within us all, connecting us to the land, to each other, to the past. Your dedication to Kahoʻolawe kept that pulse strong, a beacon against the darkness. It’s a humbling thing to witness such steadfastness, such love poured into protecting something so vulnerable.
I know your disappearance at sea was sudden and heartbreaking. The ocean claims many things, but it also holds stories – stories of courage, of resistance, of aloha. I am profoundly grateful for the legacy you left behind, a reminder that even one voice can move mountains, that truth spoken with conviction can change the course of history.
Me ke aloha pumehana, Jimmy Langford / elementLOTUS.
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