From The Publisher February 1999 AaaaLoooooHaaaa!!! Coming to you from the North Shore of Oahu and relishing in the natural landscape of paradise. What do Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach, and the Bonzai Pipeline have in common (besides having my footprints on their beaches?) They all feature huge "World Famous" waves, perfect for the "Sport of Kings" (surfing), they are all on the North Shore of the most populated island in the state of Hawai'i, and although less than an hour away from Waikiki Beach, they are all relatively untouched by the tourist industry. There's only one major hotel, the Turtle Bay Hilton, to accommodate the pampered traveler, and only one small stretch of surfboard shops and restaurants which mainly cater to the locals and the occasional bus load of camera clickers. If you want to relax on a mostly deserted beach and soak in the natural beauty that you all try to design, this is definitely the place to be. If you feel like getting off the sand for a spell, you can visit Waimea Valley and take the hike (or the people movers) to the Waimea Falls, watch the cliff divers vault 60 feet off the cliff face into the pool at the base of the falls, and enjoy a truly scenic adventure through a well-marked Polynesian Botanical Garden, which includes an enchanting Butterfly aviary, beautiful wild peacocks, and awesome settings from which to make a mental (or photographic) catalog for future design ideas. Sure . . . some of the plant materials are exotic, and for you purists this may be the ultimate no-no, but for those who have clients who insist on a tropical flavor you could definitely benefit by spending a full day exploring the variety of planting combinations and conditions offered in the garden. For that matter, just walking along the miles of beach, sans the white bellied cornhuskers of Waikiki, is enough to fill your left brain with design ideas well into the next millennium. (On second thought, you may want to visit this site more frequently to be sure the image implant is successful In any event, a trip to the islands or trip to anywhere away from the concrete jungles of metro USA is an Olmstedian necessity for anyone connected to the landscape development profession. OK you purists, Landscape Architecure isn't just design and pretty, it's technical problem solving for the public health, safety and welfare, but remember it was Olmsted who wrote to Congress so many years ago about the Public Welfare being found in the ability to relax one's mind and improve one's health using the scenic absorption method, and seeing that this is the year we celebrate 100 years of the Society founded by an Olmsted, now is a good time to remember that straight lines, oblique angles and pylon depths are only tools of the task of bringing back the land to its peace generating state of being . . . and with that I'll say . . . Mahalo . . . . . and Aloha . . . - George PS - Uh-oh . . . I'm only gone a few days and what happens . . . One of ASLA's best, Stan Bowman, leaves for the greener pastures of the A.I.A. What is going on in Washington?!? Everyone seems to be leaving us . . . 1) An overworked Bowman has gone on to the main competition . . . 2) Membership has a new face who after several months still can't (or won't?) give us an accurate breakdown of the Members v. Associate v. Affiliates. (Heck, we were the ones who had to tell him that a full 20% of ASLA membership are students) . . . 3) Virtually all the magazine staff jumped ship and the new folks seem to think that copying LASN is better than reaching the public with a profession-promoting agenda . . . . . . Peter !?! We all want a strong ASLA as we enter the new century of the profession and a new millennium of mankind. We need to work together, deal with the facts, strengthen the Society, keep the good people in the profession, and work toward the common goal of lifting the profession to its highest elevation through strong legislation, a positive public and professional image, and the sound practice of Landscape Architecture. Come on, we're all pulling for you, Pete . . . but it is time to stay home, and get back to the basics. . or better yet, take a vacation (at least from the Politburo of Spinville), and then get back to the basics of fighting the legislative battles and promoting the profession to the public and just as important . . . supporting the staff members in charge of those tasks! Together we can do it . . . Just let us know how we can help . . .