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 As I look back in my memory, I can not quite recall to event that first 
caused me to weave a plant.  I think that is because there is more than one 
event that took place.
 Among other people, I recall the guidance of grandpa Clayton, whom, I 
remember, took me out in the forest to teach me how to make a willow 
whistle.  Since we had a willow tree near our Kirkland, Washington house I 
also had to try my wood working skills.  I remember attempting to make a 
whistle just like the one that Grandpa had made and failing more than once. 
In the process of making a whistle, and then later just playing, the willow 
tree started to get used more for whips, rings, bracelets, and finally just 
for swinging.
 During the course of my mission I continued this habit of weaving plants 
for fun.  I made simple rope from strands of grass, even though I just threw 
them away when I was done.  At one time my senior companion asked me to make 
a ring for one of our investigators children.  I think that weaving became a 
introverted habit that I developed into a hobby.
 When I came home from my mission I was pleasantly surprised at how well my 
parents had set up my homecoming party.  I had never even thought that I 
would be greeted with more then maybe a hibiscus lei at the airport and a 
few warm, "Welcome home"'s.  It surprised me when three of the Polynesian 
Culture Center employees who my parents knew came over and did the pig hunt 
dance from Marquesas.  I remember they gave me a headband woven from some 
sort of tropical leaves.  Later, I also had a job at the Polynesian Culture 
Center.  At the Polynesian Culture Center (PCC) I learned about all of the 
different things that the polynesians made from leaves.  Polynesians made 
mats, baskets, headbands, fans, and more.  As a tour guide I learned how to 
make fish from the palm tree leaves.
 One evening I was out walking with one of my close friends who I had met at 
the Polynesian Culture Center.  She and I sat down and were talking below a 
kind of short palm tree with only about half a dozen coconuts.  I took one 
of the leaves down and was playing with it.  I never realized just how much 
harder it is to weave a palm leaf than a willow branch.  Well, I asked her a 
question and then found myself slipping the ring I had made from the palm 
leaf onto her finger.
 The moral of the story is that you should learn to weave the flora around 
you.  Anyway, Akiko Takano and I plan on getting married on June 23, 2000 
right here in Laie, Hawaii.  We found a really good place right across the 
street.  If you have any questions, just ask.  Love,

Joseph