An Ode to Olive

At just under five feet (4’ 10” but please don’t tell her) she stands taller than nearly anyone I know.

She is the matriarch of our big, fun-loving Catholic family.

My grandmother turned 88 this month and she deserves to be celebrated.

Olive Alzera Morte was born in the little town of Paia on Maui on October 8, 1926. She was the ninth of nine children; she was raised in paradise before it was truly recognized.

Sadly, her father the hard working sugar plantation manager died when she was only eight years old.
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