Eia ko‘u mo‘okū‘auhau.
‘O Antone Castro ke kāne. ‘O ia ko‘u kupunakāne kualua.
‘O Gloria Castro ka wahine. ‘O ia ko‘u kupunahine kualua.
Noho lāua a hānau ‘ia ‘o Cecilia Castro, ko‘u kupunahine kuakahi.
Noho ‘o ia me Edmund Bright, ko‘u kupunakāne kuakahi.
Hānau ‘ia ‘o Ronald Earl Bright, ko‘u kupunakāne.
Noho ‘o ia me Moira Pualokenanionālani Kuala, ko‘u kupunahine.
Hānau ‘ia ‘o Clarke Lance Kuhaupi‘o Bright, ko‘u makuakāne.
Noho ‘o ia me Lynell Keiko Hamasaki, ko‘u makuahine.
Hānau ‘ia ‘o Christopher Kekaniokalani Tsuruo Bright. ‘O wau ‘o Christopher Kekaniokalani Tsuruo Bright.
E ola ka hāloa o ku‘u ‘ohana.
E ola!

"‘A‘ohe mea nana e ho‘opuhili, he moho no ka lā makani. -- There is no one to interfere, for he is a messenger of a windy day." This is an ‘ōlelo no‘eau said in admiration of a person who lets nothing stop him from carrying out the task entrusted to him. This ‘ōlelo no‘eau describes my kupunakāne kuakahi perfectly. My great-grandpa, Edmund K. Bright, was a very persevering man. Everything he did was to the best of his ability. This perseverance led him to become an amazing father and grandfather. This is a short "snapshot" of a very wise, understanding, and humble person’s life.

Edmund K. Bright was born on March 18, 1900, in Hōnaunau. His childhood life was spent in Waimea Ranch where he rode horses and slid down mountains often. Unfortunately, Grandpa was only able to go to Hilo Boarding School for eight years, but despite his lack of education, he was still able to get a very good job. He ended up being a surveyor. In fact, he was credited for surveying much of the roads on the Hāmākua Coast. He learned how to do his job on the spot. Everything was literally taught to him in his first days on the job. This really shows how persevering and wise a man he was.

Grandpa Bright grew up and married, but unfortunately, his wife died. They had one child together, whose nickname in the family was "Funny Boy." He passed away at a young age, because he had fallen on milk bottles that he was delivering and bled to death. Grandpa then married Cecelia Castro and, together, they had an astonishing ten children. There were four girls and six boys, but one baby died at six months and another at six years old.

Grandpa Bright and his family moved into their home in 1930. He spent the rest of his triumphant life in a vast home. Grandpa Bright always loved his beer, but he would never drink beer at bars or outside of his house. Whenever he drank, it would always be in the house. Grandpa loved his family and always put them first. He always made sure that a sufficient amount of food was on everyone’s plate at the dinner table, reminding them "Waste not, want not." He also made sure that, despite the number of children he had, each one got equal attention and recognition. Grandpa Bright had a constructive influence on every one of his children’s lives, but especially on his son, Bobby. Bobby took after his dad and went on to finish high school and become an engineer. Three of the eight kids were able to go to college. Back then, this was a very rare opportunity. My Poppo (Grandpa) was the only one of Grandpa Bright’s kids to finish college. This greatly pleased my great-grandpa. "Grandpa’s perseverance rubbed off on each of us," says my Grandpa. "We all learned from him and ended up having successful lives."

Grandpa loved Hawaiian music, and he was actually pure Hawaiian. If he had enough drinks, he loved to sing and play the ‘ukulele. Sometimes he would even dance hula. "As a child," says my Grandpa. "We had backyard ‘jam-sessions’ all the time. Our dad always taught us to have no shame and go for it." When they were young, the children would sometimes earn money from Grandpa or guests to play and sing.

"Punctual" was Grandpa’s middle name. He was always on time and he led a very structured lifestyle. Every night, he and his family would be in bed by 8:00 pm, and they would wake up at 6:00 am. Everyday he took the kids to school, went to work downtown, came home for dinner, then started the process all over again. Once in a while during the Christmas season, he would arrange for gifts to be shipped to Hilo, and he would pick them up and they would celebrate Christmas in Hilo.

Sadly, Grandpa Bright was getting old and dying of Alzheimer’s. It was at this old, forgetful age that my Dad started to get to know Grandpa Bright, and my Dad said that, even in old age, Grandpa was very active and in good shape. "He was just very forgetful because of his Alzheimer’s," said my Dad. "Sometimes he would forget my wife’s or even my name. It was actually sad, because we couldn’t carry on a conversation with him." My Dad loved it when they went over to Grandpa’s house during Christmas. Grandpa was stern but also loving. "He loved to have us over," said my Dad. Unfortunately, Grandpa died at the age of 87. He taught us so much about perseverance, wisdom, and love. The effect that he had on us kids and grandkids, and even his great-grandkids is very obvious. Thank you, Edmund K. Bright. You helped me become who I am today.