Aunty Lynn's Adventures

Here's a special treat for you all. This article was written by Lynn Cook and can be found in the January 2009 issue of Oahu Concierge magazine...Enjoy! Thanks Lynn!

AUNTY LYNN’S ADVENTURES

New Year. New Possibilities. New President. And, I agree with the “new guy” when it comes to being positive. You bet we can! I have to tell you that I already embraced that credo “BB” – Before Barack. I learned “Yes We Can!” from a painter named Peggy Chun. In the somewhere-near-twenty-five years I knew her she was outrageous, outspoken and lived out loud. She believed that everything was possible. She knew it. She made a to-do list. She left us a few weeks ago, expecting her friends to get it all done.

Peggy was the master of lists. Pages and pages of ways to get things done while having fun. The expected outcome wasn’t always clear but she was the Pied Piper to be followed everywhere. Some of you might not have met this locally and nationally renowned watercolor artist but you may have her prints at your workplace. Her glowing paintings fill the walls of five-star resorts, hang behind the check in desk of the smallest inn or even in your own living rooms. Still, you may not know much about her.

Her watercolors tell the story of our island home. They sing about the place the world wants to be. She painted glorious flower lei, draped over koa wood bowls that look so real that you almost need to touch them. Even if you have never driven the infamous winding road, Peggy’s painting of “Road to Hana” gives you a lasting memory of the experience. Look closer for the real story of Peggy Chun’s sense of humor. Hiding among the roadside ti leaves are two friendly geckos, o ne smiling toward the viewer and the other sporting a lush, red carnation lei. A quick look at www.peggychun.com will make you smile.

Those of us who were close friends – and that was pretty much everyone she ever met – gathered for her outrageous parties. We wore fairy wings and hats and penguin suits. Safety being in numbers, we were not afraid to don antlers and attend the Honolulu Symphony. Rules weren’t Peggy’s strong point. Back in the day when I organized the Hawaiian Heritage Cruise events for the cruise ships all my invited guest artists were allowed two boxes of art supplies each. The unsinkable Peggy Chun brought twenty-six boxes. They were necessary. She had a list.

Her paintings run from whimsical snorkeling cows taking a “Day Off From The Dairy” to Hawaiian backyards, ocean views with canoe paddles at the ready, to a magnificent mural of the Blessed Father Damien. Check the signature. There is a code. Some are signed Peggy Chun in a fluid signature. Some have “LH” by the signature. Others have a “T”. What do those codes mean, you might ask.

The evolution of the Peggy Chun style of painting tells the story of her unending challenge with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The progressive nerve disease took the life of he r grandfather, her mother and her twin sister. Diagnosed with ALS in 2002, Peggy knew her technique of painting finely detailed masterpieces would need to change. As her abilities were challenged she continued to defy the incurable disease. Dozens of her friends gathered, looking for ways to help. They formed a group called the “Peg’s Leg’s” and spent the next six years working caregiver shifts, all week – every week, so that Peggy could continue living out loud.

In 2003 Peggy lost the use of her right hand. Overnight she taught herself to paint with her left hand (LH). When her left hand became weak she enlisted the help of artistic members of the now-famed Peg’s Leg’s crew to attach headgear that allowed her to hold the paintbrush with her teeth (T). When she was paralyzed except for her eye movement, her breath came through a ventilator. She didn’t stop creating, transitioning to painting and spelling messages with her eyes on a computer and a hand-held spell board. “After all,” she was fond of saying/ spelling, “you don’t paint with your hands, you paint with your heart.”

We, those of us who are the Peggy apostles, have been talking about creating a bumper sticker. We all know “Eddie Would Go.” He would, he did and he left us with pride. We have tossed around ideas like, What Would Peggy Do? Peggy’s Group This Way!, or my favorite, a simple “Peggy Would .” Peggy Chun left us with a passion for the absurd. She would be the first to agree that we should all wear antlers or bunny ears out of season or a penguin costume if we can find one. Peggy would have made a great cultural advisor to our new president. She would have made him a list and given him a top hat and a kazoo in case he needed them for state functions.

I’m not much on New Year’s resolutions. Too easy to break. For 2009 I’ll make a list. The title – “Peggy Would” – number one item – make Peggy proud by living out loud. Want my take on how to do that? Come find me, I will be the one wearing antlers. See you at a symphony.