Myrlande Bebe

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Myrlande Bebe is the mother of Jason Josaphat who was one of the 49 people who died at Pulse on June 12, 2016. Chelsea, her sister in law sat with her. Jason was born on August 8, 1995 and was 20 years old when he died.  Jason loved to draw. He wanted to do 3D animation and he studied photography as well in high school. He studied at Valencia Community College for 6 months and then went to Southern Technical School where he made the presidents list and was on his way to becoming a CPA. He planned to travel the world and some day go to Haiti which is where Myrlanda was born.

“I never heard of Pulse until that night.” Myrlande explained. On June 11, 2016 she was working a 12 hour shift. Jason is one of three brothers. They were known as the 3 J’s, Jamal, Justin and Jason. Their sister Mirium had just flown in from Arizona to visit. Her birthday was on June 13th so they were making plans to celebrate. Myrlanda called Mirium before she got home and found out that Jason had gone out. When Jamal got home she asked him where Jason was. He didn’t know, so he called Jason and left a message. Exhausted from a long day of work, She went to bed, but she couldn’t sleep.

In the middle of the night her phone started ringing. Mirium picked it up and heard Jason screaming. She shouted, “Mom Jason is in trouble! Call 911!” Myrlande took the phone, “Where are you?” she asked Jason. He was panicking. “There are a lot of dead people on the floor, call 911!” She started screaming and Jamal asked, “What is wrong? Mom calm down.” On the phone Jason explained that he was at Pulse. “I’m in the bathroom, I’m trapped and I can’t get out.” The last thing he said was, “He’s coming.” and he got off the phone.

Myrlande and Jamal immediately drove over to Pulse. The call had been at around 3:25am and the drive took 15 minutes. They were outside Pulse from about 3:40am to 6am and they saw everything. They knew Jason was trapped in the bathroom and they both wanted to rush inside to get him. Police had secured the scene making that impossible. “It felt like I was in Iraq, it was terrible.” she said. “My heart was aching.” She saw a young man crying. He said, “I lost him.” She asked him what happened. “Some crazy man just started shooting at us.” he said. Anyone she met that night, she asked, “Did you see my son?” Everyone was crying. There was blood everywhere. “We saw ambulances taking people.” She had never seen dead bodies before. They would pick them up with two arms and two legs and haul them to a truck. It was a disaster, a nightmare.

At 6am they said, “If you don’t see your family member here go to Orlando Regional Medical Center, you can claim them there.” Myrlande gave one of the nurses Jason’s name and described a tattoo he had on his chest that he had designed himself. She gave them a picture of her son. They couldn’t find him. They asked for his medical and dental records as well. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She and Jamal had to return home without knowing where Jason was.

That night she had a dream about Jason. She was in a market place with her daughter and niece. She looked up and saw her son. He had his favorite color on which was green. She saw him far far away. She shouted his name and ran towards him. He passed behind a pole and disappeared. She woke up feeling anxious.

The next day she went to the Beardall Center. She sat patiently waiting to find out if her son was in a coma or if he was at the hospital somewhere. Someone asked to talk to her and they delivered the news. All the records she had given them matched. She found out that her son was dead on her daughter’s birthday. Her daughter said, “Mom, I will never again have another birthday.” It was a nightmare for them all. It wasn’t easy to find out that her son had gone out to have a good time, and didn’t make it back home.

Myrlande later learned that Jason fought hard for his life that night. Jason had the courage to talk to the gunman. The last bullet Jason took shielded someone else. Patience Carter had been shot in the leg and Jason helped to keep her calm. Just before the bathroom walls were breached by police, the gunman started to shoot again.  Jason covered the young girl with his body and took the bullet. He died instantly and didn’t suffer. Myrlande later met Patience and she said to her, “You shouldn’t feel guilty, it wasn’t your time.”

This article and sketch have been posted with the express written
permission of the interviewee. Analog Artist Digital World takes the
privacy and wishes of individuals very seriously.

Polihale Beach in Kauai.

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The wonderful thing about Kauai is that you can drive  a few miles and find yourself at a deserted beach. It can only be reached via a poorly marked, dirt sugarcane road. We felt we the first people to ever walk on this sand. Known for its 7-mile stretch of white sand beach and hot cloudless days,
Polihale is the spot to dry out when the rains come. Framed by the west
end of the Na Pali cliffs, sweeping sand dunes and a Ni’ihau capped
ocean, Polihale can be a breath-taking experience. On this cloudy day sunlight forced its is through the rare gap in the clouds creating a theatrical spotlight effect.

Polihale has been translated in many instances as the
“House of the Po”, where Po is the Hawaiian after world. By this
account, spirits are said to travel to the coastal plain adjacent to the
beach, and stay in the temple, known as the heiau.
From there, they would climb the cliffs to the north, jump off into the
sea to get to the mythical Po. The story further indicates that this
belief was so strong that all the homes built in the vicinity of
Polihale would have had no east facing doors, so that no traveling
spirit could become trapped within.

Waimea Canyon on Kauai.

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Kauai is the oldest of the large Hawaiian islands. It is the top of an enormous volcano rising from the ocean floor. With lava flows dated to about 5 million years ago. Roughly 4 million years ago, while Kauai
was still erupting almost continuously, a portion of the island
collapsed. This collapse formed a depression which then filled with lava
flows. In the millions of years since, rainwater from the slopes of Mount Waiʻaleʻale
have eroded Waimea Canyon along one edge of the collapse. On the east
side of the canyon, the cliff walls are built from thick lava flows that
pooled in the depression. Over time, the exposed basalt has weathered
from its original black to bright red.

The spectacular site is also known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The canyon is ten miles  long and up to 3,000 feet deep. Waimea is Hawaiian for “reddish water”, a reference to the erosion of the canyon’s red soil. The canyon was formed by a deep incision of the Waimea River arising from the extreme rainfall on the island’s central peak, Mount Waiʻaleʻale, among the wettest places on earth.

No single sketch can capture the scale and grandeur of the place. On this vacation, I shot video as well as sketching. The tightly edited video offers a quick glimpse into the island’s beauty. Digital storage devices have changed since I edited the video so I need to do a digital transfer if I want to preserve the moving images. That is one good thing about sketches. They can always be seen as long as they aren’t destroyed by fire, earthquake, or a meteor strike

Waikiki Beach is beautiful.

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Waikiki is a beachfront neighborhood of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii, United States. Waikiki is best known for Waikiki Beach, the white sand beach shoreline fronting the neighborhood. The name Waikiki means spouting fresh water in the Hawaiian language, for springs and streams that fed wetlands that once separated it from the interior.

Colors were vibrant and pure, especially during the golden hour as the sun set. Resorts dot every inch of the shoreline to cater to the endless stream of tourists. The water was warm and the white sand beach inviting. Sadly this marked the end of the vacation. We yearned to stay, but work beckoned back in Orlando.

The Saint Regis Princeville Resort on Kauai has all the amenities,

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In contrast to the humble beach front Plantation cottages, Saint Regis Princeville Resort is plush and opulent. Located in the 9,000 acre resort community of Princeville at Hanalei,
this luxury resort on Kauai resides on the northern shore of the “Garden
Island” and provides visitors all the amenities expected from an island
destination considered to be one of the most spectacular in Hawaii.
Guests of our Kauai resort reside in a bastion of tropical
sophistication featuring cuisine that celebrates local flavors along
with an array of diverse activities. The site of the hotel was known as Pu’u Poa or Pu’u Pa’oa– Pu’u meaning
mountain and Pa’oa meaning the staff of the Fire Goddess, Pele who when
searching for a new home would strike her staff into the earth to
create a new crater. Directly below the hotel are remnants of an
ancient Hawaiian fishpond built in prehistoric time. Known as
Kamo’omaika’i it was one of the few kuapa (ocean wall) type fishponds on
Kauai.

The hotel was used in the filming of Jurassic Park, and I believe the lobby was inspiration for the scene in Lilo and Stitch in which Nani applied for a job while Stitch a used havoc trying to romance an elder tourist.

Terry relaxed in a lounge chair reading while I struggled to capture the sunset. Black volcanic rock dotted the shoreline. The gorgeous mountains turn mountains turned magnificent shades of purple and blue, as the clouds glowed orange. Every moment on this beautiful island begs to be captured. An artist would never fall short of subjects on this corner of paradise.

Waimea Plantation Cottages.

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My favorite place to stay in Kauai was at the humble Waimea Plantation Cottages (9400 Kaumualii Hwy, Waimea, HI) which were right on a black sand beach. These refurbished sugar-plantation cottages, which were originally built in the early 1900s, offer a relaxed setting, with tropical-inspired decor
and mahogany, rattan or wicker furnishings. All come with full kitchens,
cable TV, and free WiFi, plus private patios.

Roosters wandered around the property, and walking down the black sand beach feels like walking on another planet. Large black driftwood stumps offered a resting spot on the beach, to sit and soak in fabulous sunsets.  Each cottage has a kitchen, so this quickly felt like home. Set in a coconut grove, this makes a perfect place to set up a home camp on the island.

The cabins are weathered and worn, which I felt added to their local charm, so If you prefer opulent decor, then this might not be the place for you. In the evening, the soothing sound of the surf lulled me to sleep. Staying here of feel chance to slow down, and find some piece. 

When we got back to Orlando, production on the feature animate film, Lilo and Stitch began in earnest and the calming memories helped me crank out piles of drawings and deal with the overtime needed during the film’s crunch time.

Poipu Beach in Kauai.

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Legendary local artist Andrew Spear shared a drawing called “Breakfast in Maui” that was done on location this week in Maui. I was honored when he said he was channeling his inner Thomas Thorspecken. In Andrew’s honor, I am sharing sketches I did on a trip to Kauai just before production got started on the Disney Feature Animated film, “Lilo and Stitch.” I still cry tears of pride when I hear the Hawaiian music from the opening of the film.

As Terry and I relaxed in the shade on Poipu Beach in Kauai, we noticed a crowd gather. A harbor seal had made his way up on the beach to soak up the sun right along with the tourists. A life guard set up orange cones a round the seal and he stood guard to be sure the crowd kept at a proper distance. Children knelled and watched the sleeping seal intently. Poipu Beach was named America’s Best Beach by The Travel Channel, ranking top among the 10 “best” beaches selected nationwide.

This small island has to be one of the most beautiful place on earth. The locals are friendly and everyone seems so happy just to be alive. With so much change happening right now, it feels good to reflect back on a time when life seemed simpler, and life felt balanced.