Author: admin

While it’s been a rough 12-months we are hopefully now leaving behind in the rear view mirror, here’s some minor uplifting news. The newest U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Vital Statistics Report (say that three times fast) indicates that Hawai`i continues to lead the league in life expectancy. Yes, people living in Hawai’i live longer than people living in any other state in the union. And, one could argue, with quantity of life here comes quality of life.

There is an obvious price one pays for paradise, but it’s nice to know that we’re #1. People here have an average life expectancy of 81 years. In comparison, West Virginia ranks at the bottom of the U.S. life expectancy chart at 74 years. 

For the seniors in the audience, the news is also good. Hawai`i ranks #1 for life expectancy if you’re already 65+ years old- with a life expectancy of 86. With the economic, geographic, and social pitfalls that we experience, a lot of items do work in our favor here- and these are generalities- including lifestyle, air quality, sunshine, flora, pristine coastlines, exercise, local diet choices (within reason), quality health care, strong community bonds, empathy, perspective on life, and optimism (according to a Huffington Post report from a few years back).

While you can quibble about the details of any of these pieces of the longevity puzzle, the realities of poor eating habits, redundant stress, harsh winters, pessimism, tribalism, rampant poverty, and any other proverbial ills you care to throw into the social bouillabaisse are simply not as predominant or applicable here as they are in other states.

Like ‘em or not, local government policies make a difference, as does our relative demeanor, attitude, acceptance levels, respect, culture oeuvre, and other intangibles that help to give us this longevity edge. These positive differences do not minimize problem areas that cry for attention nor resolve growing concerns about this state’s future, but we can humbly acknowledge the melting pot of humanity that’s evolved here, along with our differences. It’s what makes Hawai`i unique, and possibly a worthwhile petri dish that other locales might study in a quest to improve the quality (and length) of life in their states. East meets West meets Polynesia has proven to be a successful formula, with flaws, for those who care to make this isolated archipelago their home.

Think about it…   

The recent Oʻahu sightings of a couple of iguanas and a three-foot-long ball python are not reassuring. It could indicate that some people locally are looking at fauna exotica as a new entertainment outlet or esoteric adventure as COVID-19’s impact hits month #12.

While snakes in the grass are not often seen locally, recent sightings are also a reminder and possibly a by-product of the endangered status of a well-known amphibian that has gone unseen throughout the pandemic and with quarantine rules- the lounge lizard, a term originally meant to mean a lothario who would hang around bars and try to get lucky, so to speak..

This scaly, human scavenger has been missing in action over the past year, as it’s been barred from bars, as has everyone. But if we stay cautious via vaccines and remaining COVID-19 protocols, we might see tears of joy from these nighttime cruisers as tiers of joy open up in the weeks ahead.

People may rebuff the sordid efforts of lounge lizards (who often morph into “lunge” lizards after a few pops), but less than a decade ago, before outlandish, online rumors became the established daily norm, a theory evolved that there were “lizard people” in our midst- right here in America. 

Yes, real live, lizard humanoids- intent on world domination. According to Public Policy Polling (in 2013), about 4%, or 12-million Americans, believed lizard people were real. Eight years later, lizard people haven’t completed their assumed takeover plot… yet.

Hopefully, you won’t bump into any reptiles at social gatherings, outdoor sports, restaurants, parks or beaches now that we’re OK to have groups of 10 gathering with safe distancing and masks still the proper protocol. Nothing says “I’m outta here” faster at a beach volleyball get-together than a coiled up ball python, a prying green iguana, or a scaly, lizard person.

Reptiles are cold-blooded characters, and we all know a few earthlings (unfortunately) who fit into that category… so, maybe there is something to that lizard people theory?!

About 20-years ago, non-native, Jackson’s chameleons were a hot pet item here. Thank goodness that one didn’t get out of hand, or out of cages. But I digress… Bottom line- we don’t need any invasive species brought here, bored as you might be, reptile Romeos. Leave the snakes and iguanas to your big-screen, binge-watching party with nine friends (tier 3) on the National Geographic Channel.

Think about it…

As Monty Python’s John Cleese often said- “…and now for something completely different”. Online accommodations booking site, trivago, recently polled 2,000 adults in the U.S. and found that 38% of Americans would give up sex for a year if they could travel right now. I kid you not.

Now that might sound astonishing and prove just how truly awful this pandemic has been in one more way, but what if this 38% group isn’t having sex anyway these days? They really wouldn’t be “suffering” then, would they? And what if these eager-to-travel abstainers would also give up sex for a new Pez dispenser or a nice pair of slippers?

A full 20% of those surveyed said they’d dump their partner for a chance to go road-tripping right now.  Apparently, for some, that’s what quarantine and stasis do to one’s priorities. 80% of all respondents consider travel to be a vital part of a quality life. Of course, after being cooped up for so long, even a trip to get your wisdom teeth pulled might feel like a big day out.

But here’s part two… The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced that, even with limited travel, 2020 represented a new high bar for complaints against airlines and travel agencies. 90% of the grievances were about refunds (and lack thereof), as obviously there were multiple pitfalls when traveling last year. 

If you’re willing to forego sex for a year to travel, you better be in a good mood when travel plans get screwed up and you can’t get a refund. And it’s obvious that for some vacationers who just gotta go, a delayed or denied refund is worth the risk when it comes to traveling during a pandemic. How big is travel? Well, a quarter of Americans say they’d give up all of their savings to hit the road right now and 48% would give up their job to travel! But you might not wanna come back- because now you’re broke… Abstinence and sacrifice- it all makes sense after being forced to watch “Bridgerton” and “The Crown” repeatedly (just kidding…).

Plenty of Americans say no sex, no savings, no partner and no job beats yet another month or three of homebound isolation. Travel is part of the good life, they say, but with no sex, job, savings, or partner after the sojourn ends, you’d better have some great memories to live on.

Think about it…

Sometimes, it’s OK to talk to yourself; even healthy. First of all, you’ll hopefully find a receptive audience. Secondly, such a chat can help you figure things out, pulling resources from the vast recesses of your own mind. Paul Simon wrote a landmark song that became a 1966 #1 hit, “The Sound of Silence”. “Hello darkness, my old friend / I’ve come to talk with you again” is how it begins. Simple, powerful, profound. 

As we head (hopefully) around the final turn of this pandemic era over the next six months, perhaps we should all take some time, alone, to quietly assess where we are, what we’re doing, and how we’re feeling. Perhaps then we will better be able to deal with everything else that comes about as hopefully “it’ll be alright, when the morning comes” (written by Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates and popularized locally by Kapalana).

Simon sang in “The Sound of Silence” about “People talking without speaking / People hearing without listening”. And boy, does that sound like what we’ve witnessed lately, what we’ve become and where we are in far too many areas. While things seem a bit calmer, more congenial, and more civil locally, one can still feel rumblings about “what’s next” and “where do we go from here”?

The time has come for more thinking before speaking, more empathy, listening, creativity, and intelligence as we plan our collective futures. The time has come for common good to take precedence over any sort of “what’s in it for me” syndrome. We can address a number of issues and perhaps press the “reset” button, but we must not let this opportunity slip by without deep analysis, self-analysis, and productive activity on festering items of concern here- about our futures, what aloha really means, housing realities, and ensuring that our keiki have the means to provide for their keiki without moving away. No hollow pontifications or big body. Silence, listening, action.

It won’t be easy or quick, as we also need to jump start our economy, and there are a laundry list of items that have been talked about for years with minimal, tangible results as  things have been OK here for years… for some people. Through the sound of silence, hopefully quality listening occurs, better ideas emerge, compassion and rational reasoning reverberate, and we come out of this thing wiser and willing.

Think about it…

It’s far too early to celebrate, but the light at the end of the tunnel continues to come into clearer focus. More people are getting vaccinated (if we could just get more doses sent here!) and Pearlridge Center announced that 14 new stores or kiosks are opening there.

One positive touchstone of 2020 will be undoubtedly be the year’s music- perhaps songs like these, whose simple titles might seem to mimic the bizarre year and make for a fun playlist (in 10-years). Songs like:

“Things You Can’t Control” (SOJA + Trevor Young)- the title just about says it all for the frustrations of 2020!

“Circles” (Post Malone)- OK, go out and play. No wait, come back inside. Hang out with family only. Actually… hang out with no one! As Malone said: “…we’re running in circles”, getting exhausted; but basically, many went nowhere in 2020.

“Road Trip” (Sons of Zion)- surely something we couldn’t do in 2020, especially if that road trip included actually getting out of our cars!

“Rumor” (Maoli)- rumors, alternative facts, fake news, social media, dubious posts, paranoia, a huge crevice in our political landscape; it all became the reality (or lack thereof) of 2020.

“Without You” (Rebel Souljahz)- pretty much how we spent most days in 2020, without someone(s). We might’ve spent a lot of time with ourselves; if so, hopefully we learned something of value as the new days dawn.

“Speechless” and “When The Rain Falls” (Kolohe Kai)- you couldn’t make up some of what happened in 2020, when “hard-to-believe” became the norm, often leaving us speechless, and the pandemic rain kept falling. Luckily, real rain washes things away, and we move on.

“10,000 Hours” (Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber)- this is what many weekdays felt like in 2020. Idle time, expanded work days, no work, too little human connection, Zoom after Zoom, raising kids, raising hell, where every long day invariably felt like June 35^th or August 47^th.

“Memories” (Maroon 5)- when all was said and done way back in 2020, that’s (hopefully) all we remember when we glance back- memories, and none too painful. For long haulers, COVID-19 may not end up to be just be a blip on life’s colorful radar screen. But many people’s 2020 memories will include earworms like the songs above, plus the good, helpful, caring, and empathetic humanity they experienced way back in 2020.

Think about it…

Scammers, sleazebags, sociopaths, low-life snakes, miscreants, degenerates, criminals… call them what you like, but this pandemic has brought all kinds of unsavory characters into focus- locally and nationally. People preying on other people or vital systems; people trying to wring money out of the unsuspecting at a time when many are scared, hurting, vulnerable, and frustrated. And the reprobates rarely get caught.

It’s happening nowadays when more people are more susceptible. These vermin try to beat you and the system. They try to get people to provide personal information over the phone. They try to get undeserved unemployment pay. They try to ply elderly or frail people into actually paying for coronavirus vaccines. They steal information from people on social media (yes, good old social media) who show off their new COVID-19 vaccination cards, which might contain birthdate and/or insurance ID information. Counterfeit cards can then be produced, sold, and used for air travel when vaccination proof might soon be required.

Scamming is not new. Societal problems cause deviant manipulators to look for new ways to take advantage of people and systems. At my workplace, we received an unemployment claim in the name of a former Hawai`i Congressional representative. Yes, we caught it in time.

Unemployment fraud has increased here since people have lost jobs and federal funds became more readily available. Thieves steal names and personal information. And investment fraud has been around a long time.

Anybody calling you up and asking for computer information, passwords, your mother’s maiden name- any kind of security information- quickly end the conversation. Hang up. There have been online examples where people’s information, once provided, is then used by others to get food. And then there’s the old “Hey, you’ve just won a sweepstakes” scam- where you’re simply asked to pay a fee and “we’ll send you the money!”

The elderly are being targeted through email addresses nowadays vs. the old method of dubious phone calls. People are being asked to buy gift or credit cards in stores, and then asked to provide the card numbers to the caller for “activation”. Basically, if it sounds too good to be true- it IS! If you’re asked for any personal information that you’re not comfortable giving out over the phone- don’t give. When in doubt, check it out. Stay wary and be smart. By the way, the COVID-109 vaccine, when it’s your turn, it’s free.

Think about it…

As more vaccinations reach more people and we really can see a light at the end of this prolonged, COVID-19 tunnel, minds might start to wander in an optimistic direction. For it is fun and hopeful to think about a few things we might do as concerns and restrictions are invariably lifted- for good! That is, only after we feed the family, pay the rent, check our mental/physical state, and secure that our jobs are in place. 

Travel? Of late, that concept has mostly meant traveling between home, school, work, and the supermarket. How nice it will be to once again feel a sense of freedom, even if it means just going to more places locally, something that we all took (understandably) for granted for pretty much our entire lives. We won’t have to plan excursions to avoid the human race (as much) any more, though we should remain COVID cautious when restrictions are lifted. Planes, trains, ships, Ubers- what a wonderful world it will be.

Attending events? While it’s too soon to say when, the time is coming when we will go to events again- movies, small concerts, school plays, and who-knows-what-else by late-2021(?). It will surely be better than yet another Zoom concert or acoustic showcase from a well-known artist’s living room that’s been our norm for the past 11-months. We won’t be getting together in huge groups any time soon, but attending small-ish events with anonymous people will be a diversionary step up from watching celebrities sing “Imagine” online. Dining sans paranoia will feel different, and great.

Business meetings? Yes, virtual meetings have kept people quite busy (or buzz-y, as a numbing effect takes control by 3pm daily), but simply sitting in a conference room or in someone’s office and feeling comfortable will be a welcome sign that things are getting back to normal.

Here’s one wish to focus on as our lives transform back to an era where we experience relative freedom of movement and choice. Let’s all not forget what got us here in the first place and keep in mind that while a vaccine is a shot in the arm, it is not the definitive COVID killer. Our minds can wander into this upcoming future, but let’s remain cognizant of the pitfalls of letting our guard (and our masks) down.

Think about it…

So what happens when people are quarantined, confined, restricted and conflicted for almost a year? Well strange terms develop as weirdness rules. Try a few of these on for size:

“Make America Grate Again”: this is what happens when people cannot (or should not) visit friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers, and when nerves are frayed and the pandemic rules shift over time. Everyone is angst-filled and frustrated. Yes, the pandemic continues to be grating for everyone.

“Damn-demic”: this is about the nicest thing you can call the resilient novel coronavirus after almost 12-months.

“As Tiers Go By” or “The Tracks of My Tiers”: we’ve seen it all- rules change, things seems to be getting better, we’re inching closer to allowing for more freedom, and then WHAM! Alas, restrictive tiers and redundant tears return.

“Community spread”: no, this is not tutu’s lilikoi jam sold at the swap meet. It’s what happens when people either live or gather too close together in one area, thus helping to spread the virus. Gathering like this with friends and family used to be called “living”.

“Flattening the Curve”: a kind term describing people’s efforts to lose the real COVID-19… those 19 pounds we’ve all gained sitting around over the past 11-months.

“Social Distancing” and “Virtual Meetings”: Two terms poorly explained. We’re not supposed to social distance, we’re actually supposed to physical distance from one another! And that seventh Zoom meeting I had today? That wasn’t a virtual meeting, I was there; it was all too real, with real people attending (and staring into space), and no virtual anime, manga, VR headsets, or videogame characters allowed.

“Self-Monitoring”: originally meant for us to check ourselves for COVID-19 symptoms, it has now taken on more nuanced implications, as we should constantly take stock of our (and others) mental and physical health as this nagging nightmare continues.

“Zoom-ology”: the scientific study of human behavior observable only by watching humans staring at their 10^th Zoom call of the day. Otherwise known as “zombie-ism”.

“Facts-ine”: what non-believers need to spend more time studying to feel comfortable that yes, a COVID-19 vaccine is a scientifically-proven ally in this microscopic war.

“Venti-later”: this is what we call a person who lets us know (via “venting”) that they’re fed up with COVID-19 after 11-months. Kind of like I’ve just done with this column, as the on-going pandemic wavers and yet persists.

Think about it…