MidWeek Column

You often don’t know what you don’t know. I mean, until you find out things in life sometimes, you didn’t even know such things existed. For example, have you ever heard of the Halifax Explosion? It happened 105-years ago in the deep-water harbor between Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Look it up. An estimated 1,700 people were killed and more than 9,000 were injured. It was the biggest man-made blast in the history of the world, until atomic bombs were dropped on Japan in WWII.

I found this amazing story while visiting Halifax to see, in part, the biggest tidal changes in the world at the Bay of Fundy, where you can walk on the ocean floor and not get wet at low tide, and come back later to see that the water level’s risen over 50-feet along the cliffs.

The point here is we simply don’t know about lots of stuff that might truly electrify or energize us when we do find out. That Maritime Museum also houses amazing Titanic paraphernalia as ship remnants, including deceased passengers’ belongings, were brought ashore from 700 nautical miles away. I’ve been hoping the Halifax Explosion story could be this decade’s “Titanic” movie blockbuster- but no takers yet.

Remember the child-like innocence and excitement we all had as kids when we witnessed things for the first time- a fireworks display, a huge sporting event, a zoo tiger, Santa Claus at the mall!?

Even as adults, the ideas of progress, development, and self-defined success can still make one feel invigorated, hopeful, and perhaps even starry-eyed. Heck, I still get excited when Journey and “Jersey Boys” come to the Blaisdell and when 21^st century paving and speed bumps (inevitably) come to the Pali Highway.

I’m surprised at how often we maintain unyielding patience when so much is said and yet so little is done on many vital, local matters, at least in a timely fashion. We need more housing, social service funding, teachers, innovators, food self-sufficiency, doctors, economic options, and an alternate leeward access; we need less traffic, plastic, redundant committees, and bureaucratic deterrents. Post-COVID, same old same old isn’t gonna hack it here. We know that. Let’s seek solutions that work elsewhere- adopt and adapt adeptly. We may be isolated, but our issues are not necessarily unique. We know what we don’t know, or don’t do, so how about we do something(s)?

Think about it…

More and more, we see faces masked less and less. What’s nice about Hawai’i (usually) is that people can do their own thing at this point in the waning pandemic days (we hope) without being outwardly judged or admonished. Concerned for yourself, respectful of others? Wear a mask. Immunocompromised? Wear a mask. Caring or often in contact with ones deemed most vulnerable? Wear a mask.

Masking in Asia was an accepted practice long before the COVID virus made most other continents aware of its potential value. People wore masks in Asia over 60 years ago and the reasons why have increased- to prevent the spread of germs, to avoid wearing makeup, to battle air pollution and auto exhaust, and even as a “social firewall” in China, according to a March, 2020, Voice of America commentary.

So, what happens next? Will the upcoming flu season encourage more people to remain masked more often? After all, our isolation tendencies plus masking were key reasons that flu deaths in the U.S. fell from an average of 36,000 annually from 2010-2019 to about 700 during the 2020-21 flu season.

We’re just now experiencing what it’s like to socialize regularly in person sans masks for the first time in 2+ years. We’re all doing that post-COVID social dance- do I hug or fist bump, shake hands or high five, give a minor bow or a semi bro hug? It’s all so confusing. Heck, we socially distanced at six feet when, in retrospect, perhaps 12-feet would’ve served us better. 

We went into restaurants masked and then pulled down our faceguards for 90-minutes as we stuffed our faces and/or enjoyed well-deserved libations. Seems incongruent now, doesn’t it? We stuffed nine or more Zoom meetings into eight hours, a self-defeating business game that has been shown to be a stress-inducing, rather ineffective, and an incomplete use of our time and brains. 

We “trusted” family members and really good friends to come visit, but distrusted the general public, because we had no clue who “they” had been in contact with, or for how long.

In 1988, comedian Dennis Miller joked that the toughest job in America was bank teller in Alaska… you know, everybody walks in with a mask on! It was funny back then. 

We may breathe easier; many have decided that they’re kinda done with this novel coronavirus, but is it done with us?

Think about it…

Humility and dominance. A pair of words not often used in the same sentence nor about one entity. But such was the case last month in Williamsport, PA., as Honolulu’s Little League team tore through its competition to win a world title. Outscoring opponents 60-5 over six games, crushing home runs with great regularity, the statistical analyses point out the simple fact that while teams knew what was coming- game after game- Honolulu dominated like perhaps no other team in LL history. 

We’re thrilled that these boys of summer won, the fourth team from Hawai`i to win baseball’s 11/12 year-old division on the heels of titles in 2018 (Honolulu), 2008 (Waipi`o) and in 2005 (`Ewa). But the real joys watching day in and day out, in games and interviews, were the repeated themes of team first, trust, family, love, humility, fun, and respect- virtues prized highly here in the islands.

Tipping their hats to the acknowledge foe’s fans, high-fiving opponents after they got hits, sharing local-style grinds throughout the month-long stay in the West regionals and then in Pennsylvania, this team was so good, it would have been easy for some to paint them as bad guys, as we often do when one team is so thoroughly superior in a quest. But from opposing players, managers and fans, all we heard was kudos for the Honolulu players, coaches, and parents.

Often playing in games truncated by the “mercy rule” after four (of six scheduled) innings as they led by 10+ runs, Honolulu’s Little League kings were routinely dominant. In a state which often sees itself as the underdog in so many areas, having a team like this showcased internationally as gallant Goliaths of the game was heart-warming and pride-inducing.

Invariably, the wins almost seemed like cherries on an ice cream sundae. The real soul and merits of this team shined through on the always-smiling faces of our slugging pre-teens, the genuine excitement of yet another home run, incredible pitching performance, or when simply meeting kids from other states and countries. 

Over 2.2-million kids play Little League, and last month, Honolulu ruled the junior baseball world with a dazzling display of grace, power, stamina, love, respect, and humility… an awesome combination. Oh yeh, O`ahu’s Kado Hawai`i team won the Babe Ruth World Series in mid-August for 13-year-olds… while also winning the sportsmanship award. Yet another youthful class act. Geev’um, kids!

Think about it…

When nature calls, one must respond… Under the watchful eyes of hundreds at Kaimana Beach and then under the care of officials who moved him to a remote beach elsewhere, Koalani became the latest monk seal pup of reliable Rocky to find his way into this not-always friendly world. Good for Koalani. Hopefully now that he’s had time to frolic and explore, he’ll make his mom proud as he ventures into his watery world and thrives over the next (we hope) 30+ years.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration did its job by shepherding the young pup through his critical first phases of life in the semi-wild, reminding people to keep their distance, monitoring the baby, and ensuring that this endangered species now has a shot at living a full life swimmingly. Rumor has it that Koalani waved his (…you knew it was coming) seal of approval as he took off. One estimate suggested 500 manhours were used to help this pup! If only we would treat needy human specimens so well…

Aside from Hawaiian monk seals, the only other mammal native to these islands is the Hawaiian hoary bat, and we certainly don’t see much fuss being made over these furtive flyers, who are classified as endangered though some suggest they shouldn’t be. Named our state’s official land mammal in 2015 (was there really much competition?), hoary bats are nature’s pesticide. Bats have been much maligned historically and stigmatized repeatedly by Hollywood, but these solitary, winged wonders feast on termites, mosquitoes, beetles, crickets and moths. So there really should be no bad blood when one envisions our lone, land-based, endemic mammal. Dingbats? I think not!

I’ve witnessed wandering mongooses snatching Spam musubi from golf carts, but I’ve yet to hear local stories involving dive-bombing, belligerent bats at dusk as they search nightly for prey, while wary humans pray that they just stay away. 

Hawaiian hoary bats house high in trees, fly after sunset, and are normally quite solitary. While not much is known about their actual numbers here, concerns exist that wind farms could be hazardous to the health of bats (and other locally flying creatures) unless greater mitigation rules are enacted and enforced.

Two endemic, solitary creatures- Hawaiian monk seals and hoary bats- just doing their things and providing human distraction and relief (seals are cute, bats eat insects) as they mind their own business.

Think about it…

The votes are in, and the real winner locally was… “ainokea”. Yes, the “who cares?” attitude prevailed once again in our August primary election as about 60% of registered voters opted not to vote. And that number doesn’t include those who could have voted, but didn’t even bother to register. One can extrapolate that the actual number of those 18+ year-old voters eligible to vote who did actually vote might be in the 30-35% range.

Theories abound as to why people don’t vote, but it sure was easy this time. The election was on a Saturday, and most people could simply mail back completed ballots they’d received in the weeks preceding August 13.

While some remain unenthused about taking time out from hectic schedules to vote on November’s Tuesday general election day (hint to decision-makers: make all elections end on a Saturday), registering to vote and then not even scratching in some boxes on a ballot and putting it back your own mailbox is a head scratcher. 

Some may worry about possible voter fraud, notwithstanding the facts confirming no widespread fraud being found (again) during the 2020 election in state after state, precinct after precinct, blue, red and everywhere in between. This is apparently the latest price we pay in a post-truth democracy. Genuine, sincere indifference amid rampant mistrust.

Granted, some local races were not scintillating. Sometimes dinner’s not scintillating, yet eat we must. Democracy is messy and negative campaigns abound (as they have in America for 240 years), but civics has sadly become just an afterthought for far too many, alongside empathy and respectful, listening skills.

A more vigorous two-party system locally might encourage more interest, quality choices, and action, but if ballots delivered on a silver platter (or via a white, red, and blue USPS truck) isn’t enough to encourage registered voters to set aside 15-minutes, you wonder what it will take.

In 2020, 70% of registered voters here voted, partly due to the national election reality show (contrived, like all reality shows) that titillated even jaded, habitual non-voters. Some folks nowadays want to make voting easier; others, more difficult. Most foreign democracies trounce us regularly in voter turnout. There’s more information available on issues and candidates than ever before; some of it is actually factual. So how do we turn this disillusionment, muck, and apathy around? Or must “ainokea” continue to win handily?

Think about it…

Sometimes, you gotta wonder. “Incredible” shots of galaxies far, far away often look (to me) like bad MRI photos. Sometimes, the pictures are stunning, but other times, the untrained eye sees what looks like a smudge on a blurry picture that portends new stars, galaxies, lifeforms, Starbucks, et al.

And then there’s the orbiting James Webb Space Telescope, regularly peppering us with ostensibly stellar star stories. But we’ve been duped. Noted French physicist, Ètienne Klein, recently tweeted an alleged Webb picture he claimed was from a distant star, according to CNN. But upon further review, turns out it was a bunch of pork- and I don’t mean self-serving, political spending. The orb in the “picture” was actually a surreal, scarlet piece of chorizo- pork sausage.

Klein initially waxed poetic about the “level of detail” the picture provided, saying that Proxima Centauri was 4.2 light years away (almost 25-trillion miles). With our existing space/travel knowledge, it would take about 6,300 years to get there, so exercise, rest up, and stay hydrated if you’re planning a trek.

After numerous retweets among twinkling, twaddling twits, Klein acknowledged that the picture was actually just a slice of chorizo set against a black background. He then patronizingly warned people to be “wary of arguments from positions of authority…” Thanks, Yoda. Hey wait a minute! So the moon landing was faked?! The L.E.M. was really LEGO?!

Maybe we don’t need that TMT project. We can just sporadically send out pics of pizza toppings and claim… whatever. A new planet near Neptune? Er, that’s an onion. As Jimi would’ve said, “excuse me, while I kiss the sky”. The Large Hadron Collider, a Swiss particle accelerator (I prefer a blender for particle acceleration to make smoothies) is trying to prove Big Bang Theory postulates related to the Higgs Boson (aka “the God particle”) that, perhaps, seven people on the planet really understand.

It’s now hypothesized that water existed on Mars… two billion years ago. Hosanna, finally a solution for Red Hill! The list of amazing finds (or theories) always titillates, while we pedestrians still can’t figure out which direction to place the toilet paper on our toilet roll holders, and we’re still flinching from that dang “12:00” light flashing on our VCRs. I’m not a luddite, I’m hugely pro-science, -discovery, and -facts, but sometimes…

So it’s chorizo for chumps and the world keeps spinning.

Think about it…

First, we tended the soil. Well… my wife did; I simply watched. Then she fastened a simple, single vine against our retaining wall. Next, she had a trellis built to allow roaming vines to drape over and intertwine, as they’re wont to do. Bees, buds, and flowers were obviously great signs. Within months, voila, we had our own mini-lilikoi orchard. We (yes we) now pick up freshly fallen fruit every few days, slice it, gut it of its luscious pulp, and my wife concocts an amazing jelly/jam from the nectar. 

There is a lot of passion (and vermicast) that goes into the making of this delicacy. Hand-made (with on-going inspiration from Mother Nature) the passion fruit provides desserts, drinks, salads, jam, smoothies… the list goes on. Lilikoi acta as a soothing sedative for better sleep and possibly aids in relieving anxiety (now who could possibly have anxiety these days?).

A Conserve Energy Future post states that lilikoi: “improves the heart’s health, decreases the risk of cognitive decline, improves digestive health, promotes restful sleep, offers relief to asthma patients, improves insulin sensitivity, promotes skin and eye health, prevents osteoporosis and more.” Well, sign me up!

The point is (beyond obvious health benefits) that from such humble roots a productive hobby has evolved, a project that reaps intrinsic rewards through physical labor, a sense of tranquility in watching the continuous growth, and a joyous sense in allowing us to provide omiyage to people or simply gifts as a neighborly gesture. 

While crosswords, music, golf, and family fun take up much of my recreational chores, being even tangentially involved in this fruity pastime intrigues me as to what might be next. We’re growing chicos, papayas, avocados, and an assortment of fragrant and/or beautiful flowers… on the same property we’ve groomed (and/or ignored) for almost 40-years.

So yes, maybe you actually can teach an old dog new tricks, or at least make him/her appreciate what’s right in front of his/her nose. I credit my beloved wife for all of this produce productivity. I don’t have much of a green thumb nor a cultivational clue, but I can appreciate the planning, love, process, and results. 

Maybe you can find a new recreational pastime to ease your mind and/or body into. Maybe there’s something you don’t do that you could do, if only you would do. Perhaps it’s untapped, but out there… beckoning.

Think about it…

As the quagmire inevitably gets resolved about the new tourism marketing situation locally, I’m putting in a plug in to add director/actor/comedian Jordan Peele to the consultants’ list. After all, he’s had big hits with movies entitled “Get Out”, “Us, and now “Nope”, so (just by his titles alone) it seems like he might be a perfect ally to align with on future campaigns as they most assuredly will morph.

And speaking of tourism issues, we know that some early rhetoric has mentioned some plans for bolder moves to redirect or change the visitor experience and perception. Good timing, because they’ve already resorted to boulder moves streetside in Lanakai… 

Last week I needed to get something in quickly to a government office and they actually asked me to fax it. Really? I thought we were living in a post-fax world, which aligns with the sad reality that we’re also far too often living in a post-facts world… 

While I understand (and concur) with reminding people that COVID is still a hovering presence and a concern inside crowded buildings, I found it ironic to see a sign posted recently on the fence at a Hawai`i Public Housing Authority facility that read: “This property is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC” and right below that it added “NO TRESPASSING”. Boy, if that doesn’t sum up our laissez faire attitude toward the housing situation and public needs in general…

It seems a bit pedestrian, obvious, and generic to see mundane, 2022 political ads that focus on how said candidate will “fight for the little guy”. As opposed to whom- multi-millionaires? You see some politico ads highlighting the concepts of “trust” and “future”. Shouldn’t trust and our future be a voting expectation and a basic given? As opposed to skepticism and looking backwards? Hmmm. 

We need real solutions to real problems in real time; like finalizing flood mitigation plans along the Ala Wai Canal. The Ala Wai Flood Management Project (that name alone might indicate a potentially serious issue) has been around for 23 years, but wasn’t officially authorized or funded until 2018. More talks will soon be held with necessary public interaction, and a supposed “final report” will come out next spring, at which point there’ll be more feedback, then probably more discussion, and invariably more studies. Let’s hope nature remains ambivalent and gives us time to get this one done right… some decade.

Think about it… 

It’s all spelled out in the article. An incredible opportunity for the state and the University of Hawai’i to become an integral part in the burgeoning world of semiconductors, optics, alternative energy, and computer science. A grand opportunity to plant our flag in development (alongside Silicon Valley and other choice locations) of a lucrative, clean, forward-looking, vital industry.

The article mentions Motorola, Intel, and others looking at UH labs for the best and brightest students along with sharing ideas from top scientists (a/k/a professors) at our world-class university up in the Mānoa hills. The article proffers that UH’s physical electronics labs are superior to those at Cal and Stanford. It sounds so grand, within reach, and real! So what happened? Good question. That article, by consultant/advisor/entrepreneur Ray Tsuchiyama (A Farrington HS graduate), appeared in the Hawaii High Tech Journal in the summer… of 1984.

Was there a lack of political will? A lack of financing or grant opportunities? Were we too fixated on tourism, agriculture, and the military as our big three economic pillars to push the incredible potential of these teaching visionaries and their students? Computer science was already a pretty big deal then, so where was our homegrown Big Brother in 1984 to nurture and push this alternative economic engine forward? Surely people realized the goal to keep our best and brightest home back then… I assume. As an aside, Arkansas is now a leading state in computer science, because it pushed.

Can we push harder to bring computer science further along at UH and in our high schools? Perhaps a public-private partnership? Equitably… pushing merit-based programs. Too much humbug? Robotics have become a big deal in Hawai`i in this century, true, and maybe the tech boat hasn’t sailed away on microchip design, lab work, electrical engineering as a trade, or Hawai`i in general as a computer sciences center.

It might not be worth much, but U.S. News & World Report ranks UH-Manoa tied at #135 among colleges/universities in the nation for computer science offerings. Again, this opportunity gone awry is much more complicated than any current numbers, missed opportunities, or even original hopes and realities expressed in a 1984 article. But it is a concrete example where we weren’t just hypothesizing, but were actually succeeding in an area that held great promise for economic diversity and providing well-paying jobs for our own, until it wasn’t.

Think about it…  

I grew up in Highland Park, Illinois. While the windward side of Oahu has been my home for many decades, I grew up in Highland Park, attended middle and high school there, and learned bucketloads of those important life lessons we’re supposed to learn during our formative years.

Thus, this 4^th of July took a wrenching twist for me. I’d planned a fun day ending with a family trek to watch Kailua Beach fireworks. As we hear over and over after “incidents” occur, no one would have thought that Highland Park, Illinois, would become simply one more tragic footnote along our vast American highway of mass shootings. Seven killed, dozens injured, thousands traumatized, millions upset. And we shrug.

Not every person who’s been marginalized, ignored, dumped on, or worse ends up taking out his or her aggressions by indiscriminately firing away. Not every paranoid person who writes bad things repeatedly on social media ends up shooting up a church, school, parade, concert, shopping mall, party, celebration, workplace, hospital, or home; but to let this continue with the minimal efforts we see in this nation to fix things in some way, well, that in and of itself just seems insane.

We don’t live in a world of black or white, but things do seem dark gray when incidents like this happen and we simply move on. Collateral damage? Good grief. We don’t live in world of blue and red, it’s various shades of purple nationwide, so get used to it. We don’t seem to be doing too well in basic civics these days (P.S.- teach it in school), as we hunker down in a world where we rationalize via ethics of convenience- whatever works for my world, even if it seems to contradict some basic rules of order. My world, my view, my needs, my tribe, my 401(k), my fears. My goodness…

New York Times columnist extraordinaire, Frank Bruni, recently wrote about current American politics and its wave of “moral elasticity”. So just how far are we willing to stretch? Pretty far, it seems, on far too many issues. As the pall lifts from COVID, we shift away (hopefully) from an airborne pandemic which caused understandable safety concerns and paranoia as we witness heartbreak in America, where hard-fought freedoms so valued by so many get tested on a weekly basis. And we shrug. 

I’m so sorry, Highland Park.

Think about it…