Think About It Hawaii

The heavy rains of late-November/early December wreaked havoc underneath the state Capitol… again. While the area is undergoing repair (for problems first noted over 15 years ago), speculation continues about how best to replace or recreate the pools fronting the Capitol to highlight the original intent (1969) of a building (a very cool one, indeed) that represents a volcanic island, surrounded with palm trees aside the ocean.

As we’ve seen, the conceptual nature of this nature has been offset by the age-old reality of a leaky basin and too much time spent realizing the problem, but not fixing (or budgeting for) it. Thus, here are some whimsical, yet possible, alternatives to address our external Capitol concerns, amid the now-common views of plastic bags, dripping, and clean-ups.

Beach volleyball courts– what better way to celebrate the dynamic sport that Hawai`i considers its own in many ways! And what a great opportunity to drive more people to the structure than to have families and friends playing in the golden sand along Beretania Avenue. We could even charge hourly fees to help raise revenue!

Lawn bowling or bocce ball– though similar in nature, these two extremely fun games would again bring out the masses and provide for oodles of entertainment. Yes, we would have to keep the grass there somewhat immaculate, and that would mean watering in the same area where… oh well, maybe we can use a thick, synthetic, weather-resistant turf?!

Pickle ball courts– Come on, it’s the hottest sport out there right now, and how better to ensure that our local, orthopedic community has plenty of business going forward as baby boomers tweak ACLS and/or Achilles tendons as they literally jump into this craze. 

Model car racing– Leagues could be formed and encouraged to bring mini-racer teams to the track(s) on weekends when the kids aren’t scheduled for one of their 45 other activities.

Food truck rally/festival/park– perfect for downtown eaters looking for variety, stocked with a rotating cast of the incredible mobile eateries we now visit throughout O`ahu.

Cement barriers– as a not-so-subtle reminder about the concerns of global warming and its creeping impact on our environs.

A walking loop– why not simply turn this area into a walking trail ringing the Capitol? Include native plants aligned along the route with informative notations about plant life- exercise, socialization, nature and education all together- a Capitol idea!

Think about it…

‘Tis the season, for sure. For shopping, over-indulging, binge buying, traffic, nerve-fraying, jamming at work, and maybe… just maybe, a time for reflection. A look within as well as a broader look outside- might be a good thing. So since I’ve decided I can’t buy all of you a gift this year, I’m going to make a simple suggestion. Take five-minutes, just five, and listen to one, a few, or as many as you’d like of these songs in a quiet room with someone you love over the next three weeks. 

It might not set your world afire. It might not even be a song you like or know (that’s fine, you pick ‘em!). But no phones, no distractions, no barking dogs or kids; heck, you might even have to do this in a quiet car… but this reflection moment will only take five minutes. And surely you and your betrothed must be worth five minutes of personal time, yeh? To renew, to relive, to revisit? At such a special time of year.

We all know how much a part of this particular season music is. Prophetic, schmaltzy, perfect, your call. So take a chance amid the holiday madness to re-connect, sit quietly, listen, absorb, and perhaps even gaze at one another. No videos, no distractions. If it works for you, great; if not, it’ll cost you just five-minutes. Here’s a truncated list:

Lemme know how it works.

Think about it…

Seasonal songs for a fun-filled time of year. In a world perhaps overly sensitive and over-correcting (at times), here’s a twisted analysis of storied holiday songs, suggesting what some might consider to be titularly off-putting.

“All I Want For Christmas Is You”- Really? Must it always be about what you want! What about the collective us, or my needs? What about others?

“White Christmas”- Let’s not even go there…

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”- Great! Now you get to dictate my feelings?

“Frosty The Snowman”- Come on… dude appears to have rhinophyma (really red nose) which social media suggests is linked to a, um, …drinking issue.

“The Little Drummer Boy”- how about just “the drummer boy”?! Why the pejorative term? 

“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”- uh-huh; is this another one of those so-called “open relationships”, or perhaps “just” a seasonal thing? Ho Ho Ho, indeed.

“Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer”- See “Frosty The Snowman”. And I hear that Santa knows!

“O Come All Ye Faithful”- Any chance we can extend this concept to 12-months annually? If we pull the caring card only on Christmas, are we absolved when acting rude or misbehaving the other 364 days?

“12 Days Of Christmas”- I heard that the numbers 13 and 14 filed an international lawsuit claiming date exclusion. Why limit such a gluttonous potpourri to just 12 days?

“Last Christmas”- Oh puh-leeease… can’t we just move on already? Why drudge up the past? I am sooooo over last Christmas. 

“Silent Night”- let’s make this concept acceptable more often- peace, quietude… no cellphones, video games, streaming, judgment, polarizing tribes, insincere pontification, or self-indulgent prattle?

“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”- a bit presumptuous, isn’t it? And who declared you nice and not naughty? Was someone overseeing those votes? I detect voter fraud here.

“You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”- Mean? Maybe he’s just got pent up emotional issues. How about some empathy? Hear him out. I mean, it is that most wonderful time of year, isn’t it?

“It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year”- Who says? Here comes a polarizing, argumentative viewpoint from summertime fans, followed by those who cherish the changing autumn colors.

“Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”- this smacks of ageism and recklessness; it just seems wrong and unfair on so many levels…

If nothing else, ‘tis the season to lighten up and light up (the house).

Think about it…

Do kids ever just “play” anymore? It seems that too many childhood activities nowadays must be carefully choreographed around school, parents’ work, multiple clubs or sports teams, such that kids rarely just go outside and play. That was de rigueur when many of us ancients grew up. And fun.

I recall great afternoon bicycle races with whomever was outside featuring laps around neighborhood driveways. It felt like the Indianapolis 500. And we’d play 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 football with whomever was around… until a mom yelled “dinner!” Normally we’d wait for said mom’s voice volume to ratchet up before we’d agree to finally call it a night.

Sure, some had after extracurricular teams or activities that required coordination, timing, carpooling, and choreographed time management. But it was done with restraint; seasons didn’t overlap endlessly into one another on overcrowded weekends. Nowadays, nine-year olds are rushed into game gear to try out for yet another all-star team so that just maybe, when they’re 18, they might earn a college athletics scholarship. And yes, I do lament the ridiculous costs of college (and private schools) these days.

Compounding this overscheduling problem locally, many kids within a neighborhood don’t go to the same school as others on their block. And if they play club sports, they’re off with yet a different group from even their normal school chums, so suggesting that kids just go out and play might require name tags within one’s own neighborhood.

I remember one of my kids telling me “I’m bored” when there wasn’t a scheduled weekend event… or four. Bored?  You don’t get to be bored when you’re 11! Go find something to do; play four square, tag, or hide and seek… safely. No phones!

Kids may enjoy their special clubs, teams, halau, tryouts, events, et al. But learning to act independently, sans supervision, teaches keiki, well… independence. Make games up, learn to adapt, create joy, and (hopefully) play fairly, or someone actually might take their ball and go home… a life lesson unto itself. But if there’s always a coach or parent right there to roll out another ball or yell instructions, might our fragile, over-indulged, chauffeured youth possibly become a little too programmed, automated, and/or dependent?

There’s nothing wrong with just playing. Try it. Go ask any psychologist or aggrieved, overworked, under-compensated, harried what’s-next parent. They would happily “just go play”. Any day… Happy Thanksgiving!

Think about it…

When I got to the top of my subdivision, up the winding road, it was a cool 69 degrees. The traffic light (as always) was red. I calmly accepted my plight and started staring at the gorgeous, Koolau mountain range facing me. Chiseled, pure, picturesque, majestic, and framed by a cloudless sky. I thought: “when was the last time I just stared, simply appreciated what unfolded in front of me, transfixed on a 3D picture postcard for the ages?”

Feral chickens clucked off to the side, perhaps commenting amongst one another about the zombie-like voyeur in the purring car. I marveled at the prominent, no… perfect, peaks projecting upward. A cool autumn morning, how cool; a mere moment to just reflect on how fortunate we are to have views such as this. Be it a park, a beach, a hill; find serenity. Seek it out as we all wait for life’s lights to change.

I needed no directional sign nor overlook nor hidden trail or famous beach nook; just a red light and 90-seconds of conscious free time. And I actually took advantage of it. No cell phone gazing; no flipping through the worldly misdeeds of the day. Just O’ahu’s spacious beauty laid out in front of me. Of course, my music choice du moment enhanced the whole experience. It was the brand new Beatles’ song, “Now And Then” (yes, a new Beatles’ song… look it up- great Peter Jackson video, too). 

Anyway, do we ever realize what we miss if we don’t look up and focus on what’s in plain sight, a/k/a not seeing the forest for the trees? There’s so much pervasive adversity right now that one might opt to sometimes just not see, hear, or read about it any more. But co-exist and persist we shall. And this all comes on the heels of three-years of angst, contradictions, polarizations, and rewiring. “Now what?”, we shrug. We can all use a break and must give ourselves one, even if it’s minor or momentary. Because it’s right in front of us, if we only look.

I came upon my mini-break by chance. I’ve driven this same route daily for 40 years, and I usually don’t look up, or out. But that day, in just 90-seconds (the light always turns green), a manini piece of heaviness lifted; a great way to begin yet another day in paradise. Happy Thanksgiving.

Think about it…  

If you’ve been following the steady trend of more people moving out of Hawai`i than into Hawai`i annually (seven years straight now), you’ve probably heard some who suggest “…good, we could use fewer people here”. Really? Let’s look what this now-annual net emigration trend portends for Hawai`i. Keep in mind, this resident departure syndrome  involves tax payers moving, not fewer tourists (as some dream about regularly).

Many who leave are retired (or retiring) and most have discretionary funds available, so when they leave, that’s a negative for our economy. When still-active workers leave, not only might that break up family units (eliciting emotional repercussions), but it also suggests a brain and brawn drain, a reduction in our day-in, day-out workforce. Who will handle vacated, vital jobs? We’re already short of teachers, doctors, nurses, retail clerks, hospitality industry workers, law enforcement personnel, etc.

If we continue to see net population losses, those who opt (or are forced to) ply their trade on the continent will take resources, kids, and wisdom with them. Our pool of future leaders, innovators, and even cultural ambassadors will dwindle, and it’s hard to put a positive spin on that likelihood.

Most of us enjoyed quieter beaches, shopping experience and less traffic during the dog years of COVID-19, but it’s not realistic to expect that solitude going forward without gaping economic pitfalls; and besides, some of that quiet was due to lack of visitors. 

As we increase the affordability and availability of housing, we also need to assess what jobs/industries will keep people engaged locally at wages allowing them to be happily housed while not restricting them financially as prisoners of their living units without great hope of saving for their inevitable golden years here.

Beyond housing, when people talk about reducing the cost of living here, which retailer or manufacturers locally would you suggest cut prices? Everybody? Island living ensures limited options for products and services; you simply can’t drive a couple of hours to the next state to get what you need cheaper. Competition (and thus options) are limited and local costs are much higher in just about every area of business.

Based on the reality of local lifestyles, circa 2023, suggesting that simply having fewer people living here would be a good idea is a bit naïve, plus economically (and socially) a formula for future woes we don’t want or can’t handle.

Think about it…

With this column, I begin my fifth year of writing commentaries in MidWeek. I’m not sure of any major significance of having now completed four years of sharing thoughts weekly, but I found some interesting concepts around the number (and age) of four.

A child care program primer suggests that four-year olds begin to understand about other people’s feelings, a concept apparently lost once one walks through the formerly hallowed doors of Congress, thus becoming an entitled, elected separatist. The child care commentary indicates that children, upon reaching age four (or thereabouts) become more in tune with the concept of cooperation. Again, this seems to have been lost completely in Washington, D.C.; they’re often acting like three-year olds… which sadly doesn’t shock us anymore.

Empathy is another term used to describe human evolution as we reach our 4^th birthdays. And empathy is a value sadly missing far too often in far too many day-to-day discussions, as too many have devolved into a cocoon where it’s often “me” over “we” or even “whee!”; many things just don’t seem to elicit a sense of fun anymore. Perhaps this is a vestige of a post-COVID world, further exemplified by alleged leaders who religiously take themselves far too seriously as they ignore their responsibilities to lead.

Extreme distress is an emotional red flag that might appear in four-year olds… this distress may describe 2023 reality for those dealing with weighty economic, emotional, mental, physical, tribal, (add your own “____al” here) issues.

And not to get biblical here, but on the fourth day of creation, we apparently received the sun, the moon, and the stars (see Genesis 1:14-19). Not a bad workday; I wonder if time off was taken for lunch on that busy day? Childish adults in the political world should take time off to gaze out- maybe on a starlit night- and reflect on their (in)actions, agitation, attitudes, arrogance, and angst.

A lot has happened over the past four years since I began to “think about it” here. In human years, we might opt to discount part of that COVID quarantine window; so the past four years might equate to two “real” years in human- or even dog- terms. Perhaps you wish that my four-year “Think About It” MidWeek editorial sojourn had been reduced by MidWeek’s print hierarchy to just one week. Sorry, but we shall press onwards, as we continue to think about it…

The modern state of business in a digitized, impersonal world that sometimes portends a post-truth reality and an influx of artificial intelligence (or stupidity)… it sometimes gets to be too much for our frail, human minds to adapt to. So let’s visit some possibly antiquated, overused, generic office terms (in part courtesy of C2FO,a capital funding firm) in an effort to de-clutter (an overused buzzword) our crania.

“Think outside the box”… what box? If you’re not thinking in circles, rhomboids and triangles these days to solve conundrums at work, then perhaps you’re not being challenged or enjoying your job. “Trying something new” or “innovative approaches” should be an expected job expectation quite often. The box was recycled a long time ago, so let’s “86” it… and don’t even begin to ask where the idea of “86’ing” something came from…

“Results-driven”… as opposed to what: failure-intended? Even if you don’t get the result(s) you want, your normal modus operandi in a workplace is results-driven. At some point in a process or post-planning, it would seems results are necessary. We can bag this expression in presentations, too.

“The whole nine yards”… this one allegedly started out as a fabric/garment measurement, so why it symbolizes “everything” in idiomatic expression seems idiotic, or quaint. “All” or “everything” work well, and then our minds won’t wander during the discussion, distracted by this archaic concept that still breathes far too often.

“Giving 110%”… quite the popular term for sports genericists. Let’s be clear, 100% is the absolute max, so you simply can’t “give more”, but we get the gist of this one. If asked to work or try harder, and you said, “I can’t, I’m already giving 107%”, you might be fired for insubordination, but surely not because you’re not giving your mathematical best…

“At the end of the day…”… well, this one doesn’t work great in a world in which we remain connected about 17 hours daily now- does it? Frankly, ending the day at a specific time might allow for more work/life balance which is (thankfully) in vogue in this post-COVID, hybrid era (lifestyles, not cars), so perhaps shorten to “finally…” or “in the end…”

Vapid, outdated, overused expressions that lose context and power. We have the power to change this!  Are we on the same page with this low hanging fruit in our ecosystem? Are our ducks in a row?

Good; think about it…

Kermit the Frog sang “it’s not easy being green”, which was undoubtedly true for him, but for a dedicated musician in 2023, it’s not easy making green. While there has never been more music so readily available through so many sources, the non-superstars are struggling mightily in this digital age.

In the “old” days, artists could depend on music sales (CDs, LPs, EPs, 45s, greatest hits, catalog sales, et al.) along with concert dates to (possibly) make a decent living. Talk to just about any well-known, local artist in 2023, and they’ll tell you about the side jobs required to make ends meet. I recently dined with an extremely well-known local singer/songwriter and heard the sad saga- gigs in Japan have dried up, ticket prices have plummeted, the costs to travel have gone up, and no one is buying CDs or even resurgent vinyl albums in numbers large enough to sustain a music career.

How bad is it? This artist has over 15,000 monthly listeners on one major streaming service, has won numerous Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, and gets quarterly royalty checks from an agent for the songs streamed via multiple services… the quarterly checks total about $100, or just $400 per year. Yikes! Streaming pay rates have caused outrage for years, and there are now lawsuits and new pressure being applied to change the formula. To top it off, this performer, first because of COVID quarantining and now due to a lack of quality sites to play at on the West Coast and in Japan, expressed that the inability to see and experience new things and meet new people is stifling the all-important creative bug.  So… no new songs. Frustrating.

This is not about massively popular heritage acts or crème de la crème, current pop flavors du jour, but rather about the other 95%- those hard-working, well-liked

musicians who simply cannot figure out that formula (because there isn’t one) combining music unit royalties and concert fees to make it work in 2023. Are the glory days of music winding down for far too many local tunesmiths, our favorite Storytellers and up ‘n’ comers who simply can’t up and come? Playing at aunty’s cousin’s baby luau as a “favor” for $300 simply won’t pay the rent. Music labels and some streaming services may prosper, but the vast majority of musical artists don’t, which makes one feel a bit mu-sick.

Think about it…

Perhaps I missed the official declaration, but nine months after we were told that the Hawai`i rainbow license plate design was going to (probably) be replaced, it appears that the multicolored arc has another 15 years left. As the Star Advertiser’s “Kokua Line” recently reported, the Honolulu Customer Services Department indicated that the lifespan of the pretty plates will be prolonged utilizing a heretofore unused letter combination. A simple solution.

As it should be! I was fortunate to attend a wonderful Hawai`i Island, executive conference last month and heard well-known super chef, Mark “Gooch” Noguchi describe a special noodle dish he’d created for those assembled. He commented about how Hawai`i is sometimes called the ultimate melting pot, when in actuality, we’re just a huge “mixed plate”- with distinctions and unique flavors, but a commonality in spirit, which makes us different from just about anywhere else. 

Perhaps that uniqueness can be an instrumental driver in helping to mend the dysfunctional, constant angst we witness on so many issues around us. While the rainbow represents a beautiful mix and match of colors, all flowing across a magical arc, each color is unique, can stand by itself, yet blends with all of the other hues. A rainbow is a sign of hope, an enabler, an empath, a smile inducer.

Because at the end of the day, we are all simply connected life forms, part of a universe far greater than our individual selves or our chosen or born-into tribes. Our rainbow license plate design might seem simple, but that’s part of its beauty. Also, the HPD says its design makes it easier to read with basic black letters on a white background with the subtle colorful prism.

Who doesn’t feel a wee bit better when espying a rainbow in this land of rainbows? Who doesn’t dream a bit, envisioning that mythical pot of gold at the end of the arc? The “Kokua Line” article mentioned “…the design’s high contrast and visibility”. And isn’t that part of what makes Hawai`i so wonderful? It’s that high contrast and visibility- our islands’ diversity, customs, disparate roots, and deeply ingrained optimism and sense of `ohana.

So here’s to the continued use of rainbow plates; celebrate our mixed plate(s), revel in the differences and nuances that keep it interesting. But never forget the underlying soul and spirit that weave through everyone and everything we value locally.

Think about it…