In a bizarre, post-truth world, we still find items that can amaze and/or amuse. Like these two recent local stories…
The Hawai`i Authority for Rapid Transportation (which is proving to be anything but rapid) announced that the latest projections for daily choo choo usage shows an expected drop of 18%, from 122,000 to 101,000 daily boardings when the train runs its full route to Ala Moana Center. But we’re supposedly still nine years away (wanna bet?) from the full implementation of that plan, and ridership is apparently already down. Apply this logic every two years through 2031, and we could be down 18% five more times, and potentially see very few riders by the time this steel-wheeled enigma gets going!
While ridership numbers are constantly looked at and adjusted (after all, what else have they got to do right now), it is disconcerting to see usage projections drop while prognosticators, experts, and weekend warriors still postulate whether or not this train will even run past Middle Street. Stay tuned, because you know there’ll be another “are you kidding me?!” HART story just down the tracks.
On another local transportation front, a fire truck was stolen two weeks ago while idling outside of a late-night, emergency medical call. The leeward side call was apparently completed when the first responders went back outside to find their light-flashing vehicle gone. This theft might be tempt a new dictionary definition of “chutzpah”, as there is no subtlety tooling around in a purloined, bright yellow, 40-foot truck with a cool ladder.
The alleged absconder was soon found at a nearby 7-Eleven store in Makaha, undoubtedly sucking on a Big Gulp. How do I know? Well, the only plausible excuse one could have made when asked why he would do such a thing is, “Hey, I was thirsty”. Yes nothing is as satiating as a huge drink, no matter the obstacles.
In 2021’s twilight zone universe, where sides are taken and lines are not simply drawn, but often constructed with mental cement, many hope for a return to semi-harmony, sensible discourse, and rational compromise to once again run our democracy. A proven way to calm down and stop making everything a major, politically-charged issue is to chuckle, laugh occasionally, and take important things seriously while not taking ourselves too seriously. Well, maybe we can all agree on one thing- don’t steal fire engines.
Think about it…