midweek

Celebrate good times when you visit a dear friend, spend productive time with colleagues, or enjoy gatherings with relatives. Circles of time- as interactions occur, even for brief moments- proactively engaging with others to make worthwhile moments.

I lunched recently with a former co-worker at a favorite fast food joint featuring a mutually beloved sandwich special. We gleefully indulged, like kids. Food may be primarily aimed at the body, but it can surely nurture the soul and mind, too.  We laughed, reminisced, and got emotional as we waxed nostalgic about co-workers now gone along with happier work memories.

I recalled how this remarkable woman went to New York City in December, 2001, to help hundreds of people still suffering from the devastation of the 9-11 attack. As a certified Red Cross volunteer, she’d done work after nature had wreaked havoc in Saipan and New Orleans, but in December, 2001, she asked me (her boss) if she could go to New York, three months after the once unthinkable had become America’s reality. 

She spent two weeks there working 12-14 hour days comforting those in need- trying to direct them toward food, housing, hope, mental stability, and answers. She was 55 years old then- it was her first trip to the Big Apple. No Broadway, no Empire State Building, no fun. As I remembered those days, I recalled a numbness creeping in as we realized that our world would never be the same; whatever innocence still existed after other historic, turbulent times was gone. I thought back to my young children then, pondering what they would inherit as the world shook, yet invariably pushed forward. 

When my friend returned to work in January, 2002, shocked and stunned from her N.Y. experience, she remained resilient, for that is her demeanor. She told me that nowadays she walks daily around a shopping center which is home to a dialysis center. Occasionally, she’ll notice patients exiting and offers to help them get back to their cars after their long, draining sessions. Oh my; still giving.

Some give ‘til it hurts; others sublimate or ignore trauma and pain that occur and yet possess the fortitude to keep giving. We deeply enjoyed our unhealthy sandwiches and two hours recollecting. Here’s to human interaction and satisfying get-togethers. Circles of time. In 2026, meet up with greater frequency, because time waits for no one. Happy New Year!

Think about it…

We know it’s good to be happy, and apparently you are! WalletHub, a personal finance company, has ranked Hawai`i as the happiest state in the union (again) in 2025! Party hardy; we’ve done it again. While we can pontificate (humbly, of course) about how life here is different and talk about ‘ohana and other local virtues, this annual survey does seem to provide some certainty to the fact that, yeah- it is really nice here, as we’ve shared from this survey before.

Wallet Hub happiness surveys in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024 also ranked the Aloha State as the happiest. We fell to #2 (behind Utah) in 2023, and there were no surveys in 2019 and 2021. Relative happiness is now a statistically accepted reality for our state; how nice. It goes beyond just a feeling.

Emotional & Physical Well-Being (#2), Work Environment (#16), and Community & Environment (#13) are the three key categories used to assess the happiness of people living in each of the 50 states. 

What also enhances the this report is the fact that Hawai`i ranks as second lowest in depression of any state… makes sense, since apparently most people are pretty happy. That’s not to say we don’t have our challenges here with mental health issues along with housing, food insecurity, cost of living, well-paying jobs, etc., but WalletHub’s annual study signifies that even with all those blemishes and downers, Hawai`i really IS unique… 

We enjoy the highest life expectancy of any state and this year’s survey suggests that 72% of Hawai`i adults are “…active and productive on a daily basis”. We have regularly low unemployment rates (though some must work extra jobs to make ends meet) and WalletHub says we have “…the 11^th lowest share of adults with financial anxiety”.

So either things are actually better than we might sometimes think, better than some reports we see/hear, or a lot of people were really high when they answered this survey! Again, these results do not suggest that we don’t have room for improvement to help hard-working people who struggle to make a go of it, but choose to stay here and make it work. 

Even when they’re struggling, people in Hawai`i’s happiness quotient is really high. Happy people tend to be healthier, more productive, and (obviously) more fun to be around, which amplifies the happy factor. Happy to hear this. Merry Christmas.

Think about it…

So what are your favorite Christmas songs? Even for people who love things new, modern, influencer-recommended, current, or faddish, Christmas rings of nostalgia, hanabata days, and personal traditions. Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, even Mariah Carey… which do you savor most at this time of year? 

Today let’s sprinkle some seasoning sounds to the season in which we all allegedly smile a bit more and relish time with family and friends. Check out this short list of Christmas songs from the past 55 years that are always part of my holiday playlist alongside more traditional Christmas hits:

“Feliz Navidad” – José Feliciano (1970). Feliciano, also known for his stirring, soulful, Hispanic-flair rendition of The Doors’ “Light My Fire”, apparently penned this song while homesick. It’s repetitive, catchy chorus and mixture of Spanish and English makes it a festive, holiday singalong treat.

“I Believe In Father Christmas”- Greg Lake (1975). Lake was the vocalist for progressive rockers Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and this anti-holiday-commercialism tale (according to Lake) summed up what’s so right and so wrong about the holiday season. It remains a seasonal gem. Lyricist Pete Sinfield countered Lake’s song meaning claim by stating that the song was about lost innocence and youthful beliefs. Either way, it works. 

“White Is The Winter Night”- Enya (2008). A beautiful slice of winter’s wonders sung by Ireland’s enigmatic singer/composer. Enya perfectly captures so many different flavors and feelings of the season; this is the best of the many wintry creations she has blessed us with over the years. A feel good song for the ages, with a rich Christmas-y chorus.

“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”- John Lennon (1971). Written alongside Yoko Ono, this anti-(Vietnam) war song co-mingled with Lennon’s happy Christmas exhortation- quite the seasonal dichotomy. Lennon preached “social unity and peaceful change” (Smooth Radio) throughout his lifetime. The first stanza inspires: “So this is Christmas/ And what have you done/ Another year over/ And a new one just begun”. A reminder to stay active and stay passionate, peeps.

Also, sprinkle these for fun (yes, there are tons more) onto your classic, holiday egg-noggy setlist: “Little Saint Nick” (The Beach Boys), “Getting Ready For Christmas Day” (Paul Simon), “Christmas in Hollis” (Run-D.M.C.), “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” (Bruce Springsteen)” and the amazing 1999 chicken skin version of “O Holy Night” by Lahaina’s own, Willie K, my personal favorite.

Think about it…

The Kalapawai Roundabout was finally completed last month after three years and a cost of $11 million. An interim roundabout was first constructed in 2018, and the now-in-place artistic roadwork/landscaping is functionally sound, with hopes that alert pedestrians and drivers do their jobs.

There were delays (imagine that), closures, detours, unclear signage, weather issues, Board of Water Supply findings, drainage reparations, utility line relocation… everything but the kitchen sink (rumor has it they found one of those, too). Almost $9 million of this project was federally funded (ahhh… the good old days when the feds cared) and traffic in this oft-congested area should flow better now.

The project design company stated that about 25,000 vehicles pass through the intersection on busy summer days… which sounds like an awful lot of cars in that area in a day. Kailua town can get quite crowded with locals, walkers, strollers, bikers, sightseers, et al., but 25,000 cars around Lanikai?? I reconfirmed that number with the City, so feel free to be as astounded as I was that on busy summer days, up to 25,000 cars travel that loop de loop.

On a rotary-related note, in its 1971 classic progressive rock song, “Roundabout”, Yes sang about the impending reunion one realizes after going through numerous driving roundabouts: “In and around the lake/ Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there/ 24 before my love and I’ll be there”. Surely the Kalapawai roundabout will get someone to his/her destination much quicker than the “24” hours Yes’ Jon Anderson wrote/sang about while traipsing around foggy, foreboding Scotland when the band toured there in its infancy.

Many think that song refers to “roundabout” as a metaphor for love, of getting back home, of doing what one must to get to one’s beloved. Perhaps. I just felt it was incredibly intricate with grand musicianship and cool, alto-tenor singing. 55-years later, Yes is still known for its poetic, hard-to-decipher lyrics, often about mythical, mystical concepts and/or spiritual things. Try ‘em.

And while this Yes tune surely doesn’t describe the Kalapawai roundabout, there is something musical, magical and metaphorical about having to sometimes travel in circles to get where you want to or need to go. While I still can’t believe it took three years (or seven) to build such a confined concept, we finally have a mini-monument to get to where we’re going in southeastern Kailua.

Think about it… 

A little lightness and levity to kick off this merry, mirthy, mindful month:

Some suggest that things are going to the birds in many ways as obfuscation rules the world far too often, but Scotland saw a real case of things going off the rails when a swan held up train traffic for hours (during rush hour, of course) as it stood on the tracks in Glasgow five weeks ago. The disruption caused train delays and slowdowns. The bird was invariably moved out of harm’s way as ScotRail opined that the freeloader seemed “…a little distressed, but recovering well”. Perhaps, but thousands of Scots were in a fowl mood as the bird took his swan song before departing…

We all know that love hurts, but this one caught my eye… a Venezuelan tennis player who received a four-year suspension for testing positive for methamphetamine pleaded innocent, suggesting that the tainted result came from a simple (or not so simple) kiss. The burden of proof was on the player to prove the presence of the drug was unintentional, and he could not do so. Kiss and tell indeed. A French Olympic fencer actually did justify her innocence in a similar circumstance last year when she proved she’d been contaminated by an unwary bussing partner, giving a whole mean meaning to the term “kiss off”. Decapitalization/modernist poet e. e. cummings once wrote, “Kisses are a better fate than wisdom”. Sometimes, perhaps not…

And finally, last month a Detroit, Michigan, police officer remotely testified in a traffic-related case via Zoom. Most of us understand protocol and work expectations of “business” Zoom calls. We adapted quickly during the prolonged COVID era. Well, this law enforcement officer didn’t forget the case nor the facts; he simply forgot his pants. Yes, his home camera showed him appropriately attired from the shirt up, but revealed boxers below. The judge asked if the officer had pants on, and the forthright policeman copped to it with a quick “No, sir.” Busted.

The judge immediately admonished the officer. Detroit’s police department later noted that “the involved officer’s actions are not representative of the professionalism of this department and will be appropriately addressed…” So his lack of dress was to be appropriately addressed. One wonders if the unnerved traffic offender declared emotional duress during the call and asked for redress from the court?!

Holiday cheers!

Think about it…

If you want a possible glimpse of the future, you might take a look at the past via Hollywood classics and pop music hits. Some movies/songs are prophetic, some pathetic, but numerous works appear to foreshadow- “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), “Blade Runner” (1982), “WarGames” (1983), “The Terminator” (1984), “ The Matrix”, “Minority Report” (2002) , “I, Robot” (2004)… a sampling of movies that prognosticated things to come.

We are now in the annual season of hope. Throughout history, people have felt unsure about things, scared, seeking reassurance, feeling unsettled. Perhaps a reverse pop culture Wayback Machine (see “Peabody’s Improbable History” in Rocky/Bullwinkle cartoons) can provide a small bridge- fiction or fact- that reminds us of artistic repositories suggesting “beware” way back when. 

Old music hits also provide clues that history repeats itself, and yet we’ve survived- “Eve of Destruction” (1965), “In The Year 2525” (1969), “Ball of Confusion” (1970), “Everybody Hurts” (1992), “Beds Are Burning” (1987), “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” (1987), “Talkin’ About A Revolution” (1988), “Russians” (1985), “Imagine” (1971), “Fortunate Son” (1969), “Waimanalo Blues” (1975), and “Redemption Song” (1980)… tunes with timely messages back then and worth reflecting on now. We got by; we’ll get by. “Hope is the dream of a waking man”. (Aristotle)

It’s patronizing to suggest “…just relax, this too shall pass” when times seem tough.  Grasp that which you can. Take a breath. Act appreciative and be thankful for what you do have. Embrace hope. Always look ahead. Control what you can, including your mood. Hope can lead to resolve, commitment, action and positive results. It is far better than stultifying inertia.  Maybe this holiday season- this window of annual hope- can help you out of a funk, allow you a moment to reflect, and possibly inch you forward or upward… even if it’s just a start. 

Our islands are home to far too many people who are hungry, needy, struggling, or simply looking for a break; you may know, or be, one of these people. Pop culture provides perspective that while many social struggles/concerns of today are real, they are (unfortunately) not new. We’ve seen ‘em in different ways on different days. Promoting hope helps propel people and instill resiliency beyond idle, wishful thinking. Foster hope, aspire, and perhaps you’ll see a path down that winding road. And put on some music.

Think about it…