• A trip to Puhi • Dems and GOP • On military and Hawai‘i A trip to Puhi I’ve been trying to get to Puhi from my house in Kapahi for two weeks now to visit an old friend. So
• A trip to Puhi • Dems and GOP • On military and Hawai‘i
A trip to Puhi
I’ve been trying to get to Puhi from my house in Kapahi for two weeks now to visit an old friend. So far, I’m zero for six.
On Monday I got up early and left home at 7:30 a.m. But as I started out, I was assaulted by wave after wave of SUVs, minivans and giant yellow buses racing like NASCAR pros up to the Kapa‘a schools to drop off their kids.
I felt like a tired salmon struggling against the river rapids on its way to a last-ditch spawning. So I scurried back home. Whew.
On Tuesday, I figured out that an even earlier departure time might work.
No such luck. At 7 a.m., the highway was overrun by mini-trucks towing overweight lawn equipment, jacked up four-wheel drive trucks, delivery vans with cell-phone drivers and huge, squealing Matson container semi-trucks.
In fear for my life I whipped around and dived for the safety of my garage. That was a close call, to say the least.
On Wednesday I thought I had them outfoxed and took off promptly at 11 a.m. Forget about it.
This time there were white convertible rental cars drifting carelessly along the road as their occupants stared at their GPS screens, stood up in the front seat to take videos of other cars or hung out the windows looking for native trinkets at the “quaint, temporary” roadside bazaars.
There‘s no way I’m going to risk serious injury for some tourist slowing to a stop in the middle of a busy highway to see if there’s a surfer T-shirt sale on at half-price.
Back home I went.
Thursday was a complete washout as I darn near had a heart attack glaring at the gas price signs on the way.
It’s like they were daring me to pull in and surrender all my beer money just to be able to keep my truck moving (which was impossible anyway due to the sneaky state highway crews shifting their traffic cones around to fool us into forming gigantic lines of congestion.
By then I was so depressed that I had to take the next day off and watched a marathon session of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” re-runs.
I knew that Saturday was out of the question, as that’s for the combined charity walkathon and Sears-Macy’s super-duper eternal weekend sale at Kukui Grove Shopping Center.
I tried to ride the Kaua‘i Bus instead, but couldn’t figure out the pick-up times and places. I did not Pass Go. Sunday was a day of rest in front of the sports channels, as usual.
Finally I figured out that I should give it a shot during the night. Even though I made it far enough to see the Burger King on Nawiliwili Road at 10 p.m. on Monday, I was blinded by what appeared to be bright searchlights from some hovering UFOs (which I later found out was a night highway construction crew).
It was so frightening that I drove into a ditch, then barely wobbled back to Kapahi.
Even though my attempts at seeing my buddy in Puhi have been a failure so far, I hope that someday I’ll make it all the way.
But I’m no fool; I won’t even try until the maze of confusing road-striping and lane-changing patterns in Lihu‘e is gone. In the meantime, I’ll just cool my jets at home. Lower Kapahi is looking better all the time.
Dana Bekeart, North Kapa‘a
Dems and GOP
When I read Mr. Boyer’s letter (Letters: April 23) blaming the Democrats for racism, I laughed so hard that you probably heard me all the way out there on Kaua‘i.
I must say that every word he said was true. But as Lyndon Johnson said when he passed the Civil Rights Act, “There goes the South.”
The Act angered the southern Democrats so much that they … wait … wait … became Republicans.
His last sentence was the truest I’ve ever read. “Those who charge racism could be neatly defining themselves.”
An Independent Southern boy who lived on Kaua‘i asks: Who is representing the Democrats today?
Chip Nelson, Asheboro, N.C.
On military and Hawai‘i
Re: the pending U.S. closure of Japan military bases and all coming to ‘enhance’ the already illegally occupied Hawaiian islands. We are about to greet a whole new reality with martial law and further corrupt actions or strategies of the political and military entities.
There is a huge need for population stabilization or moratorium, any momentum that will deter this from happening.
These same peoples will overrun the counties and take away from our already depleted resources. We are not a free people; we are quickly being absorbed into a catastrophic reality.
All of it — federal, state and county —is collectively mind-boggling and definitely mind-blowing.
Too many are complacent, and there not enough to make anything significant happen. Short of a civil uprising, we’re doomed to turning the cheek after yet another slap after broken treaties, as well as a century which includes all the rest of the shibai.
This household is ‘bug out’ planning. Uhane Hemolele has our back.
Debra Kekaualua, Kapa‘a
