"Less is more, pack light..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

Judith Whitehead lives with her husband Steve in Amherst N.Y.
Judith has worked in the ophthalmology
 field of medicine for over 30 years...

Less is more, pack light

Once again I am getting ready to take a trip across the country to get some well needed rest and sun...and remind myself that when packing, "less is more." 

Over the years I have had a tendency to over pack and have gotten a case of the "what ifs. What if it rains, what if it's cold etc. 

 I have decided to throw caution to the wind this summer and take only those items that I will want  and have the desire to wear,the bare essentials.

Why schlep all those clothes that I will just unpack unused when I have returned.  I have even found the lightest of suitcases that can be lifted empty with one finger and rolls in every direction.  This year I am making it very easy on myself.

When we are young, we need to pack many accessories just in case we may want or need them, not any more.. I am sticking to my mantra this time, less is more.  

Now watch it rain and be cold this time and I will be freezing, lol...

I remember one year we went to Hawai'i and they had record 60 mph winds that week. We lived in our light jackets we brought along..

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared from Facebook...

        

"Can you guess who this man is..?" & "Only in India..." 'Chester "Unc" Lau' (Source)

Dakinetalks favorite Uncle (Chester Lau)

"Unc"  is really passionate about creating a national Caregivers day.

Any help , support or ideas would be greatly appreciated...

'Unc' currently resides on the Hawai'ian Island of Oahu. 
He is a retired cinematographer,
 and  enjoys giving the politicians a bad time...

Can you guess who this man is?


Kaua'i is fortunate to have a resident who loves the island style of living and tries to improve island life through his Facebook blog: Dakinetalk...

  He gives islanders a  forum  to praise or complain about life in general.  He encourages our leaders to cut taxes & improve the island economy by bringing  back the Super Ferry.  Competition will boost quality and service.  It'll also bring prices down for residents and visitors alike.  

This funny & entertaining man is trying to help his "Uncle" (and everyone's "Uncle") Chester "Unc" Lau  of Oahu get the ball rolling for A CAREGIVERS' RECOGNITION DAY,   possibly a proclamation by President Obama.  

The majority of us don't realize the need for a caregiver, until  a critical time.  Do you have enough savings  for professional help in your "golden years"?  Think now & prepare for later.  

Most everyone will eventually need professional elder care.  Who is this fun-loving, bestest writer in Kapa'a, Kaua'i? 

If you guessed Rabbi Kimo Rosen, your prize is an order of sweet & sour shrimp from one of Hawaii's many excellent Asian restaurants courtesy of ex-president George W.Bush !

P.S.
Only in India

Mr. Sharma comes home one night, and his wife throws her arms around his neck: "I have great news: I'm a month overdue. I think we're going to have a baby! The doctor gave me a test today, but until we find out for sure, we can't tell anybody."            

The next day, Mrs. Sharma receives a telephone call from Reliance Energy because the electricity bill has not been paid.
"Am I speaking to Mrs. Sharma?"
"Yes... speaking".
Reliance guy, "You're a month overdue, you know!"
"How do YOU know?" stammers the young woman.
"Well, ma'am, it's in our files!" says the Reliance guy.
"What are you saying? It's in your files ...HOW?????"
" Yes ............  We have a system of finding out who's overdue "
" GOD!!!!!!......... This is too much.........."
"Madam, I am sorry.... I am following orders.... I have to inform you that you are overdue and have to do something about it."
"I know that.... let me talk to my husband about this tonight.... He will speak to your company tomorrow " 

That night she tells her husband about the incident, and he, mad as a bull, rushes to the Reliance office the next morning.

"What's going on? You dare you have it on your file that my wife is a month overdue? What business is that of yours?" the husband shouts.
"Just calm down," says the lady at the reception at Reliance, "it's nothing serious. All you have to do is pay us."
"PAY you? And if I refuse?"
"Well, in that case, sir, we'd have no option but to cut off  your connection."
"And what would my wife do then?" the husband asks.
"I don't know. I guess she'd have to use a candle." 

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared from Facebook...

"Climate change..." 'Bettejo Dux' (Classic Wednesday)

Bettejo Dux has lived on the cosmic Garden Island of Kaua'i for over 40 years...

Bettejo  is the author of thefamed novella, "The Scam."

Her new book "Children of Extinction" will be out soon!

Climate Change

I am not a  scientist, I try very hard not to  indulge in name calling; but my  husband was an engineer and he 
taught me, 'if it can be measured, it's there'.

We are experiencing global warming. It can be measured. We can measure an extreme  increase in CO2 since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

We have a North West Passage  for the first time in the history of  mankind. Glaciers are calving and 
melting at alarming rates. Seas  are rising. There will be no snows on Kilimanjaro. Greenland could 
be lost. The American South West will be a desert.

Man caused? Who knows.Please watch the excellent  documentary HOME and decide for yourself. 

A metaphor: if one cleans up a  rats' mess in the hope it will  clean out a rats' nest, isn't it  better to give it a try?

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...

"A Taste of Google..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Column #18)

James Kimo Rosen and Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
at the 2010 Taste of Hawaii.
Carvalho played in the NFL for two years. He was drafted by the
 Miami Dolphins in the 1984 draft and played offensive lineman...
Mayor Carvalho is the epitome of what a great mayor should be. I believe he learned much form his football career in being a team player which has continued on into his  political career. 

Vendors at the 2013 Taste of Hawaii...

Aloha,Check out my column in the 05-19-14 edition of the
 Kaua'i Garden Island news; "A Taste of Google?"
If you like it, please click recommend on the top left or bottom of page.
 The link is below. Hope you  enjoy!
http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/guest/a-taste-of-google/article_5a8ebf5c-df13-11e3-a624-001a4bcf887a.html

A Taste of Google

Twenty years ago if you didn't feel good you went to the doctor. Twenty years ago if your dog was whoozing and  sleeping all day, you would take your buddy to the vet. Twenty years ago if you were writing a dissertation for your PhD you'd go to the library. Twenty years ago if you needed some body's phone number, you used a phone book or called 411. Twenty years ago if you needed a recipe for meatloaf, you asked a friend or consulted a recipe book.

Fast forward to 2014 where anything you need to know can be looked up instantaneously  via any  web search engine. The Internet is available everywhere from coffee shops, fast food establishments and hotels via WiFi. If one doesn't have a computer, cell phones are now capable of doing what computers do and sometimes more.

 There are many search engines on which to consult about anything and everything. There is Bing, Ask, Dogpile, Yahoo, Google and many more search engines of which to ask any question the human mind can think, or even dream of.

Search engines are the encyclopedia of this era. Anything you need to know  can be  type into a search engine. Any person you need information on can also be  typed into a search engine. The most popular search engine is “Google”and the term “Google it” has become synonymous with telling someone to look it up on a search engine. Just like the term ‘Xerox’ became synonymous with the word copy, although there are many copy machine manufacturers, ‘Xerox’ became the hype, just as ‘Google’  is now the hype. Nobody ever says I am going to Bing, Dogpile or Yahoo  it.

The name Google is believed to be named after the misspelling of the mathematical term "googol." The term "googol" means the number one which is then followed by one hundred zeros.

The word Google sounds like baby talk, on the contrary it has answers to almost everything. I love to Google names from my past, like old girlfriends or people from elementary school, high school, college and even the names of  those reading this.  

I tested Google for accuracy and  'Googled,"Kauai's ultimate Sunday brunch." Google and Bing both came up   with "Taste of Hawaii." 

The 'Taste of Hawai'i on Kauai is always the first Sunday in June from 11:30-3:30 P.M.  Taste features 40 plus chefs from restaurants around Hawaii, 15 plus  beverage vendors, 10 plus  musical and entertainment groups, A large silent auction all at the amazing Smith's Tropical Paradise.

Tickets for the 26th annual 'Taste' are $100.00 in advance and $55.00 of each ticket can be used as a charitable write off on your next year's tax return. The hosting Kapa'a Rotary club has informed that beer and wine are included. The law requires no matter what your age to have ID. Please bring ID if you wish to drink adult beverages.

 All profits go towards scholarships for local youth and fund international projects such as providing safe drinking water and sanitation for people in poverty stricken areas. "Taste" is an unlimited taste of food, a taste of community, a taste of charity. If it weren't for the Taste I would be a total social recluse, it is the one event I attend religiously each and every year.

Now to test Google one more time, I just Googled Kauai's greatest newspaper and came up with The Garden Island news! The two greatest things about Kauai,The Garden island news and The Taste of Hawaii!

OK, now back to Google.

How many people have ever Googled themselves? Googling yourself sounds like something the priest might discipline you for.  Googling yourself actually feels good. Anyone with a computer who  has not Googled themselves is most likely lying. Googling yourself is something almost  everyone has done,  however most people never admit to it-- plus it just sounds cool to say, "Google it."

I am recommending to everyone, forget what the masses say and go ‘Google’ yourself.  You won’t go blind and you may just learn a thing or two about that person in the mirror, I most certainly did.

http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/guest/a-taste-of-google/article_5a8ebf5c-df13-11e3-a624-001a4bcf887a.html

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...

"Time for a new mattress..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

Judith Whitehead lives with her husband Steve in Amherst N.Y.
Judith has worked in the ophthalmology
 field of medicine for over 30 years...

Time for a new mattress

My husband and I have spent the last almost 40 years sharing a double sized bed. We are almost ready to spring for a new mattress. The last several years we have talked about up sizing to a queen size because we are feeling a bit crowded lately...

I guess our mature sizes"  have managed to spread out over the years.  The down side is the extra new bedding etc. that will have to be purchased for a new bed size.

 The more people I talk to can't believe we are still only in a double bed. The only people I know that use this size were my parents, it seems.  So, here is a survey;

How many of you couples are still managing in a double size bed mattress??

Judith & Steve have decided to spring for a bigger mattress.

P.S.

True Love

For the past 6 years, a dog named Capitán has slept on the grave of his owner every night. His owner, Miguel Guzmán died in 2006 and Capitán disappeared shortly after the family attended the funeral services. They searched everywhere and put out flyers to try and find him. But no one had seen him.

A week later, some people who were at the cemetery late one evening spotted Capitán laying on a grave and they contacted the grounds keeper at the cemetery. The cemetery notified the family who promptly came to pick him up and take him home. But each night he would cry and scratch frantically at the door to go out and he wouldn't return home until morning. It was later discovered that Capitán would walk the 3 miles back to the cemetary each night to guard his master's grave.

It has been nearly 7 years now. The cemetery does not close the gates until he arrives each night promptly at 6 pm. He sleeps there all night guarding the grave until the grounds keeper opens the gate in the morning. This is a true picture of Capitan here http://instagram.com/p/oAJsgmxban/

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared from Facebook...

"Two men, both seriously ill..." 'Obama Da Dog' (Source, Facebook)

Obama Da Dog shares another compelling story from the internet...

Two men, both seriously ill

It will take just 60 seconds to read this and change your thinking..

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on
vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color
and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band -he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with
descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body
of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window.The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left
him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this
window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .'

P.S.
Craig's List: Free to good home.

My girlfriend doesn't like my dog, so I appeal to you.
She is a purebred from a wealthy area and I have had her 4 years. She likes to play games. Not totally trained. Has long hair so she's a little high maintenance, especially the nails, but she loves having them done. Stays up all night yapping but sleeps while I work. Only eats the best, most expensive food. Will NEVER greet you at the door after a long day or give you unconditional love when you're down. Does not bite but she can be mean as hell! 

So........anyone interested in my 30 year old, selfish, wicked, gold-digging girlfriend? Come and get her! Me and my dog want her re-homed!!!

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...

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"A Holiday for Caregivers..." 'Chester "Unc" Lau' (From the heart)

Dakinetalks favorite Uncle (Chester Lau)

"Unc"  is really passionate about creating a national Caregivers day.

Any help , support or ideas would be greatly appreciated...

'Unc' currently resides on the Hawai'ian Island of Oahu. 
He is a retired cinematographer,
 and  enjoys giving the politicians a bad time...
This guest blog also appeared as an opinion article 
 in the 05-13-14 edition of the  Kaua'i Garden Island news
with the title,"Dear President Obama."
http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-for-tuesday-may/article_ea82623e-da6e-11e3-b143-001a4bcf887a.html

'Unc' was one of the cinematographers on the original
Hawaii Five-O with Jack Lord!

A Holiday for Caregivers

Dear President Obama,

From the White House's golden dining rooms  - - - - please pay a visit to your nearest Senior Care homes & see how your fragile citizens function 24/7 with the unsung hero's, their Care Givers.  The  fragile seniors they serve are the citizens who had paid their taxes &  dues throughout lifelong careers, to make this country great.  They will survive and thrive because of the dedicated Care Givers who mopped the floors, change their diapers, feed them, bathe them, take them to doctor's appointments , a million & one things, 24/7.  Social Security doesn't cover this care, but  if we eliminate taxes on seniors in care homes, it will help.  They had paid their taxes & dues through their lifetime of work.

Now that the seniors are out of the work force with their sometimes meager savings, senior care homes are not cheap.  We are not asking for tax dollars but a tax break for seniors in need & to establish a RECOGNITION DAY FOR ALL CARE  GIVERS ,SO THE PUBLIC MAY KNOW THEIR WORK & SHOWER THEM VOLUNTARILY WITH GIFTS  & LOVE IN APPRECIATION FOR THEIR HARD WORK & DEDICATION.  ALL CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE WELCOME.  Sooner or later, unless you are  in the upper one percent, every one needs professional adult care.  Where will we be without the dedicated Care Givers ? 

The untrained friendly relatives or neighbors will not have time, patience  or the skill to service the infirm, helpless seniors.  What will seniors do than when they need help ? Mr. President, please recognize the need & help the seniors who built this great nation.  The U.S. helps others worldwide;  now is the time to take care our own, together with approval of Congress, please mandate a Recognition day for Care Givers . 


We are not asking for a holiday for Care Givers because they are needed every working day except their regular day off,  just a Recognition day for Care Givers.


P.S.
 Unc's  article "Dear President Obama" was published in the 05-13-14  edition of the  Garden Island news. It made the first letter of the day, which means it's their favorite.
http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-for-tuesday-may/article_ea82623e-da6e-11e3-b143-001a4bcf887a.html 

Chester Lau served  our country in the
Korean war!  Mahalo Unc!

P.S. Unc  needs  volunteers with email to start the ball rolling to petition President Obama & congress  to create a Holiday like Mother's day to honor the unsung hero's of CARE GIVERS FOR THE ELDERLY of America or perhaps the world.one cannot depend on amateur friends or relatives to do  so 24/7

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook...

Unc said,
 "In life,you must take the good with the bad,a fart is alwayz good for your health, n'est-ce pas ?
 Do not hold your farts,when needed to fart,best drop your pantie & face the GOP National Committee & let it rip !!! if additional week old kimchi came out with the fart,that will be additional bonus,...vive les farts"  Chester "Unc" lau

 Unc, I can tell your feeling better, you are in great form.!
James "Kimo" Rosen