"Your own back yard..."

Your own back yard

My favorite assignment back when I was in photography school was called “your own back yard.”

The concept of “your own back yard” is to open your eyes and be creative and you do not have to go anywhere. Try shooting close-ups of a bee pollinating something, or a nice long lens to capture exotic clouds at sunset.
No need to go to Yosemite or the swiss Alps, there’s something special everywhere.

The irony that so many people feel the need to travel at Christmas and New Years. I saw on the news thousands are being stranded at airports and will miss being with their families.

The stress of travel along with all the crowds is the worst possible way to spend any day, especially a holiday.

Luckily, we live here on Kaua‘i, and there’s no need to go anywhere. I’m just enjoying my own back yard.

(p.s the photo above was shot from my back door, with a 7.1 megapixel camera, just a simple camera, prooving the old expression, "it's not the tool, it's the carpenter.")

Icing on the cake! :D) (R rated)

Icing on the cake!  (R rated)

Massage is healing and relaxing and when done professionally has healing powers.

My massage therapist's father was a healer in the Philippines and when she was a little girl and had a sore throat or cold he could actually massage it out of her.

My massage therapist is one of the best, I am sure everyone believes that of their masseurs and doctors.

My masseuse can massage my limbs to a state of ecstasy and can relieve my pains. The only thing I cannot understand is why when she asks me to lie on my back and relax she will not massage the thing I want massaged the most. Massages are great but sure would be better if they were allowed to massage all body parts.

Man was made with a stress relief valve, why not top of the massage with the icing on the cake?!!!

( Please ladies, don't hate me for this blog,  no matter what any guy say's this is what he really thinks!)

"It's time to vote for anyone but politicians for political office..."

It's time to vote for anyone but politicians for political office.

Why do Americans keep voting politicians into political office? Politicians are career oriented individuals who believe they are god's gift to the world. They posses huge ego's and most times are financial wealthy.

Politics, which runs our lives is governed by people who are not required to have any special degree's, licensing or vocations.

Doctors need to go to medical school, attorney's need to pass a bar exam, teacher's need a college education, bus drivers need a chauffeur's license, a person running for political office only needs to be a certain age and an American citizen with no felonies.The felonies usually come after they are elected.

American needs change, and we are not going to change anything by voting politicians into political office.

Sick and tired of Washington and local politicals, want to get even?

Re-elect nobody who has held previous political office, we need a spring clean-up, the best time to start a spring clean up is now!

The Easter bunny, that's another story..."

The Easter bunny, that's another story...

The Jewish holiday of Passover and The Christian holiday of Easter usually happen around the same time each year, as is the case this year.

 Jews are not suppose to eat bread for eight days, just matzos, (unleavened bread,) like a cracker since the Jew's when on their exodus from 400 years of Egyptian bondage and slavery were set free, and when on the move, bread did not have time to rise. However for the seder we have the time to make Matzo ball soup, Jewish fish balls called gelfilte fish, Brisket, salmon and delicious salads.

My guess is that the Jews did not have time to cook that elaborate if they did not have time to bake bread?

Breads another story, since flour and water in heat will eventually sour and make it's own leaven (yeast) therefore I actually believe the Jews ate some leaven , just because it is a natural process and it is hot in the dessert, in fact flour and water is how to make true sourdough starter.

The Lord on Judgment day is not going to say, you were bad because you ate bread at Passover, he may say you were bad for not obeying the ten commandments.

 It's amazing how man can interpret history and especially the bible to satisfy one's ego.

 The Easter bunny, that's another story....

Dog’ is a haole...

Dog’ is a haole


Let’s face it, Duane Chapman’s moniker is “Dog.” Duane is the star of the reality show, "Dog the bounty Hunter."

He certainly lives up to his name.

“Dog” the Bounty Hunter is an entertaining television show. Sure, he is a bigot, sure, he is a butthole, sure, he is a mother-you-know-what, but he is the “Dog” … a dirtbag that is entertaining to watch.

He called his son’s black girlfriend the “N” word many times in a private phone conversation to his son. He also refers to Caucasian people as “haole,” including himself. My belief is “haole” is as derogative as the “N” word. Haole means without spirit, without the breath of life. I believe Dog is without spirit and the breath of life, therefore he is a haole. It’s ironic, a black can call another black the “N” word and nobody blinks, but, God forbid, a non black uses the “N” word and it’s like they have committed murder.

Haole to me is the white equivalent of the “N” word. I choose to use neither (exception in this blog), however if Dog can refer to himself as haole, let the entertainer be. After all he is “da kine.”

Marketing is everything...

Marketing is everything...

Antibacterial hand soap has made it's way into most homes.

I find it ironic the serge in people buying antibacterial soap thinking it is better than other soaps. It's almost like other soaps are bacterial soap. All soap is anti-bacterial however with proper words and marketing we all think we must use anti-bacterial liquid soap.

I know people who will not let bar soap suds go down their drains, they are obsessed with liquid anti-bacterial soap.

Good old Ivory bar soap to me is what soap is all about,the essence and epitome of soap and getting clean. I use Ivory bar soap as shampoo, shaving cream and even to hand wash my undergarments and t-shirts in the shower every morning.

Along the same lines we now have whitening toothpastes as if to say that other types of toothpastes turn your teeth yellow.

It's all in the words and how things are marketed. Soap is soap, toothpaste is toothpaste and marketing is everything

before we all start seeing Russia from our back door..."

before we all start seeing Russia from our back door..."

The passage of the recent healthcare bill, has Republicans going mad, it was also the Republicans who initially voted against social security and medicare, and how ironic many Republicans and their family members are beneficiaries of both.

America has enough problems, it's time our elected officials stopped fighting with each other and start fighting for the American people.

The politicians opposed to healthcare are the same hypocrites that are insured with our taxpayer dollars.

It's time the Republicans stopped listening to Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sara Palin, before we all start seeing "Russia from our back door's."

The best therapy...

The best therapy...

Writing a letter or having a personal blog beats being psychoanalyzedWhy do people write letters to the editor and start blogs exposing their most vulnerable opinions?

When you put your opinion in writing it validates it; it's in print; your opinion now has merit. It is great therapy and settles the matter psychologically by being in print. And it's much cheaper than a visit to the psychiatrist's office.

Being a retired publisher, photographer and writer, I miss seeing my name in print. It's easier writing a letter and or blogging than committing a crime just to see my name in the paper.

Whenever I need an ego boost, or a little therapy, I write a letter or blog in hopes it is published; it's the best anti-depressant. Seeing your name in print gives one an adrenaline rush.Those who deny this fact would be fooling the mind.

Timothy Leary once said, "If we did not glorify all the criminals with front page coverage, crime would decrease immensely."

When people ask what I do for a living, I tell them I am a writer for the Honolulu and Kauai newspaper's. It sounds better than saying I am a certified nut looking for my name in print.

local talk...

I have not gone to a sit down restaurant in over 2 years, because of the poor service in general with wait staff at every restaurant I have been to on kauai and to out of sight prices.

I have found that the local grinds eateries like number one BBQ & Chinese Restaurant in Kapa'a next to Kojima some of the best chinese local food on the island. For $5.99 including tax you get a two entree plate with fried rice or chowmein, or you can go half and half, with 12 buffet items to choose, coconut shrimp and shoyu chicken are amongst the best.

They also have an extensive menu besides the buffet line. Food is excellent, portions are generous, price is remarkable and the girls behind the counter treat everyone with the same aloha, no prejudice.

There is outdoor and indoor dining, seating is spacious so your not right on top of one another, and if you want to bring your own beer or wine no problem, and best of all no need to tip, although there is a tip jar at the register.

There is a reason that the Number one restaurant is called number one. broke da mout, wop da jaw for dakine Number One.

(note; to all people not understanding "Hawaii pidgin"  (broke da mout and wop da jaw) means delicious!
"dakine" means anything, it's a wild card word. )

UH dining prices...

UH dining prices


Recently I visited the UH Manoa campus. I could not believe the food concessions on campus are more expensive than their coneterparts in the real world. For instance, one of my favorite restaurants has a concession there with the same menu as the same restaurant off campus, only the difference is smaler portions and more money.

The irony is students do not have that much money, when I was a student back in the 1970's food was cheaper on campus, in fact many people came to the university for the good deals. Food service people would practice and sell the food at reasonable costs.

Now coporate America has taken over the concessions at our university's and are ripping the students off.

I cannot understand how food vendors are charging more on campus. I am appalled at the food vendor's at UH Manoa.

Hawaii's shoes-off custom sometimes difficult to bare...

Hawaii's shoes-off custom sometimes difficult to bare

Taking off one's shoes is a custom in many Hawaii homes. Hawaii's shoes-off custom sometimes difficult to bare

Everyone seems to have it wrong. They go through the physical motions of taking off their shoes but lack the inside slippers as is the custom in Japan.

I was recently at a friends home and everyone was upset because I did not take off my shoes. The carpet was filthy, they had five dogs inside that play outdoors all day and they expect me to bare my feet in all that filth and bacteria.

The custom in Japan is to take off your shoes and don a clean pair of slippers, either supplied by the host or you bring your own. When going to the bathroom, you take off your house slippers and don your bathroom slippers, because you do not want to spread bathroom bacteria to the rest of the house.

I do not understand the Hawaii custom of taking off one's shoes in many homes when you are walking in many instances in a dirty environment with other barefooted people who might have bacteria infections such as the contagious athlete's feet.

The shoes-off custom is suppose to be hygienic, and it is not hygienic to have bare sweaty dirty feet walking on floors. Hawaii needs to take a lesson from our Japanese friends before leaving their footwear unattended.

The old expression of "your feet run and your nose smells" should be reversed for Hawaii, "where your nose runs and your feet smell."

Inflation...

Inflation...
Is it just me or do prices on our cosmic island inflate like a pair of silicone implants during the summer months with tourism at its peak?

One little dainty secretarial slice of pizza at a bakery in Kilauea is $5.25 plus tax; one scoop of ice cream at numerous places in the Coconut Marketplace for $6; hot dogs at a local hardware store — $6 plus; even our dollar store at Kukui Grove is now the $1.59 store with miost items costing eve more.

Restaurants want $20 to $25 per entree not including salad — that’s another $5.50. Then the servers expect a 15 to 20 percent gratuity for service that is usually slow, ineffective and not up to par. Compare this to Japan, where the service is the best in the world and there is no tipping; in fact, if you left money on the table they would come running after you since they would think you accidently left it behind.

There are still a few good deals left on our cosmic island. I cannot share them since before long those businesess, too, would start overcharging.

Writing a letter beats being psychoanalyzed...

Writing a letter beats being psychoanalyzed


Why do people write letters to the editor and  blog, exposing their most vulnerable opinions?

When you put your opinion in writing it validates it; it's in print; your opinion now has merit. It is great therapy and settles the matter psychologically by being in print. And it's much cheaper than a visit to the psychiatrist's office.

Being a retired publisher, photographer and writer, I miss seeing my name in print. It's easier writing a letter than committing a crime just to see my name in the paper.

Whenever I need an ego boost, or a little therapy, I write a letter in hopes it is published; it's the best anti-depressant. Seeing your name in print gives one an adrenaline rush.Those who deny this fact would be fooling the mind.

Timothy Leary once said, "If we did not glorify all the criminals with front page coverage, crime would decrease immensely."

When people ask what I do for a living, I tell them I am a writer for the Honolulu paper. It sounds better than saying I am a certified nut looking for my name in print.

"Why not buy a donkey?..."

                                                               

I have been scanning the  Internet classifieds for a used vehicle the last six months. With a limited budget of under $900, there are many vehicles that come up under the term “island beater.”

What is an “island beater?” When a seller says they owned the car seven years and has never had a problem, I think the odds are about prime for a major problem since the car has over 175,000 miles on it, usually the radio and A.C. do not work, a window or two is off track, some of the doors will not open from the outside, a seatbelt or two is missing, and there is a screeching sound, but they say don’t worry.

 There is usually  a lot of rust and usually not very cosmetically maintained. They will say you can see fine through the crack in the windshield. They will say my mechanic will get it through the inspection, don’t worry; that the brakes are pumped full of air and the speedometer and gas gauge are not working along with a “check engine” light that is covered with a bandage.

Does one really want to invest, or should I say gamble, $900 into an island beater? Sure you may find one that runs and gives you little or no problems, but your odds of winning the jackpot in Las Vegas are just as good as finding a decent, reliable island beater.

Besides, gambling is illegal in Hawai‘i anyway, so why not just by a donkey and not be a dumb ass?

blogger's addiction...

Blogger's addiction


Some people are addicted to alcohol, some to drugs, others to caffeine, sugar and junk food.

A person can be addicted to anything from bubble gum to sex and places in between.

There is one addiction I am trying to overcome which is the most addicting of all addictions, blogging  addiction. I am faithfully a member of  blogger's anonymous and am trying to curtail my blogging . Like any addiction,  blogging  need's support of fellow friends and associates.

So please try and help me curtail my addiction, or else you will need to continue reading my most inner thoughts, or is this addiction incurable?

"Spare tire..."

Computers have become a way of life for most people and I am no exception.


My computer hard drive crashed and I was at a loss since every morning it’s a routine along with my cup of Joe to read The Garden Island online and check e-mails.

I took my computer to three people and no one wanted to work on it. One person said they could fix it for $150. I can buy a refurbished like-new computer for $114 online, so I did.

In the meantime I tried working on the computers at the library, but every time I went to work there, I had a mom with a crying baby right next to me or a person who did not bathe on the other side of me.

I decided after 10 years I would pull my old Web TV unit out of storage and connect it to my TV.

Web TV never crashes, it’s just a terminal box with all technical data at the server’s location, so I was able to sign up for free service for 30 days while awaiting my new computer.

Web TV sure makes for a great spare tire.

The Irony...

There are plans in action to close statewide over 50 Department of Human service's and Med-Quest locations and to cut the staff by more than half.


How ironic that many of the workers that work with so many people in need , now will become the people in need themselves. The welfare worker may soon become the recipient.

This is a time that Human services are needed more than ever in our state's history.

People are hungry, food banks are being depleted as quick as food comes in and every week there is a new list of foreclosures that the banks do not want to deal with.

Food stamps and Medicaid are in more demand now than ever, people loosing jobs, means they loose their medical insurance, people being furloughed means they may need 'EBT'(food stamps)

This is all planned to taker place this coming July. During these recessed times we need all 50 department's of Human services to stay open, the department is already on a furloughed scheduled as is.

I feel in lieu of downsizing Human service's at a time when Human services are needed more than ever, that state worker's with six figure or more income's need to take pay cuts.

The first state pay cut should come at the coaching position of University of Hawaii Head Football Coach Greg McMackin since he is the highest paid employee in the state, he makes approximately one million dollars a year, if the state cut his salary in half, he would still be one of the highest paid employee's in the state of Hawaii.

First School furloughs, now 50 Med quest and Human services offices will be shut down.

For the welfare of the Aloha state it's time for those with abundance's of wealth to become hero's and the obvious be done by all of us to contact our elected officials and plead to get priorities straight.

Primer on how to vote on Election Day...

Primer on how to vote on Election Day

Elections are nothing more than egotists running in a popularity contest. The outcome will be determined by who had the better ad agency and largest bank account.

I propose we have some fun with our candidates. Let's play games with them as they continue to play games with us. If you do vote on Election Day, support:

1. Those candidates you've never heard of. Chances are they haven't sold out to any special-interest groups.

2. The candidate who doesn't negatively campaign against an opponent.

3. The underdog.

Hawai‘i should be an example to the rest of the country that elections cannot be bought.

Don't get mad, get even, and re-elect nobody.

Watching cars go by...

For cyclists, congestion is bliss...

When I ride my bicycle in traffic I enter a euphoric state of mind.

On any given day there are thousands of cars on the Kuhio Highway between Safeway and The Coco Palms. Every night between 4:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., I ride my bike with my dog along galloping along side...

The traffic is bumper-to-bumper, which for a bicyclist makes for safe and comfortable driving on the shoulder.

The experience of passing car after car after car after car is mind stimulating; the cars are at a standstill in their lanes, and I am passing 36 cars every minute. The safest time to ride a bike is during peak traffic.

I am hoping everyone reading this buys another car or two, and I encourage the convention and visitors bureau's to never stop promoting Kauai.

Like a surfer catching a wave, my wave is caught when my own power is more powerful than the giant refineries and petroleum companies.

I beg of everyone to do nothing to stop this wonderful traffic

My computer and me — BFF!

My computer and me — BFF!

My computer crashed the other night, and I couldn't sleep thinking about life without it. The thought of not being able to read my favorite newspapers in the morning, downloading photos, talk on Skype, e-mail and surf the Net had me stressed and derailed.

With the computer down I actually found myself calling people on the phone, which I hardly do anymore. It was kind of nice talking instead of scrolling on the keyboard, although I do prefer the keyboard.

No longer will I take my computer for granted; my computer and me — BFF, best friends forever!

"Can you come out and play..?"

Facebook, My space, Twitter and blogging have made peoples life's anything but private.

Years ago people would journal or have diaries, now we have public diaries for the world to see with all the new internet venues of posting everything about your life to the world.

Americans are voyeurs and like to watch, they are also narcissists and believe everyone is as interested in them as they are interested in themselves.

Kids had it right in my childhood, we didn't have facebook and all the other venues, we knocked on our neighbors door and asked if they could come out and play.

Anyone interested in coming out to play?

We are all slaves...

One of Websters online dictionary's definition on slavery is, "The state of being under the control of another person:"

Anybody who works for another person is basically a slave if they are taking orders from another person regularly. If an employee is told what to do, when they can eat, when they can break, when they can go home, and are told what their duties are is slavery according to Webster.

Marriage is a form of slavery, you are under the control of another, a husband being under the control of a wife, a wife being under the control of a husband. Most people enjoy being controlled in somme way.

Slavery is only a word, and like the road of life & spirit there are many paths and many meanings...

The folks that are upset over the slavery issue are most likely the ones under the control of others and feel they need to defend not being slaves.

 We are all slaves, even the self employed wealthy entrepreneur, he, (she) is a slave to himself, herself and trying to please everyone. we are all slaves to ourselves, our business, or significant other.

 Most people are stuck in a materialistic world that enslaves them, a mortgage, car payments, gas, insurance, taxes... According to Webster  we are all slaves in some way, even the president of America.

Hotel rates...

Hotel rates


The Garden Island Paper stated that the average price of a hotel room on Kaua‘i is $180 per night! (Oy vay)

Wow! With $180 I could go to Wal-Mart and buy a tent, ($35) sleeping bag ($9.95), air mattress ($2.67), backpack ($19.95), bicycle ($69.00) candles ($3), cooking utensils ($5), portable stove with butane cartridge $9.95 and still have $12.00 left.

You could stay in the tent as long as you want. Every night after one night you would save $180.00, so if you camped out 11 days you would save $1,800.00 in hotel bills.

Be creative there are many places to pitch tents and live a free lifestyle. (I did)) Riding a bicycle you would save on car rentals and gasoline and see the Island unstressed and save another $50 a day.

The visitors would then feel the mana of the Aina and know and learn true aloha. It's not just the huge savings it's the experience that will make you.

Upon leaving the Island they could donate their camping gear and bicycles to needy families and of course write it off.

Click it or ticket...

Click it or ticket


The national and state campaign of “Click it or Ticket” is strictly implemented for financial reasons. They say they enforce it to help save lives.

Seatbelts have actually taken lives many times, trapping people in their cars and not being able to escape.

I used to live on O‘ahu and now live on the beautiful Garden Island of Kaua‘i.

Bus is my primary means of transportation on O‘ahu or Kaua‘i. The only person ever wearing a seatbelt on the bus is the driver.

Why is “Click it or ticket” not enforced on buses? Because most people on the bus are not carrying drivers’ licenses and it would be too time-consuming to issue tickets.

Let’s face it, Hawai‘i and the nation is over-populated, do you really think our government is trying to save our lives or just trying to make a buck?

The campaign should read: “Don’t click it, we want your money.”

Home for the parkless...

Home for the parkless


This past Sunday I was walking through Lydgate Park for some exercise and stretching.

While I was there I observed many local families with tents pitched, cheap $20 grills from Wal-Mart barbecuing their favorite grinds, drinking beer, wine and soft drinks, smoking ganja, hammock in the trees, using the public showers and restrooms, swimming, playing frisbee and just talkin’ story and relaxin’.

I find it ironic that these people who work all week, on the weekend flock to the park, leave their expensive homes to live the way the homeless live full time.

The reason people work is so during their time off they can live like the homeless. Maybe these people can surrender their homes to the needy on the weekends, since the people with money want to live like the homeless, why not let the homeless live like people with money.

Whichever G-d it be...

Whichever G-d it be

Religion is a system of faith and worship of a God or Gods.

Every religion believes there’s to be the one that is right and spiritually closest to G-d, whoever their God may be.

Christians have many denominations including non denominations, and every denomination  from 'Methodist,' 'Seven-day Adventist,' 'Mormon,' 'Baptist,' 'The Unitarian's,'  'Lutheran,' 'Assembly of Gods' and the 'Evangelistic' all believe their Christian beliefs are better and the only way.

The Jewish faith has 'Reform,' Conservative,' 'Re-constructive,' 'Orthodox,' 'Messianic' and 'Chassidic;' all of them believe they are more correct than the other.

Muslims have their beliefs and obviously they believe they are the one and only.

One does not need a building with four walls to go and worship. Money can buy a house of worship but not a relationship with the “divine” one.

Come judgment day I believe all of us are going to be in for a rude awakening when we approach our G-d and say, “Oh that’s what you meant L-rd.”



Note- (Many Jewish people do not spell out God, since God is so divine that spelling God is actually a sin, therefore it is spelled as G-d)

Feeling disordered...

Feeling disordered

Seems everyone on Kaua‘i wants to stop something, either vacation rentals, big boxes, traffic, the Superferry, the bike trail or resort development.

I wish to add weed-blowers to the list of antis. Although I never considered myself an anti, I have become anti-weed blower. In fact I believe I have developed PTWD … “Post traumatic weed-blower disorder.”

The sound is deafening, you cannot conduct a conversation in person or on the phone if there is a weed-blower within 100 feet of you. The exhaust is polluting and the people operating them are usually wearing earplugs of some sort, making everyone else suffer.

Who ever invented the weed blower surely enjoys seeing people’s nerves tried.

What is the purpose of the weed blower?

My neighborhood is in a weed-blower frenzy. One neighbor blows weeds into another neighbors yard and that neighbor blows the weeds and leaves back.

Eventually all the leaves and refuse return.

Weed blowers are the ultimate noise pollution, deafening to the point of no return. When a neighbor is weed-blowing something snaps, like the brain goes in all directions. Your eyes grow big, you start to shake, all you can do is patiently wait to discuss this with your therapist.

Whatever happened to the good old fashioned rake, broom and shovel? At least raking is quiet therapeutic, good exercise and you are disposing of the leaves not just blowing them to a new spot only to have them return again.

I urge the County Council to consider making a law banning weed blowers in residential neighborhoods. The county of Santa Barbara has banned weed-blowers from the many complaints over the years. Maybe Kaua‘i can follow in the footsteps of a well-managed city.

Hopefully I can make it through this post traumatic weed-blower disorder.

Do not pet my dog...

I bicycle everywhere with my miniature grehound mixed breed dog along side.

When I stop people feel inclined to pet and kiss my dog without permission. It seems everyone feels they can just pet or kiss my dog. My dog is a service dog and needs to know who it's master is. I am not a portable petting zoo.

Petting my dog without permission is like me groping another fellow man or woman without permission, or  touching someones baby without permission. What makes people think they can kiss and pet my dog without asking?

 If they ask to pet my dog I say no, because she is a "service dog and I am a germphoboc, I don't want someone who may have a cold, flu virus or smelly hands petting my dog, than I go home and pet her....

Service dogs are mostly associated with giving aid to blind people, but a service dog can also offer Psychiatric service. These dogs are classified PSD's."(Psychiatric Service Dogs) When you come across a service dog, please do not pet, call, talk, kiss or otherwise distract it as doing so could put the handlers life in danger.    http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=7204

 Remember these are working animals, not pets and they are out with their handlers to help them, not to be a spectacle for the public, also it is rude to ask the disabled person what their disability is, as that is personal and confidential information.

The question I am most frequently asked is; Is it cruel to make dogs work for us? Absolutely not! Dogs have a natural inclination to work, therefore they prosper when they have a job. They would rather be doing something than just laying around an empty house all day. Service dogs thrive on helping their masters.

Remember to ask permission before petting any ones pet, and be respectful if someones four legged companion is a service animal...

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=7204

Kauai's best kept secret...

Many years ago when I first arrived on the cosmic  Garden Island of kauai, I would swim in the ocean everyday with my mask and snorkel.

The ocean is one of my passions but with chronic back pain, nerve damage, diabetes, and yada yada yada, swimming is the best therapy for my many medical problems.

 I quit swimming in the ocean on a daily basis since I was getting cut by coral quite a few times and developed cellulites, a skin disease, most people would not get, being diabetic I am more susceptible to infections. Plus I had a near drowning experience and have been gun shy of the ocean ever since.

Swimming releases serotonin in one's brain, you hear of runners and "the runner's high," in comparison, I get the swimmer's high. Many days I have a hard time pushing myself to swim, but the rewards afterwards are low glucose , lower blood pressure and more serotonin feel good chemical in my brain which acts as a natural anti-depressant.

I still have the highest respect for mother nature and the ocean but needed to find somewhere I could swim without the worries of being cut by  coral, being swept out to sea and possible shark bites.

A long time ago I walked over to Kapa'a pool and asked how much it cost for a membership to swim there? The lifeguard at the time told me, "brah, dis Kauai's best kept secret, It's free!" No ID required, no money required and some of the friendliest Aloha  spirited lifeguards I have met.

I would like to thank Keala, Jeremy, Brandon, Eric and Cheryl for my lifeline and a place to heal, "Kapa'a Pool," Kauai's best kept secret.      http://www.theoriginalkealakai.com/

I am taking my chances that someone may actually read this blog and no longer will Kapa'a pool be kept secret, oh well, I just can't keep my mouth shut.

Unsolved mystery -- where are the clocks?..

Unsolved mystery -- where are the clocks?

Honolulu Airport might have the most on-time flights of any airport, but try finding a clock anywhere on the wall. Lihue has a similar problem; they have a wall of clocks which represents times all over the world, but not one clock works. Lihue Airport is much smaller and friendlier, making it easier to ask a stranger for the time.

I was at Honolulu Airport a few hours early for a flight back to my home and favorite island of Kauai. My time was being spent on an Internet kiosk. I do not wear a watch and refuse to become part of the cell phone digital time mania that has taken over the world.

My flight was departing at 10:25 a.m. I needed to watch the time, and there were no clocks within distance so I took a stroll; still no clocks. This is an international airport, and finding a clock was an act of God. Finally I looked at a flight arrival board, and in the smallest numbers was the time.

Try finding a clock at any major shopping center, bar or restaurant anywhere in Hawaii. It's no wonder "Hawaii time" has become synonymous with arriving late. I understand aloha but still feel the need to look up and see the time.

I remember as a youth, clocks were everywhere, at the post office shopping malls and airports. Now in this fast-paced world of computers, cell phones, HDTV, iPods and jet travel, a clock is a commodity that is hard to find.

I miss the good old hanging clock with dings and dongs. What has gone wrong? Where has all the time gone?

All have life, love and spirit

All have life, love and spirit

“Haole,” as I was taught by a famous Hawaiian kumu, means without the breath of life and spirit.

The “ha” in “haole” is the same “ha” as in aloha, meaning the breath of life and spirit; aloha is the breath of life and love; “haole” is without the breath of life, love and spirit.

Calling a Caucasian person a haole is the equivalent of calling a black person the “N”-word.

Most times “haole” is used in a derogatory way, as in traffic, saying things as that “frickin haole” or in long lines at the supermarket or when a white skinned person asks any dumb question they are “haole.” In essence anyone could be a “haole” since “haole” does not mean white-skinned-person-from-the-Mainland, it means “without the breath of life, love and spirit.” Any person white, black, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese or even Hawaiian could be “haole” (without spirit).

Imus the radio talk show host was  fired from his syndicated radio talk show for making racist remarks about blacks. Michael Richards who played “Kramer” on “Seinfeld” made racist remarks about blacks with the use of the N-word. Richards was reprimanded, punished and formally apologized to the black community. Mel Gibson made racist remarks about the Jews and was made to apologize to the Jewish community.

Referring to somebody as a “haole” (without spirit), is the same as referring to them as a dumb frickin idiot. Any person who uses the word “haole” is a “haole.”

“Haole” is one word that should be deleted from the Hawaiian language