"In the zone..." 'Bettejo Dux' (Inspiration Wednesday)

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

Bettejo is a regular opinion writer in the Garden Island news and is the author of the

famed novella, "The Scam."  Her latest fiction

 "Children of extinction" is now  released and available on Amazon!
Mazol Tov & Congratulations to Bettejo!

www.bettejodux.com

 Bettejo is having her 84th birthday party and book signing! Everyone reading this is invited!
 Please come to Bettejo's Birthday Book Signing Bash at Birdies-in Kalaheo-Sunday, August 16, 3-6PM. It'll be fun. Birdies is a great place. CHILDREN OF THE EXTINCTION is a good read. Hope to see you there. Bettejo 

In the zone

In the zone. Athletes understand the term. Runners run in the zone. They know when in the  zone they are running at their best. It's not  running. it's being running.

Writers understand the term, too.  Shirley McClain calls it channeling. As a writer, I think all my books have been written in the Zone. Certainly THE SCAM, CHILDREN OF THE EXTINCTION and the sequel, CLAIR CHILD OF THE EXTINCTION A Love Story were.

One of my favorite story tellers, Dean Koontz,  said THE WATCHERS-a story, I couldn't put it down-was written in the Zone. Tolkien, in the Hobbit,  speaks of a tall Big Person who Bilbo  sees entering the gates. Tolkien had never seen him before, but he  turns out to be an important person in the trilogy.

That's how it works. The creative mind, in the Zone, takes over. In The SCAM. Karen, the narrator, watches someone run from her barn, shoes in hand, and says, "That's the last we saw of Gypsy Jake." He turned out to be a most important person in the story. I, as the writer of this  little book, had no idea who he was.

In CHILDREN OF THE EXTINCTION, I got the children, and the women looking out for them, in such a terrible mess I went to bed  thinking, 'How am I going to get them out of this?" The next day,  one of the little kids trapped  in this horror  told me how. I didn't know. He did.

Every writer, I think, has his own style of writing. Hemingway wrote standing up. Read everything he'd written before before he began to write again. Once he said to his wife, about his work, FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS,   "Today they're going to blow up the bridge."

For me, I know  my characters, my location, I know the story-how it will start and how it will end, and send them on a journey. They travel-hypothetically-from San Francisco to New York. On the way they'll run out of gas, take a detour, meet good guys and bad guys, get lost,  get a flat tire and, somehow, reach their destination.

When I'm in the Zone, I sit at the computer and take dictation. I love to write first person narrative, let a character in the book tell the story. The story is written in her voice. She does not always speak grammatically. People don't talk with complete sentences,  capital letters, periods. I never knew one  who talked with semi-colons. Kurt Vonnegut said, "Never use a semi-colon."

People speak over each other. Finish sentences.  Speak in fragments. My computer has a fit. Some Editors do, too.

Writers read. Voraciously. Learn. Create their own style. Tell their own story their own way.

I think you'll love CHILDREN OF THE EXTINCTION. Find it on Amazon Books  CHILDREN OF THE EXTINCTION Bettejo Dux. And soon at Talk Story book store in Hanapepe. Come to my Big Bettejo Birthday Book Signing Bash at Birdies August 16, 3-6PM. See'ya there.

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"The evils of social media, the Coco Palms..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Kimo's world #22)

James “Kimo” Rosen is a retired professional photographer living in Kapa'a
with his best friend Obama Da Dog, Rosen also blogs as a hobby. check out the story of the Coco Palms resort. I cannot believe my name is associated with  this. I am besides myself.
http://thegardenisland.com/news/local/fire-investigation-underway/article_136d6c06-04d2-11e4-b9b8-001a4bcf887a.html

The evils of social media

"Think once before you act, twice before you speak and three times before you post on Facebook."

People can no longer joke or be sarcastic, every word is taken to the extreme of serious. Political correctness is at an all time high, just say one wrong word and your career or social life could be over, pau.

Let me tell you a little story that was a shock and even had the Garden Island question me as a freelance columnist.

I was as shocked and disturbed as everyone in the community that the Coco Palms was recently torched. I first found out through a local councilman's Facebook posting.

I left to make my daily rounds last Friday, July 4th, on bicycle with my dog and had just come home, ready to celebrate the Jewish Sabbath. I just happened to look at my computer and saw an email from a friend asking, "what's all this about?"

I had commented on a local bloggers Facebook page after he posted an article about the Coco Palms. I told the blogger his article was spot on, in my opinion, and what needs to be done is for them to start from scratch in lieu of renovating, since renovating would cost so much more than just torching the place with a 1,000 gallons of gas.

I was only echoing and paraphrasing what so many others had in the past. However this particular blogger decided to share this post on the Coco Palms Facebook page, with many misunderstanding my out-of-context comment.

It was coincidence and eerie timing that the Coco Palms would go up in flames after making the comment.

I have learned from my mistake and will not be commenting anymore on any Facebook pages besides those I know personally. I am thinking of not commenting and just sticking to the "Like" button.

I am truly sorry, especially to Mr. Bob Jasper. I would never consider such an evil act as arson. The irony is I hate fireworks and anything that has to do with fire. I consider myself an honest man and could never live with myself if I was ever part of anything so destructive.

Two weeks ago I found a purse with money, credit cards, and a cell phone and turned it over to the police. I was later rewarded for turning in the purse. I had refused the reward, however the lady insisted I pay it forward, as I did.
http://dakinetalk.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-mitzvah-good-deed-purse-returned.html

I love Kauai. It's been over 20 years since Hurricane Iniki destroyed the iconic and historic resort, and nothing would be finer than seeing a resurrected Coco Palms.

I am proud of The Garden Island newspaper. They helped me achieve one of the items on my bucket list by allowing me to be a regular columnist. I hope they continue to publish my columns.

The evils of social media are out there. I hope you are never misunderstood or make a comment that comes back to haunt you. As I've seen on a Facebook meme, "Go ahead. Judge me. Just remember to be perfect the rest of your life."

I have learned and hope to pass this on to everyone, that words are powerful and should be measured carefully.

Thank you Garden Island Newspaper and my apologies to the Mr. Bob Jasper(caretaker of Coco Palms) and the Coco Palms community.


I pray. As Elvis would say, "Thank you, Thank you very much" for your understanding. 


P.S.
Read part 2, Stop the madness;
http://dakinetalk.blogspot.com/2014/07/stop-madness-james-kimo-rosen-part-2.html



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"Traditions..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst New York and has worked in

the ophthalmology field of medicine for over 30 years.

Traditions

What do we know as the meaning of the word tradition?  A tradition by definition  is the passing down of customs from generation to generations.  I know traditions have morphed in our family over the years. 

 When I was growing up we always had a traditional holiday dinner with our immediate family full of gefilta fish and roast brisket, turkey, kasha varnishkas  and kishka…so many wonderful and delicious dinners we all looked forward to. 

 As we began to grow up and start our own families we began to start our own traditions with our family and friends.  Once again as our family expands and our children start their own families, our traditions still hold true and as we start to lose family members as they pass away  we start new traditions with other families and friends.  

We have spent the last several years celebrating many of the Jewish holidays with our dear friends and their friends and family members.  We have combined our families to start new traditions; it seems as the years pass on we replace those that have passed on with new members at  the table to take their place and become part of our tradition.

Traditions keep a family strong, and as I have found over the years it doesn't always have to be blood relatives that keep our traditions going; it’s the new friendships and other family members that bring new ideas to share and cherish from year to year.  It’s the memories that stay in our hearts and keep our families strong through all the sorrows and celebrations that we partake in. 

It’s never too late to start a new tradition; the Jewish people have more holidays all year  than almost any other religion.  They make it easy to have an excuse to gather and celebrate our lives together.

I am already looking forward to Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and our friends’ famous recipe of brisket and special salad dressing that is home made. We know we can count on fresh homemade apple pies for desert, for it is a tradition that we have year after year without fail. 

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"Vacation in the holy land..." 'Robert Bitos Gandia' (Source)-Happy Independence Day!-

 Guest-blogger,Robert Bitos Gandia.
Robert is an avid cook (ono gandule rice) and always laughing!!
He works at Syngenta as a Research Associate.
Robert lives in Kekaha on Kauai's west-side and loves football!!

Vacation in the holy land

A man, his wife, and his mother in-law went on vacation to the Holy Land. While they were there, the mother-in-law passed away.

The undertaker told them, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150.00."

The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your mother in-law home, when it would be wonderful to have her buried here and spend only $150.00?" 

The man replied, "A man died here 2,000 years ago, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance." ...


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Happy Independence Day!

"Saga..." 'Bettejo Dux' --Pronounce Dukes-- (Classic Wednesday)

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

Bettejo is a regular opinion writer in the Garden Island news and is the author of the

famed novella, "The Scam."  Her latest fiction

 "Children of extinction" is soon to be  released.

www.bettejodux.com

Saga

Every story has a past.

How did I get from funny SCAM to serious CHILDREN? From drollery to drama in twenty-four  planetary revolutions?   It's a sad leap.  It should have been a happy one. From David Letterman to Rush Limbaugh. From Madeline Kunin to Sarah Palin. From Isaac Asimov to James Dobson. From America  going sane to America going mad. From a world with a future to a world going extinct.

From relative economic stability to economic collapse. From ignorance of global change  to a chilling concern.  From a cold war to endless wars. From a world with hope of feeding hungry mouths to a world where, in some circles, hungry mouths are  a punishment from on high. From wealth, the acquisition of vast riches in few hands proving god was on your side. From a world with hopes and dreams to a dark world filled with-powered by, financed by, infiltrated with-voices welcoming  the end of times. Praying for it. Working for it. Nourishing it.

They feed on death. Not life.

Kauai, today,  is the eye of this fictions storm. A microcosm of what could be. Over populated. Riddled, burdened  with hunger, homeless, sickness, crime, drugs, corruption, military might--the Defense Department is  the largest employer in the state. On Kauai.  The world IS  in the throes of the Sixth Extinction. It is. That is a fact.

This was my foundation. I just moved it along. Sped it up. The future. Not so hot. The triple whammy, pandemic, hurricane, tsunami. Kauai, the only island in the  archipelago that stands a  chance of making it. A slim chance. Will it be the cradle of a new civilization? The beginning of a New Dark Age? Who are the players? What is the game? What about the children?

Now, before you've all run off and crawled under the bed, I gave those people hope. I gave these people a ruined island rich with sunshine, water, land. Hidden valleys. Loving hands. Precious children. Rich with talented,  hard-working people who have survived the apocalyptic crash  and have a plan. Are working on a plan. Working to make it work. Confronted with a group who want to see it fail. Who have other plans.  The dark side, if you will, of the struggle.  And it will be a struggle, Many confrontations. It moves from one encounter to another. For 387 pages I lead you through, beckon  you  to follow. You'll love and hate  them. You'll fear and fight them. You'll be with'em or agin them.

Bob Woodruff said, "To change the future, first you have to imagine it." Reilley, the narrator of this epic said, "They were the best of men at the worst of time." You'll travel with her through madness and despair.

She  runs the gamut of fear and hope, of struggle and sex and sadness, of youth and age, of laughter and adventure.  There is not a human condition she has not had need  to address. And you'll meet a search and rescue dog who will steal your heart.

P.S.
Check out this YouTube video of a bride checking her cell phone!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFJU6g-CVvQ

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"Service dogs and service humans..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen (Column-21)

Jerry Seinfeld once said,"On my block, a lot of people walk their dogs and I always see them walking along with their little poop bags. This, to me, is the lowest activity in human life. Following a dog with a little scooper. Waiting for him to go so you can walk down the street with it in your bag. If aliens are watching this through telescopes, they're going to think the dogs are the leaders of the planet."

James “Kimo” Rosen is a retired professional photographer living in Kapa'a
with his best friend Obama Da Dog, Rosen also blogs as a hobby.

Check out my column in the 06-30-14 
edition of the Kaua'i Garden Island Newspaper, Please click on recommend if you like it!
http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/guest/service-dogs-and-service-humans/article_515369ae-0003-11e4-9178-001a4bcf887a.html

Everyone knows the term Service dog. Service  dogs have become very popular the last decade.

Service dogs are as common as apple pie. There are service dogs for every ailment under the sun. The ADA cannot discriminate from a blind person to a mentally ill person and those in between.

The oldest form of service dog is the service guide dog for the blind, usually a German shepherd, however any breed of dog can be trained to  guide or service.  The American with  Disabilities  Act (ADA) allows for numerous kinds of services provided from dogs.Any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.

There are now many 'PSD dogs.' (Psychiatric Service Dogs,) not to be confused with PTSD. You need a confirmation from your  MD or Psychiatrist that the dog is instrumental for your mental health. In many cases the dogs work better than the best anti-Psychotic medications. Dogs really are healing and for some people a matter of life and death.

If you see a dog wearing a service vest, do not pet that dog, that dog is working for that person, and not there for your entertainment. That dog needs to be focused on the person with the disability. Remember people with service dogs are not portable petting zoo's in the same essence would you want someone going up to your child or significant other and  touching  them without permission. It is also proper etiquette to not ask the person with a service animal what there disability is,  unless of course that information is politely volunteered. 

There was the recent incident  where  a service dog on US Airways Flight 598  from Los Angeles to Philadelphia had to make an emergency landing in  Kansas City, Mo. after a dog twice defecated in the center aisle,since the smell was making passengers ill. Was that dog truly a service dog?

There are people abusing the system of service dogs, since anybody and their brother can buy a vest on the internet that  reads "Service Dog." I believe most people with service animals are legitimate, however there are always a few that abuse the system. Just like the people who have handicapped parking stickers  that are not handicapped. I never let that bother me, since I believe in karma, and karma will eventually come and bite them in the buttocks. 

Similarly, and to have some fun, I too am a service. I am a "Service human" to my dog.  Why not?
I am going to start wearing a vest that says "Service Human."  I can see it now, my dog walking me with a leash and plastic bag in hand just in case I decide to do my business . She will also  be able to  teach  me the proper greeting of smelling another in that special place. 

Now I just need a note from my dogs veterinarian qualifying me as a service human! I am hoping eBay has the vests, if not there'a always Amazon.

http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/guest/service-dogs-and-service-humans/article_515369ae-0003-11e4-9178-001a4bcf887a.html

P.S.
Auntie Maile Kinimaka singing Hanalei on her 75th Birthday party at Kealia beach on Kauai.
"Hau`oli Lā Hānau" Happy Birthday!  Maile was a regular on the old Magnum P.I. TV show starring Tom Selleck. She played Higgin's maid. Just click on YouTube link below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RbNBQEKDDE

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"Time to stock the refrigerator..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst N.Y. and  has worked
in the ophthalmology field of medicine for almost 35 years...

Time to stock the refrigerator

Once again I will have my two men together to celebrate their birthdays.

West coast meet east coast next week. My fellas are turning 30 and 33 yrs old.

I don't know where the time flew by, planning a hibachi feast to celebrate their milestones with some fun and entertaining dinner.  So nice to get everyone together again.

hopefully the weather will be as nice as this week,sunny and hot,off to the grocery store to buy favorite foods....

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