"The Attack..." 'Bettejo Dux' (Vintage Bettejo)

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 a published author. 

www.bettejodux.com

www.amazon.com

Editors note;
Bettejo has had a rough month with the passing of
her horse Ari, her ER visit and this recent attack. (Read the blog)
Please join me in wishing Bettejo
healing energies, positive thought and prayer for those who pray.
Aloha, 
James "Kimo" Rosen 
Publisher-blogger-n-chief, dakinetalk blog

The Attack

Some stories must be told. Though some people would rather not hear them.

There's a school of thought:  if you don't talk about 'bad stuff' it'll  vanish. Trust me, it won't. A time comes when one must face the truth. Particularly when it smacks you in the eye with a sharp stick.

True stories, like this one, aren't meant to vilify. Nor  endorse fear. They're  a means  to understand.  The rage, the violence, the hate that brews inside the flesh, the mind, the  core of man,  can erupt  any time.  And, until it happens to you, you haven't a clue  the trauma it can create.

Yesterday was a lovely day. Sunny.   Pleasant to the senses.  Birds sang, A  perfumed breeze blew, it caressed my check. Traffic on my narrow two lane road was serene. My little gray Yuris was happy as a saddle horse on a morning ride  through Central Park. I dropped  mail off at a neighbors box, crossed the one lane bridge, and braked at the  sign at the top of the  hill. I  signaled to turn right.

Suddenly, from the left, a four door gray sedan whipped'round  a sharp corner and stopped within inches,  as far as I could tell, from my driver's side door. Had it hit me, my little car would have flipped. To my left I was looking through the front window of the car. I  gasped, tried to grin--stuff happens-- and  gestured  the driver, a blank countenance behind the glass a few feet away and opened my palm to  gesture  he back so I could safely traverse a right  and continue on my way.

Thus began  an incident so surreal, I'm still shaken thinking about it.

The driver shook his head, so I gestured again. The  head shook 'no' and a woman--she spoke--jumped out  her side  and shouted, "It's  your fault. You're over the double line."  She  crawled back inside. The driver, obviously a man, had  nearly collided with me. I wasn't able to judge the distance between the cars so when the driver rolled down his window I asked, politely, "Back up, please."

With that he jumped out of his car, loomed large outside my window breathing down on me.  Then,  shoving his arm through my open window, grabbed my steering wheel.

What saved me was a car with three passengers--I think I counted-- one tall young man came immediately to my aid, "Are you okay?" I shook my head.

Another young man spoke to the driver, suggesting he  back. This one  came to my window and  stood between me and the driver. He helped me navigate the corner. "Have a good day," the tall one  said. "You, too, " I replied. Behind us the driver, in the middle of the road,  was screaming obscenities.

I want to thank the young men.  Hope their day was good.

My  bad trip was balanced with three good ones. That's Kauai.

But I don't know what to make of it. Do you?

Bettejo and Ari

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook;

No one ever gives me an answer... 'Glenn Mickens' (Kaua'i County Watchdog)

Glenn Mickens has lived on Kauai  with his wife Ruth for the last 26 years. Born July 26, 1930 in Wilmar, California, USA) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched in four games (two of which were starts) for the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers. He also played for five years in Japan, from 1959 until 1963 for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. There, he compiled a record of 45–53 with a 2.54 ERA.  Glenn also  served in the Army for 2 years and coached baseball at UCLA for 25 years. 
Last but not least Glenn would really like to see Kaua'i give the county manager style of Government a chance.

Mr. Mickens is locally known
as one of Kauai county's
political watchdogs
and Nitpickers...
Mahalos Glenn!

No one ever gives me an answer

The sorriest part of my continually testifying about  issues is that NO ONE ever gives me an answer!! For years I have factually shown the council and the administration that we are paying for 1-1/2 inches of AC on the final lift on our roads and yet are getting 1/2 to 3/4 inches so are getting cheated out of millions of dollars--fraud going on but NO ONE willing to check into it. I have met with council chairs and Mayors at sites that are illegally paved and have brought into the chambers pieces of AC that are not the thickness we pay for but, again, no response. 

By closing up all this waste and illegalities in the system we would have enough money to repave our roads properly without raising taxes but no one has the guts to go after whoever is responsible. And, that, for me is where the manager comes in. 

After reading that draft bills 2630 and 2631 propose to raise our fuel, vehicle weight tax and registration fees, the only exclamatory word I can think of is INSANITY!

Bill 2630 states that " the $100 million road repair bill was due to deferred maintenance accumulated over many years and was caused by a failure of public officials to  put enough revenues in the Highway Fund through fuel and vehicle weight tax and registration fees." 

Our vehicle weight tax was recently raised and now due to incompetence in the system we, the tax payers are asked to pay more money to rectify their mistake--unbelievable.

Before continually raising our taxes why are we are we not finding out where our tax money is going--particularly our fuel and weight tax. For 3 years none of our roads got repaved even though our council appropriated millions of dollars to do this job just as the budget has been appropriated for this purpose over the years. 

Again, those of you who were here have seen me repetitiously and factually show you how we were spending millions of dollars for AC (asphaltic concrete) repaving and were not getting the material we were paying for. But no one was willing to investigate and find out who was responsible for this illegal action so now you want to penalize the public with more taxes to pay for these gross mistakes. 

I can take any of you to a section of Hauiki road that was repaved in 2010 and show you where the center section is all cracking and coming off due the improper amount of AC ( not the 1 1/2 inches we paid for) put down for the final lift. And, with all due respect to Larry Dill he was not our engineer at the time and rectified this illegal mistake when he came aboard. 

And further, to repave a mile of road 20 feet wide costs about $350 thousand but the multi use path has cost us $5.2 million per mile and more---for a 10 foot wide, 4 inch slab of cement.  So why no investigation to see why this is happening by wasting more tax money? Both the roads and the path are 80% funded by the Feds with 20% coming from our pockets---all our money. 

And what about the millions of dollars of waste in the building and maintenance of our bridges--using cement instead of the prefab type. 

The system needs changing and with a county manager held responsible this waste and more and more taxes would not happen.

P.S.

Thanks to Council chair Mel Rapozo, his committee and hopefully a total of 5 members of the council we are on the verge of getting a County Manager. On May 4th and May 11th this issue is on the agenda-- therefore please, those of you who read this, e mail, write, and call our council members and tell them how much you want this form of government on Kauai.

Kaua'i Council chairman
Mel Rapozo
is a fine example
of what a public
servant  should be!

It's easy to send testimony by email, send your testimony to;
counciltestimony@kauai.gov
or directly to Council Chair Rapozo at;
mfrapozo@kauai.gov

Editor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...

Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen---Blogger-n-chief, dakinetalk blog---

P.S.S.
Check out Glenn's Wikipedia page;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Mickens

With all the stress of the world, don't forget to
watch the sunrise or sunset, it's free! 

Photo, James "Kimo" Rosen

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

The privacy curtain and absentee voting..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Kimo's world #126)

James "Kimo" Rosen is a retired professional photographer
 and amongst other things lived in a tent outdoors for 7 years.
Rosen currently resides on the tropical island of Kaua'i
with his best friend and spiritual adviser Obama Da Dog!

Kimo's world #126

The privacy curtain and absentee voting

The reason for the  curtain when voting is for privacy. Nobody has the right to know whom you are voting for.

In the late 50's people were accused of being of communists and many were falsely accused. Sometimes keeping quiet doesn't work and paranoid minds reek havoc.

Nowadays people flaunt all over social media whom they're voting for and more so who they hate.

Social media has created enemies amongst families and friends.

The privacy curtain was invented for a reason, our forefathers had great insight in knowing privacy is an essential point in voting. They say, "don't wash your dirty underwear in public." 'They' sure are smart.

My dad was right! He always said, "son, two things you should never talk in public are politics and religion." Did I listen? No!.

The other thing I do not understand is people not registered come voting time? Each and every year I am automatically registered as an absentee voter. Once you register in Hawai'i by mail as an absentee voter you are registered as absentee forever until you move or give notice. This seems so simple and inexpensive if the whole country would just vote absentee. Well?

No need for public buildings, privacy curtains or long lines, seems like a win win to vote absentee! 

Nobody will ever know whom
I'm voting for. I like to keep it secret and avoid
confrontations, as I wear my Trump hat!  ;-)

Hana Hou, (Encore)  

"Be more considerate, stop spreading germs..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

Judith Whitehead lives in
East Amherst New York
and has work in the
ophthalmology field of medicine for 40 years.

Be more considerate, stop spreading germs

Working in the health field for the last 40 years, I have been exposed to much sickness. This year, there is a lot of respiratory illness going around, including flu, colds and pneumonia. I do not work for a primary care physician whom people go to when they are sick; I work with eye doctors who care for eye health only.

Why do people insist on coming in for an eye exam that can be done at any time when they are sick and carrying many contagions? Please, people, be considerate and stay home. When we get sick, we can’t perform our jobs and in turn can’t take care of others. If you are sick, pay a visit to your primary care doctor and get well before coming in for a routine visit for new glasses.

This year has been a banner year for our employees getting very sick. Wishing good health to all while you recover at home.

Editors note;
This blog also appeared in the 04-27-16 edition of the Buffalo News;
http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/letter-be-more-considerate-stop-spreading-germs-20160427

"Judy, Judy, Judy!"

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

"ER..." 'Bettejo Dux' (Vintage Bettejo)

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!
Bettejo has a gift of mingling
 the present, the past, and the future. 

www.bettejodux.com

www.amazon.com

ER

"...and then I went to church."

"That'll be the day."

" What I did was even worse."

"Worse than going to church?"

I nodded.

"Okay," my guest sipped his beer and stretched his legs. "This is gonna be  a long one."

"Well, I have this book..."

"This book? You can't sit down around here without landing on one."

"It's a cocktail table book. Most people don't sit on cocktail tables," I sniffed. "It's called Luxury Equestrian Design and I keep it around to remind me what a peasant I am."

"You can say that again."

"It's so classy the pages aren't even numbered.  But on page 34--I counted--there's a picture of Seattle Slew's grave."

"Triple Crown. Earned $1,207,726."

"All you think about is money. He was a People's Horse. And he's buried whole, just like Ari, at Hill 'n' Dale Farm in Kentucky."

"So?"

",,,so his grave is so enormous and so blazingly alive with blossoms and color and grace and style it takes your breathe away. He was a year younger than Ari and, like him, died in his sleep. He's buried in his favorite green blanket with a little bag of peppermints he loved. Ari didn't wear a blanket but he's off to the Happy Hunting Ground with a whole bottle of  Cornflake Butter Crunch Cookies. Maybe when they meet, which I'm sure they will, they'll share."

My friend slurped. "And?"

"And," I replied, "if Seattle Slew can be so honored and beloved, I mean if it's  good enough for him, it's good enough for Ari. So I set out to make his grave as rich and gorgeous. I bought plants, I bought gloves, I bought doohickey  gardening tools  from a garden center--I even bought new gardening shoes--and raced off on a new path."

"And?"

"...and the shoes put a blister on my foot and it rained and my shoes got wet and my foot got infected and at one o'clock in the morning I set off for Wilcox hospital ER. I think I was in shock. The wound was open and red and sore and swollen and feverish and a little red line was running up my leg."

"Skip the gory details, but whatever happened to the little old miss self- healer- squealer?"

"Healer- squealer shuffle dealer,  I  don't play around with tetanus and blood poisoning. No way. But know what?"

"What?"

"Turned into such a pleasant surprise. I  couldn't met a nicer bunch of people. The lady who signed me in. The darling male nurse with the pony tail who listened patiently to my tale of woe. The doctor, a neighbor, who had much compassion. The lady nurse who gave me two of the most painless shots I've ever had. I went home happy.  With a prescription  I won't fill. Met a  pharmacist  who talked me out of filling it. I'm in the process of healing myself. So hahaha...

...but let me tell you something, if you're ever in trouble and need an ER go to Wilcox Hospital Kauai."

P.S.
For further reading  about Kaua'i you may want to read"Dairy on a ferry."
http://dakinetalk.blogspot.com/2014/04/dairy-on-ferry-james-kimo-rosen.html

Bettejo endorses Steve Saylor for President, Check out his YouTube videos'.
Mr. Saylor lives on Kaua'i 6 months of the year....
Video #1;
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PPMPsVJoz4
Video #2;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKV8lFyv4e0
Video #3;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOoER6zcLZo
Video-#4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12qq10y8OAg
Video #5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nbDn6dyOAc
Newest video #6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsbZSzIQtHA

Editor's note, Dakinetalk guest bloggers do not necessarily represent the opinions of dakinetalk. Guest bloggers are given space to express their beliefs and or opinions. We feel there are many roads and like to give people space to express their thoughts,after-all that's what dakine is...

Aloha, James "Kimo" Rosen---Blogger-n-chief, dakinetalk blog---

Hana Hou, (Encore) Shared From Facebook;

"The Important Passenger..." 'Chester "Unc" Lau' (Source)

Dakinetalk's favorite Uncle (Chester Lau)

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

'Unc' currently resides on the Hawai'ian Island of Oahu. 

He is a retired cinematographer,

 and  enjoys giving the politicians a bad time...

The Important Passenger

 The Pope goes to New York and gets picked up at the airport by a limousine.

When he sees the car, he motions to the driver and says: "Do you mind if I ask you a favor ?"

"A favor for the Pope??" exclaims the driver, "of course - anything !"

"You know, I hardly ever get to drive, and I'd really like it if I got to drive now. Would you please let me ?"

The thought of the Pope getting behind the wheel scared the driver - what if he got in into an accident ? 

On the other hand, the driver felt that he couldn't say no to the Pope himself, so he reluctantly obliged and let his Holiness get behind the wheel. 

To his utter dismay, the Pope turns the key, lights up the limousine's rear tires and speeds up like a maniac !

After driving in excess of 100 mph in a 45 mph zone, a police car drives up alongside them and orders them to stop immediately. The Pope slams on the brakes and comes to a dead stop, as does the pursuing police officer. 

The police officer emerges from his vehicle, briefly peers through the limousine's window, then hurriedly steps back in. 

His sergeant got this call:

Cop: "Sir, I have a problem."

Sergeant: "What kind of problem ?"

Cop: "Well, I pulled over this driver for speeding, but he's someone really important."

Sergeant: "Important like... the mayor?"

Cop: "No, no - a lot more important than that."

Sergeant: "Important like... the governor?"
cop

Cop: "Way more important than that, sarge."

Sergeant: "Important like... the President?"

Cop: "Even more important than him."

Sergeant: "Who's more important than the President?"

Cop: "I don't know sarge, but he has the Pope DRIVING for him!"

L'oncle Ammusant  AKA~ Chester "Unc" Lau

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

"How to be great ambassadors of Aloha..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Kimo's world #125)

James "Kimo" Rosen is a retired professional photographer
 and amongst other things lived in a tent outdoors for 7 years.
Rosen currently resides on the tropical island of Kaua'i
with his best friend and spiritual adviser Obama Da Dog!

Kimo's world #125

How to be great ambassadors of Aloha

I recently read an AP article from Honolulu in the April 24th edition of the Garden Island news.
It was titled; "Don't hate on the tourists."  
http://thegardenisland.com/news/state-and-regional/agency-to-hawaii-residents-don-t-hate-on-tourists/article_2fdbf0c9-f649-5461-b5df-8b96ad948f39.html
According to the states agency that promotes travel to Hawaii --last year brought 8.6 million travelers to Hawai'i for the 4th straight year of increased travelers.

It can be fun being
a tourist on Kauai

They are saying be nice to da tourists since there is a trickle down effect. Your Auntie or brother or sister who works at the hotel needs that job to pay bills, buy groceries and live life in general. Without the money generated from tourism where would many in Hawaii have the funds to live?

Suck it up, put up with the Kapaa crawl, traffic, long lines at the grocery stores, high prices at Food trucks, overcrowded beaches. overpriced shaved ice, overpriced farmers markers, suck it up.

When I lived in Alaska there was a permanent dividend where every resident of the state who lived there one year or longer shared in the oil revenues of the state. The interest  from invested funds in oil called permanent fund are divided amongst each state resident.Each year every resident of Alaska  one year of age or older gets a check for $1,000 or more, in 2015 it was $2072. Imagine having a family of 7 kids?

Traffic is a constant problem
with few roads, too many vehicles
and a large number of visitors
all over the state of Hawaii

My idea for Hawaii, are you listening Governor? Are you listening state Senate? Here's a way to ease the pain and make every Hawaiian a great ambassador of Aloha, share in the profits!  Add a penny tax  to the hotel tax which will only effect people staying in hotels,  B and B's and vacational rentals. Divide that money every year amongst each state resident.

I am betting that money will amount to a good chunk of change, I am guessing somewhere between 1,000-$3,000 a year for each resident of Hawaii.

Maybe then and only then we will be able to be better ambassadors of 'Aloha' next time somebody tries and stops us while we are bicycling full speed ahead to ask where's the closest coke machine? Can everyone say, Aloha tourists?

Hana Hou, (Encore)