We have the Kona Stroll, and sometimes I stroll around observing this wacky world of aloha we live in.
First of all, when you write a newspaper column everyone has a big idea for a story, not all are earth-shaking. One grocery checker wants me to write about customers using the public bathrooms. She also wants a column about people changing lanes on the highway. Others want one about curbs and shopping carts.
Not exactly Shakespeare.
The next group of column hopefuls are business owners wanting free advertising. They give me tours of their shop, free samples of their wares, then drop the hint about a column. I’m sure that a piece on Kimo’s Smoke Meat or Joe’s Bike Shop would be riveting and keep readers glued to the page.
Sorry guys, your businesses are great but I have a tiny bit of ethics, so I can’t give you a free ad.
On the positive side, I love all the compliments I get around town. Thank you.
I see there is a tiny surf spot, Banyans, dear to the heart of Kona surfers. But some developer wants to build a condo on top of it. We have thousands of condominiums and only a few surf spots. Show some aloha and skip building this one.
Meanwhile, on the political scene, there is a new law, House Bill 1217, making it mandatory to register to vote when you get a driver’s license. They are forcing you to vote. I was once talking to my wise sister around election time. I told her that people fought for your right to vote.” She said, “No, they fought for your freedom to not vote if you don’t want to.” She has a point.
So, some rich business owners making a million dollars a year are complaining about paying their struggling workers 15 bucks an hour minimum wage. They are worried they won’t be able to afford that new golf club or an extra bottle of Dom Perignon. I feel their pain.
Tell me if I’m crazy, but I think the choice of locations for the homeless village and the new veterans center is backwards. Shouldn’t the veteran center be across from the high school near to the support of the county buildings, and the homeless village be out on the isolated field by Kaiminani Drive?
But no, our respected veterans have to drive 7 miles out of town to Kaiminani, while the homeless are next to the school.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Finally, the Lolo Award goes to the parents who won’t vaccinate their kids and send them to school to spread measles, mumps and chicken pox. They reject science, common sense, and believe the Earth is flat.
I’ll leave you with a laugh. A guy in Costco told me that MAGA on the hats means Morons Are Governing America. Jokes like that make me feel great again.
Dennis Gregory writes a bimonthly column for West Hawaii Today and welcomes your comments at makewavess@yahoo.com