One day too many
What person, in their infinite wisdom, decided that inconveniencing 95% of the island with a second day of Ironman was a good idea?
When they say the island benefits from Ironman it is a small percentage. Most of us just circle the day on the calendar as one to hide out and plan around. We can’t shop, drive freely or get to the airport, among other things.
We have to deal with so many rude, entitled idiots that come in for the race it is just another reason to stay as far away as possible. When in Walmart one year ahead of the race I listened to several obviously foreign visitors wearing their sponsor emblazoned clothing berate an employee because the shelf was empty of the type of water they wanted. Ironman is a bonanza for only a few and a miserable pain in the okole for most.
Susan Ferroni-Keleher
Waimea
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A word I didn’t know
My schoolteacher grandfather sometimes came to the dinner table carrying a dictionary because, notwithstanding his having a large vocabulary, he had been enchanted by a word he didn’t know.
So his grandchild was delighted today to find an unfamiliar word, “philippic,” in George Will’s column, about the Supreme Court’s consideration of the rights of a potty-mouthed teenager’s right to post on Twitter a “philippic.”
I might not be your only reader who doesn’t know this word, so here is an excerpt of its definition and history, by Miriam-Webster:
“Philippic: a discourse or declamation full of bitter condemnation : TIRADE
In 351 B.C., the Greek orator Demosthenes delivered a fiery speech warning his countrymen against the imperialistic designs of Philip II, king of Macedon, and chastising them for their timidity and inaction … Demosthenes is known to have delivered only three Philippics; in contrast, the Philippics of the Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero attacking Marc Antony some 300 years later … numbered fourteen. We still capitalize the word when we refer to these famous diatribes, but ever since 1592, philippic has been used (usually in lowercase) in a broader sense as well.”
Niel Thomas
Waimea
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Congratulations to the great Juan Soto
Congratulations Juan Soto on becoming the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Home Run Derby Winner! Baseball fans around the world are blessed to witness the extra super awesome things this great young man has accomplished.
I must remind you people that Soto is super awesomely young at 23 years of age. Soto won a World Series ring as a teenager at 19. In 2020 and 2021, the great Soto won Silver Slugger Awards. He also has a batting title under in his trophy hardware collection. Today, Soto has the 2022 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby Winner Awards and Trophies. What a super awesome Major League Baseball player. Soto is also a super awesome defensive player, which the media doesn’t give him credit for.
In my heart and soul, the great Soto is the greatest player to ever play the sport of baseball. Remember, Soto is only 23 years of age and has accomplished what the majority of Major League Baseball players wish they had in their entire career. What an extra super awesome ambassador of Major League Baseball the universe has in the great Juan Soto. Enough said, case closed.
Dean Nagasako
Waimea
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