KAPAA — Shirley Jones came to Kauai for the usual vacation activities.
Then, she had decided she wanted to do something more.
So, the Little Rock, Ark., woman went to the store, bought some supplies, made a sign and stood along Kuhio Highway in Kapaa Wednesday.
And her message?
“America is in peril. Please pray.”
“I’m just very, very concerned that we are so divided,” said Jones, a born-again Christian.
She held her sign for about an hour Monday evening, offering a smile to passersby.
Response was positive. Some drivers honked and waved. A few gave her a thumb’s up. One shouted, “God bless you.” Another, “I love you.” One man even stopped to visit and take her picture.
No one was negative toward her.
“What are you going to do, give a bad signal to a grandma, a 73-year-old grandma?” Jones asked, laughing.
She dismissed the suggestion it takes some courage to stand along a street with a sign, all capital letters in bold and black, calling on people to pray.
“It doesn’t take much courage when they’re so nice and friendly,” she said.
Jones said she’s been dismayed at what’s happened with Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. The anger and accusations that have arisen cause alarm, says Jones. She sees more hostility, more hate, more harshness in her country.
“It’s going to take prayer to bring us back to where America needs to be,” she said.
And that’s a country based on godly principles and a godly way of doing things, Jones said. If not, well, she repeats her warning.
“We are in danger,” she said.
It was that thought that wouldn’t let her rest inside their resort room with her husband after a day of exploring and fun. They are on Kauai to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
So while he relaxed, she went to the store, bought lettering and a signboard, and created the message she wanted to deliver.
“It’s the Lord who inspired me to do this,” said Jones, adding this was not her first time being an activist of sorts. She has stood her ground with signs in Branson, Mo., and Little Rock.
Her husband, while sharing the same views, didn’t join her outside, Jones said. When she told him of her plans, he rolled his eyes and said, “go ahead.”
“He feels the same way I do about the issue, but he’s not willing to stand on the street,” she said.
Jones may return throughout her week on Kauai and hold her sign proudly.
She considers the public display less about national politics and more about an expression of a personal viewpoint.
“I feel strongly this is something I should do,” she said. “I think America is going through a crazy time. Unless the Lord intervenes, our nation will be divided even more than it is right now. So, I just want people to pray.”
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Bill Buley, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 245-0457 or bbuley@thegardenisland.com.
