• ‘Ice’ up-close
• Na Pali report
• Interesting poem
‘Ice’ up-close
A few days ago I was driving on Kawaihau Road past Kapahi Park. It was a nice sunny day. There were some parents and their tiny kids playing soccer; the park is a local favorite for this, small but convenient, and very popular.
I also saw some young guys, late teens and early 20s, hanging around their cars in the parking lot. They were smoking ice. Broad daylight, public park, right next to the road, families present. Smoking ice. No fear, no shame.
You can tell an ice smoker: He cups the little pipe in his hands so you can’t see it as he inhales; what you see is the smoke.
I have seen the same scene at Lydgate Park — broad daylight, a sunny Sunday afternoon, the park is packed with people, and there they are: guys leaning on their cars, hands cupped in front of their mouths, and smoke rising into the air.
Both times I called the cops immediately from my car phone. I’m sure it didn’t do any good; at the Kapahi Park scene the dispatcher told me the nearest patrol car was in Anahola. When I went past the park a little later, there were no ice smokers, and no cops.
The thing is, everybody knows this is happening in our parks. And the evidence clearly shows that nothing is being done about it. I know, and this is the reason I cannot reveal my name: A year ago in a Kaua‘i park I was the victim of a vicious assault and robbery by two men demanding drugs and money. When I mentioned to a knowledgeable friend the peculiar chemical-type body odor my assailants gave off, she told me, “That’s ice.” The accused assailants have yet to go to trial.
Name of writer verified, withheld to protect safety of writer
Na Pali report
On a recent trip to Na Pali Coast State Park, our four-person kayak/camping party observed gross environmental and esthetic deterioration in the area. After years of visiting the Kalalau area, with camping/landing permits obtained a year in advance for a $160 fee, we were disappointed and appalled on this trip at the recent conditions affecting this most beautiful and unique area on Kaua‘i. We found un-permitted campers claiming the best camp sites, some of which were actually building semi-permanent structures in some of the most pristine locations. We found half of the toilets closed, trash located everywhere, constant boat landings, and in general, the environmental and sanitary control to have deteriorated to such an extent that one wonders if recovery is possible. Requiring permits has not limited the number of visitors to Kalalau. Instead, large number of people have been able to temporarily populate Kalalau for extended time. Lastly, Miloli‘i area remains closed to legal campers since 2001. We encourage others who care enough to preserve this part of the island, or want to enjoy it personally, to ask the state to put money and time in maintaining the Na Pali Coast State Park. Please write Peter Young, director, Department of Land and Natural Resources, and your state representative to bring attention to the rapidly and perhaps irrevocably deteriorating conditions.
Dee Chapon and Jesse Wells
Kohala, Hawai‘i
Interesting poem
I had the good fortune to meet a gentleman — Jim Anderson from Springfield, Mo. — who had penned and posted on a Web site a poignant poem merely entitled “Hawaiian Poem” (http://members.aol.com/lvhalau/Anderson.html). The poem, together with his introduction, strike me as something our local readers would enjoy. As a non-Hawaiian, he was very tuned into some of the feelings of our Hawaiian brothers and sisters as expressed in editorials and such.
Bob Lendahl
Princeville
