• Aloha spirit appreciated • The fate of the country • More can be done • Wordsmith Aloha spirit appreciated Last week my neighbor to the back of my home was digging a cesspool with a very large and noisy
• Aloha spirit appreciated • The fate
of the country • More can be done •
Wordsmith
Aloha spirit appreciated
Last week my neighbor to the back of my home was digging a cesspool with a very large and noisy drill. This would not have been a problem until it appeared he would be using the drill on the afternoon we had a backyard wedding planned.
I explained my problem to Danny from Island Wide Septic and he immediately told me he would stop at noon that day as he understood I would not want the noise from his drill to accompany the Hawaiian Wedding Song.
True to his word, he stopped before the ceremony and lowered the drill so that it was not visible to the wedding couple and guests. Mahalo Danny for helping to make our celebration a big success. Your aloha spirit was much appreciated.
Sharon McCoubrey, Kalaheo
The fate of the country
Tonight, as I heard our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, I couldn’t help comparing the time it was written with now.
In 1776 and the following years, our fledgling democracy was in mortal danger. The author, Francis Scott Key, was concerned the supporters of our republic might not hold.
When we wake on Nov. 3, many of us will ask ourselves if the flag is still the symbol of our Constitutional Republic, where we are represented by dedicated people who will take the time to understand the bills they vote on.
Or on the other hand, are we represented by representatives of special interest groups who blindly vote as they are told? Or will our lives be controlled by faceless unelected Washington bureaucrats?
In 2010, as in 1776 and many times since, the fate of the country rests in the hands of its citizens.
William Georgi, ‘Ele‘ele
More can be done
Every November Kaua‘i Hospice reaches out to our community to raise awareness about the compassionate care that hospice and palliative care provide patients and families coping with serious and life-limiting illness.
This month of awareness provides an opportunity for us to remind people that hospice care helps patients and families focus on living.
This surprises some people.
Those of us who have worked in the field have seen firsthand how hospice and palliative care can improve the quality of life and research shows that families report a better quality of life under hospice and palliative care.
To further the surprise, there’s a growing body of research showing that hospice and palliative care may prolong the lives of some people who receive care.
The hospice team provides expert medical care to keep patients comfortable and able to enjoy time with loved ones.
The hospice team answers questions, offers advice on what to expect, and helps families with the duties of being a caregiver. The team also provides emotional and spiritual support for the entire family.
With the help of hospice, patients and families alike can focus on what’s most important — enjoying life together and living as fully as possible.
This important message lasts beyond the month of November and is important all year round.
If you or a loved one is facing a serious or life-limiting illness, the time to find out more about hospice and palliative care is right now. There is more that can be done.
Lori J. Miller, Executive Director, Kaua‘i Hospice
Wordsmith
One source of irritation to me, among many these days, is the use of words to express a feeling.
No explanation is given on what the writer really meant and is, therefore, left up to the reader’s imagination. The use of words, such as “liberal” and “conservative,” are never defined with precision. Frequently adjectives such as “extremist” and “far right” are added compounding the problem.
When I was young, about 196X’s, the word “left” designated one with socialist leanings and the “right” designated one who favored capitalism. This is far from true these days.
The liberals, so called, have successfully attached the word “right” to any one or group they disliked. As an example the far right seemed to be the words attached to the Nazis — which was a good example of socialism (National Socialist Party). And “right wing extremists” appeared to be words attached to those who had strong religious attachments.
Compounding the problem, the word “liberal” according to dictionaries, is defined as: pertaining to freedom. No definition of the word “freedom’ is ever given to verify that this, is indeed, true, therefore, it is a feeling — nothing more. My inclination is to discount these speeches and writings as crass and prejudiced rhetoric designed to deceive.
I personally have no love of the thinking or actions of either the “liberals” or “conservatives” or any other political persuasion because none of them have a viable solution to any of our many problems. I would venture to say politics, in general, caused us to be in our present predicament. We should look for answers elsewhere.
Ralph Tamm, Lihu‘e
