Page 2 - MidWeek - April 20, 2022

2 MIDWEEK APRIL 20, 2022
Charlotte The Reading Donkey
“There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.” — Marcel Proust
IWatering Whole
When two beings lovingly attend to each other, something magical opens up. Just ask Charlotte. That is, of course, if you are the kind of person who would speak to a donkey.
f you live on O‘ahu and have been looking askance at the debacle known now as the Red Hill water cri- sis, look again. An anticipated dry summer might
Research shows that those who don’t learn to read while young “can turn away from education” (cited from “Read On, Get On”), while children who learn to love reading will commit to lifelong learning (cited from “The Children’s Bureau”). Mattie and Timothy and Michaela are well on the way to joining those lifelong learners, and Miss Charlotte is helping them get there.
Genie Joseph is the creator of Animal Consciousness In- stitute, and has been a vol- unteer at Tripler Army Med- ical Center, where she helped wounded warriors. Visit ani- mal-consciousness.org.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
necessitate mandatory water restrictions, according to the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. The Red Hill water crisis meanders forward with obfuscation and some red faces, but resolutions (and time frames) are not yet in clear sight. But we can lessen our own water usage via simple solutions that’ll add up when repeated by hundreds of thousands of O‘ahu residents. We’ve been here before, but here are easily implementable ideas to obviate the looming concern about pending water usage restrictions ...
Charlotte is a donkey with a very special mission. She helps children learn to love reading. She usually stays in her pen, but as soon as some- one sits in the reading chair, she moves to stand next to the child, her nose over the reader’s shoulder as the book is opened. She alternates be- tween gazing at the page and looking into the reader’s eyes when a child looks at her.
A donkey named Miss Charlotte helps children learn how to read and learn to have confidence in the process.
Brush your teeth and/or shave with the sink water off. If you ... um, “go” often, don’t flush every time. As we say, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow” (easier to do when living alone or with an empathetic, significant other). Shorten lawn watering times, manually or remotely; water less frequently (in the early morning); shut it down if it’s wet; and make sure automatic sprinklers are aimed accurately.
Timothy even wishes Char- lotte could come to his school: “Then I wouldn’t be scared to read out loud.”
llamas were gentle with her, and Charlotte is now thriv- ing in their company. Chil- dren, in turn, flourish in Char- lotte’s company. Her quiet listening and focus on them as they read is changing lives. As 7-year-old Ruby said, “Char- lotte makes reading fun!”
And those vital, stress-relieving daily showers? Put on your favorite five-minute song as you begin. When it ends, you end. No more 10-minute masterpieces un- der the shining Moen in your near future, please. The neighbors will thank you, too, as your singing will be truncated. Oh, and sorry, but baths tend to be water hogs (versus short showers). Check for household leaks (toilets, sinks, pipes, et al.). Run full loads only in the washing machine and dishwasher. Smartly rinse dishes without running the faucet ad nauseum. Clean vegeta- bles and fruits thoroughly, but quickly.
Her patience helps children relax while struggling to learn to read.
Charlotte, a granny don- key at Afton Whitmer’s Wild Horse Haven Rescue in Arizo- na, was nearly sent to another facility because the other don- keys were picking on her. She wasn’t getting her fair share of the food and was losing weight. When Afton moved her into the llamas’ pen, the
“I love reading to Charlotte because she doesn’t make fun
And, Michaela exclaims, “I don’t quit like I used to. I have to finish the story, because Charlotte wants to know how it ends!”
of me. She just listens,” says 7-year-old Mattie. “I have more confidence now, and for the first time I love reading.”
New Century Schoolbook bold (scaled H 73.6)
KELLEY
with Genie Joseph
You can take an active role in water conservation, as we all lend a hand now. I’ve pondered whether water, an essential and scarce survival resource, will become the oil of the 21st century. In some places, it is already used as a weapon or a bargaining chit, and its handling has caused great consternation and sometimes great cost. Ask your friends living in the southwestern main- land what the future of potable water portends — it’s not rosy, it’s not fiction and it’s not a fear-mongering plot. Heck, ask your friends in Moanalua!
Chicken Little exasperated her friends when she insisted that the “sky is falling.” With current ground- water issues here, a sizzling summer might provide us with a grim reminder of what happens when the rain is not falling.
Think about it...
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com