Page 2 - MidWeek - Dec 14, 2022

2 MIDWEEK DECEMBER 14, 2022
And while we’re at it (remember, this is a holiday wish list), how about some movement on that Thirty Meter Tele- scope. Absolutely, tough discussions and a sense of trust must come into play, but if not in 2023, then when? At some point, the patient possible partners (Canada, Japan) will simply take their ball (i.e. funds) and go home. The optics on this optics monolith need not be light years away; it just seems like it. The system is meant to measure (among other things) atmospheric turbulence. I think we already have that. I’m not suggesting a specific resolution, just asking for one.
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Vitamin L — The Joy Of Laughter
“We all know how to laugh.” — Puakea
Wishing And Hoping
Taking a last bite of poi, I set down my spoon, leaned back and contentedly thumped my belly. From across the lūʻau table, Kamuela Ku- mukahi asked,”Ua pae ka waʻa?” literally “Has the canoe landed?” It refers to being full. Thumping my belly again, I tweaked that old saying, with what trans- lates as “The canoe reached landfall a while ago, but I kept paddling (spooning in food) until it was way up on shore.” Kamuela burst out laughing, with a half-dozen of the nearby elders join- ing in — even some who didn’t understand the line in Hawaiian. It was a good line, a good laugh and it was contagious.
Aunty Sarah Nākoa taught me to laugh in Ha- waiian. We worked at
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and everything else besides straight answers, how about we get some straight talk about Red Hill, its future and a realistic timetable? Toxic chemicals? Par for the course after months (years) of toxic behavior.
is the season. So, in the spirit of wishes, here are a few for Hawai‘i in 2023.
After far too much obfuscation, deflection, denial
by me or others. Shared laughs boost everyone in- volved, so don’t make fun of, make fun with. (Politi- cal jokes aside?)
And, speaking of resolution, how about real resolution followed by real action on the Haʻikū Stairs (Stairway to Heaven), the Waikīkī War Memorial Natatorium, and what- ever other items of interest you might have pondered for years ... or decades. As that grand philosopher Yoda once said, “Do, or do not. There is no try.” Or as philosophy giant Larry the Cable Guy once said, “Git-r-done!”
Generating a good laugh across languages is a huge victory, but it’s a win in one’s own language, too.
terchanges fun. Rarely using my name, she would address me by some fun- ny reference like, “Eh, sparkle eyes, what brings you here?” She might call me a flitting bird, a waft- ing scent, a passing rain or whatever image came to mind. I would respond in kind, often overdosing honorifics: “O deep well- spring of wisdom, I come to sip the sweet waters.” We’d giggle our way into a chat that was always better for having started with a
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I laugh often on my own, out loud or just chuckling, and I work it in with others when I can. It’s an energy injection of Vitamin L. So far, so good; my mood and my immune system are both holding up just fine, and I can dismiss the changing texture of my face as laugh lines.
C’ mon, decades of intransigence, kicking cans/issues down the road and no solutions, just rotting railroad ties, neighbor fatigue in Kāne‘ohe and a crumbling beachfront façade with rebar sticking up like a middle finger — welcome to paradise.
Generating a good laugh across languages is a huge victory, but it’s a win in one’s own language, too. Like vitamins or good food, it bolsters everything from mood to immune system, and is critical in a healthy social diet.
Puakea Nogelmeier is a professor emeritus of Ha- waiian language and exec- utive director of Awaiaulu.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
n the 1980s and I relied on her help with language and culture. Seemingly stern, she always made our in-
Not a silly man, I don’t live on jokes and giggles, but I love a chance to twist a phrase, tweak a delivery, or pull a face for a laugh,
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laugh. Aunty Sarah’s con- ceptual toys are still with me today.
with Puakea Nogelmeier
And here’s a nuanced wish: great followership. We often rightfully seek great leadership from those in charge, but superb leadership quite often requires great subordinates, ad- visers, helpers and followers. When athletes are interviewed after a big win, they most often talk about “the team,” believ- ing in one another, etc. No coach (nor QB) wins a game alone. And leaders rarely get action taken without others joining the party, putting aside petty disagreements, egocentrism, NIMBY-ism, jealousy, minor personality squabbles, which are superfluous to the common good, and all of those other things that prevent far too many items from getting resolved here. Kudos to the backup players, the nuts and bolts peo- ple, the doers; no more passive-aggressiveness, let’s support worthy leaders for the people.
Not a very long wish list here, but surely a hefty holiday one.
Think about it.
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com