Page 2 - MidWeek - March 22, 2023

2 MIDWEEK MARCH 22, 2023
Beautiful Jim Key: A True Story
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eyes.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The fragile colt was born weak and crip- pled. His owner, “Doc” Key, was told by those who knew, “You got to put that young colt down. He’s not going to make it.”
Keystone Liniment medicine show.
TMore Musings
Jim Key was a consum- mate performer. He pre- tended to faint when people begged to buy him, then was instantly cured by Doc’s remedy.
wo weeks ago, a hiker was rescued from the for- bidden Stairway to Heaven trail on the Windward side. According to reports, five fire department units
But Doc Key, a former slave, saw something in the young colt’s eyes. He got to work healing him with the natural Keystone Liniment that he had invented.
million children to sign a pledge of kindness to an- imals. Doc Key had seen something in his crippled colt all those years ago that no one else could see. And, more than that, he could imagine a world where kindness to animals would someday become the law of the land.
Genie Joseph, Ph.D., is the author of the book “The Human-Animal Connection – Deepening Relationships with Animals and Our- selves.” Visit thehumanani- malconnection.org or email her at geniejoseph9@gmail. com.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
and 16 personnel responded. The hiker was airlifted via helicopter, and the insanity of this popular, yet banned, site continues, with costs to both taxpayers and traversers. Apparently, we’ll have to wait for resolution on saving or scuttling these steps until someone finally plummets to his/ her death — thus realizing his/her own unfortunate “stair- way to heaven” — before definitive action is finally taken on this 80-year-old walkway ...
“Doc” Key believed that kindness was the key to training a young horse — and he was right.
It wasn’t long before the duo broke through racial prejudice to become star per- formers at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. With President William McKinley in the front row, Jim Key would amaze skeptics, flirt with a lady he would chose from the audience, and inspire children and adults with his improvised antics.
Families were forced to leave Red Hill due to tainted wa- ter, and now they’re getting hit with federal tax bills for the forced “gift” of living in hotel rooms for months. Some of those now getting taxed got sick from drinking foul water, and now they’re getting sick to their stomachs (again). Let’s hope this is resolved by the time you’re reading it (after all, we’re deep into tax season). As for Red Hill, the com- pounding issues related to this debacle make Red Hill seem more like an episode of the BBC’s The Benny Hill Show ...
The helpless young horse slept in Doc’s house, right next to him, getting a little stronger each day, until he was finally able to walk. Soon, he began to show signs of exceptional intelligence and could do all the tricks Doc’s dog did.
best way to train a horse was with patience and kindness. And to prove the power of his method, he decided to teach the alphabet to this horse, whom he named Jim Key.
In a February Gallup survey, 50% of Americans said they were worse off financially than they were a year ago, the highest percentage to feel that way since the Great Re- cession (2008-09). While government cannot and should not be expected to solve all of our social and economic problems, acknowledging that we live in the costliest state in the union should remind those planning to place extra, available state cash into the “rainy day” fund that many here already appear to be drowning ...
This young colt could find apples hidden in cabinets and then cleverly close the doors before anyone knew the ap-
It wasn’t long before his horse could spell words by placing the letters on a special board. He began outsmarting everyone who tested him, showing his fine sense of humor and winning spelling bees with children. Doc Key then took his horse on the road with his traveling
It is estimated that 10 million Americans over the course of his career came to see the horse dubbed “Beau- tiful Jim Key.” This at a time when horses were considered beasts of burden, were often badly mistreated, and had no laws to protect them.
ple was gone.
Doc, a self-taught veteri-
New Century Schoolbook bold (scaled H 73.6)
narian, had an idea that was radical at the time — that the
But Jim Key inspired 3
KELLEY
with Genie Joseph
Kudos to everyone involved with Mohala Mai, O‘ahu’s first long-term housing project for formerly imprisoned women. This joint partnership of public and private entities provides more than just much-needed housing. It provides hope, support and an opportunity for those newly freed to reengage, mainstream and become productive members of our community ...
Recent heavy winds and downpours left in their wake one of nature’s most inspiring wonders in Hawai‘i: absolute clarity, which we could all use more of. When the overcast skies finally cleared, our environs looked like a scene from a 4K resolution National Geographic special — chiseled, majestic Ko‘olau mountains alive with lush, green foliage amid gorgeous, blues skies. We even scored a few rainbows and a stunning, near-translucent, full moon in the midst of it all.
Think about it.
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com