Page 2 - MidWeek - April 12, 2023

2 MIDWEEK APRIL 12, 2023
Swimming The Breezes
“Unwearied still, lover by lover they climb the air, their hearts have not grown old ... ” — Y.B. Yeats
SLights Out?
ome may say “good.” That would be extremely short-
“Come on, Mac, water’s cold but toes first for a minute then dive in. I’ll race
Task accomplished, morn- ing coffee while looking out the windows, they would imagine swimming in the sky like the sea birds, then taking a dive down to skim the sea. They were as much playmates as they were a married couple. Many won- derful years passed.
sighted. O‘ahu’s population fell below 1 million in 2022
you to the buoys.”
My dad, Mac, and my
by my sister saying, “ Hey, look up there!”
as the exodus from our islands continues. More than 31,000 O‘ahu residents have moved — thus, we have fewer people gathering in “The Gathering Place.” The implications and ramifications of out-migration have already begun to have a ripple effect that will impact the lives of those opting to stay.
mom were both avid swim- mers, daily.
We looked up and an- other seabird had sudden- ly appeared to join the solo one. They were flying around, playfully swimming the breeze. Finally, the grand finale: a fancy sky dive to skim the water for a dip; a race to the buoys for a short rest; a graceful lift off into the distance, whereabouts unknown.
Greg MacDonald is a lecturer in psychology at Kapi‘olani Community Col- lege. He and his wife, Junko, are also award-winning local musicians.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
As has been stated often, we already have a local labor shortage, so workers of all kinds moving away exacerbates that problem — now and further on down the road. Add in incessant local housing problems, lack of high-paying indus- tries and the creeping cost-of-living concerns, and these latest figures, while not really surprising, continue to be troubling. This is not an anomaly; we’ve lost population here annually from 2017 to 2022.
Mom, born in a hot, small dusty mining town in Arizo- na, dreamed of a view home high on the Mesa in Santa Barbara.
After Dad died, Mom lived alone in their dream home with her splendid memories. A few years later she also passed away.
If the exercise of discussing what to do to alleviate the brain drain doesn’t result in some actions and bold business outreach soon, this trend will undoubtedly continue. Our re- maining population continues to age, and getting things done in many areas will be more frustrating than ever. When asked in 2019 what makes it so tough to practice in Hawai‘i, a group of neurologists blamed the cost of living, bureaucracy, lack of skilled specialists and salaries/reimbursement rates as reasons for their greatest angst.
It was the 1950s and their shared dream was to have a small oceanview home with a garage for the Jeep. Their shared problem was to build it on two school teachers’
I recall on that day, the boat, the ocean, the words, the tears.
Have those issues improved pre-, during and post-COVID? The doctors cited as their top reasons for staying here location, family ties and lifestyle. “Should I stay or should I go?” self- chats surely increase anxiety — and this is just a snapshot from one highly specialized and vital profession from four years ago.
Somewhere in their coffee can of quarters and rolled
The stillness of the mo- ment was broken suddenly
Dad, born in Sioux Look- out, Manitoba, dreamed of a 1943 Willys Jeep four-cylin- der four-wheel drive station wagon with a wing-mounted spotlight and maybe a garage to park it in.
The author’s parents loved swimming in the water, and after their passing, he believes they enjoy swimming in the breeze.
dollar bills saved from dad working an extra job on a fishing boat and mom at a second job at a preschool, they had enough to make a small down payment on a modest home overlooking the ocean.
KELLEY
Their wishes were to have their ashes spread in the ocean they loved.
salaries. This meant summer jobs.
Their ashes were tossed all at once, intertwined, grace- fully descending as if in a slow dance.
New Century Schoolbook bold (scaled H 73.6)
Chatting seabirds followed for a while as usual but only one stayed with the boat.
with Greg MacDon- ald
Business and social exercises that take the time to offer treatises on the Hawai‘i we’d like to see/have in 2050 and beyond will be moot if we don’t start to plug the emigration pukas; we’re leaking people.
Fewer residents portend lower overall spending rates — bad for business and for necessary tax garnering. With local birth rates declining over the past decade, it’s unlikely that we’re going to gain people “naturally.” Having/raising kids is expensive.
Tourism estimates for second quarter and beyond are not shaping up well. So, while having a quieter, less crowded O‘ahu might have some advantages, sustaining that “good old days” mentality isn’t realistic in 2023 and beyond if we want to enjoy many of the things that still make Hawai‘i special. Who’s going to step up and create bold action?
Think about it.
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com