Mahalo, rescuers
Mahalo, rescuers
On March 11, after being tossed on the rocks by a wave, we were rescued by helicopter and transported by ambulance to Hilo Medical Center.
We would like to commend the Hilo fire and rescue personnel, the Hilo emergency room department, and Hilo Medical Center for their quick response and professionalism. It was life-saving for us, and we will never forget the skillful and compassionate care we received.
Bob and Cathy Cornell
Boston
In defense of Lui
Much has been written in your newspaper over the years about “Uncle Abel” (Lui), who resides at Kawa in Ka‘u. For seven years we’ve been his closest neighbor living in a home about a mile down the highway. Although our lifestyles and politics are about as different as they can possibly get, we and Abel are good friends.
The friendship began inauspiciously, to say the least. He and two of his most vocal friends drove up to our house, which was then under construction. They yelled and screamed, not making much sense, but it was clear they didn’t want our home to be built.
Although I’ve come to learn that such shocking behavior is not uncommon in Ka‘u, at the time, having just moved here from Philadelphia, I was flabbergasted! Who were these people?
After a bit, Abel sat down on our new foundation, away from the rest, and I went over to try to reason with him. He calmly asked me, “Are you going to live here?”
I said, “Yes, we’ve put our life savings into this house.”
“Well,” he said, “I guess we should be friends.” He stood up, hugged me and walked to the car, calling his friends to follow. We’ve been friends ever since.
That afternoon, Abel taught me something that I had never seen so dramatically exhibited. The best of human nature can transcend deep differences. We can treat one another with kindness and respect and still be true to our convictions and our beliefs.
Because of his unorthodox lifestyle and ideas, it’s pretty easy to cast stones at Abel, but whatever is said about him or done to him, the world should know he has a stream of goodness in him and a perseverance that should be greatly admired.
Mary and David Carroll
Naalehu
Enough name-calling
I just read Mr. Sherman Frederick’s attack on MSNBC (Tribune-Herald, Their View), a classic attempt to paint liberal points of view as immaterial or nearly un-American by dismissing them with name-calling and not channelling a clear, objective thought process.
This is a typical Republican response when they don’t have a good argument to make — use name-calling to muddy the waters of thought to make people think your ideas seem better than your opponents.
Is this the best you can do, Sherman? If it is, your anti-liberal, anti-union (opinion) will not get more traction in this Democratic elected state.
Douglas Walsh
Naalehu