Dear rooster thief
Dear rooster thief
At 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5, an intruder came to our Makalika Street home and stole our pet black rooster, Mynah, so named for white underwing patches.
This happened while one of us was at the back of the house, who, upon hearing Mynah’s frantic screams, saw that person leaving in a silver SUV. That SUV turned left onto Railroad Avenue toward Hilo, with the rooster’s cries still audible.
Mynah’s tail and wing feathers were found 5 feet from our front window. This is 50 feet from the street, so it was no simple mistake. Getting to the window a few seconds earlier could have led to a dangerous confrontation, if the thief had faced identification.
The motive for this snatch-and-run of our hand-fed and trained pet is surely for fighting, or selling for fighting. Mynah’s full red comb, earlobes and wattles will be cut off, his natural spurs trimmed to accept gaffs, and he will fight until he gets killed, which will be soon. He’s a lover, not a fighter. It’s been proven he’s no good at Ultimate Fighting Chickens.We and his four hens will miss him so that someone can make a few dollars. Pretty low, bruddah.
While I don’t favor cockfighting, I’ve never actively taken issue with others who pursue it. We might not agree on certain cultural traditions in this society, but on trespassing and theft we should certainly agree.
So for those of you who participate in UFC, please don’t deal with Mr. Silver SUV and his new black rooster with the white under-wings and scattered light dots on his chest. And missing tail feathers. This person would steal from you, too.
And to you, bruddah: If you feel any differently while (or if) Mynah’s still alive, just cruise by early morning and let him out. He’ll find us. If you don’t, check the classified under “Wanted: Chicken Manure.” That’ll be you.
Ray Kawachi
Hilo
Don’t turn your back
The article (“Isle tour company criticized for death,” July 12) with criticism of Big Island tour companies following the tragic drowning of visitor Tyler Madoff had nothing to do with his death.
So tour companies are not allowed to visit areas that the public can visit unless the company has a specific permit? Tours are not excluded from visiting the ocean, so the permitting process hardly reduces shoreline dangers to their clients. Everyone should be aware of the possibility of rogue waves sweeping the shoreline of oceanic islands like Hawaii.
One small paragraph toward the end of the article referred to National Weather Service advisories. Neither the National Weather Service nor anyone else can warn of distant approaching rogue waves. You see them when they arrive.
Everyone visiting the shoreline needs to carry the words in their minds, “Never turn your back on the ocean.” Hopefully, the tour companies deliver this message as emphatic warning to their clients.
William Mautz
Hilo