Accept this gift ADVERTISING Accept this gift Councilwoman Maile David stated at a recent council meeting that it is a precept in her Hawaiian culture that you cannot refuse a gift. Thus, she accepted and drank a portion of a
Accept this gift
Councilwoman Maile David stated at a recent council meeting that it is a precept in her Hawaiian culture that you cannot refuse a gift. Thus, she accepted and drank a portion of a bottle of water from a Puna geothermal well that was brought as a gift for the County Council by a member of the public.
The Thirty Meter Telescope is a magnificent gift for all the people of Hawaii Island from the international astronomy community, which includes large contributions of funds and know-how from Canada, China, India, Japan and the United States. It comes with much-needed jobs, increased economic activity, better education in science, and the possibility of amazing discoveries about the universe.
Consider, then, that it would not be in the Hawaiian tradition to refuse this gift. It not only would be very bad manners, but also a grave insult to folks around the world.
Sometimes, you might have to swallow something that might be distasteful, such as the geothermal water, in order to achieve the best result for the whole community.
Adrienne S. Dey
Hilo
A ‘Drink Off’
Dear Mr. Curtis Beck: After reading about your ludicrous comparison of Roundup to coffee, I decided to put my life on the line and challenge you to a “Drink Off.”
For every cup of Roundup you drink, I will drink a cup of coffee!
We shall see who goes to the hospitable first. And to level the field, I have not had any coffee for several years.
So, it all comes down to this: Are you really as smart as you claim to be, or are you just another paid lackey? And we can let the newspaper be the judge. If I win, you get to have your stomach pumped, and I get to see legislation passed to protect the citizens of this state! How about it?
Jay Wason
Hilo
Lack of aloha?
I have been hearing a lot lately about respect, and how non-locals such as myself are not giving respect to people and property.
I just picked up the game of golf recently. Golf in itself has a book of rules to include proper etiquette. A lot of the older locals like to use a three-wheel push cart. They like to let it roll down the hills and catch up with it at the bottom.
One local golfer let his cart roll through the parking lot and into my new 2-week old pickup truck. Where’s the aloha spirit there? And he or she didn’t even know I wasn’t local!
Ken Brandenburger
Mountain View
