Musings: Never Give Up

The moon, its darker whole illuminated by a bright sliver, was cozying up to Jupiter and Venus had just poked her head up over the Giant when Koko and I hit the road this morning.

Light came fast, draining all color from the sky and turning everything flat and gray, and then the sun rose and turned life rosy again.

Got home and checked the rat cage, which thankfully was empty, and then my inboxes, which were not. Among them was yet another missive from Sen. Barack Obama, He’s been emailing me daily. Sometimes twice a day.

Funny thing is, I’ve never emailed him. Not once. Nor have I responded to even one of the emails he’s sent me. Yet he keeps on writing. So often, in fact, that he’s beginning to feel like a pest.

Even though each one is addressed to me personally, somehow I just don’t believe Obama knows I exist. Nor do I believe that he’s composing all those lengthy emails himself, even though his name appears at the bottom of each one.

I have a pretty good idea how this correspondence started. His campaign must get a Google alert that advises them when anyone uses the phrase Obama supporter, as I once did on this blog, then they check it out, find the email address, put me in an address book and suddenly we’re pals.

That’s likely how it got started. The bigger question is, when will it stop? Do I have to wait for the election? Because even though he interests me, I’m definitely not an Obama girl. And I don’t want or need to hear from him every day.

If you're not into the masochism of following politics, here’s a Superferry video instead. This is the long version of the big boat’s wild ride off Molokai — before it got all buss up and went into dry dock, where it got buss up again — as filmed by George Peabody. Yee haw!

On the local front, Tom Finegan writes in today’s Star-Bulletin, about the Navy’s concern over the condition of a Japanese cemetery near the runway, and efforts to find relatives of the deceased buried there.

That’s great, but it leaves me wondering why the Navy isn’t similarly concerned and respectful of the Hawaiian burials in the dunes at Nohili. Instead, they continue to launch their rockets there and gave Hawaiians flack for erecting an altar in the dunes.

Tom also has a story in today’s paper — wow, this is amazing, a Honolulu paper with two Kauai features in one day! — about the ban on dogs along the new coastal path.

Nearly every day I drive on Kawaihau Road where dogs — some leashed and some not — baby strollers, bikes, dirt bikes, horses, walkers and joggers all manage to co-exist on the narrow little path along the road there. Certainly that’s possible along the fancy new concrete path, too.

Speaking of paths, kudos to Tracy Murakami and the others, including Andy Parx, who pushed so hard to get the pedestrian bridge between the Foodland and Safeway shopping centers built. As you may recall, it was a condition of the latter’s development permit, but the county dragged its feet in enforcing it.

It’s telling that Tracy began this struggle after finding it impossible to push a stroller between the two centers, and now her daughter is 10 years old. Still, she wouldn't give up.

As Shaggy would sing: “Don’t ever give up. No, never give up.”

Hmmm. Maybe that's what's driving all those Obama emails.