Posted on: Thursday, November 27, 2003
EDITORIAL
We're grateful to be in peaceful Hawai'i
As we settle down with friends and family for our Thanksgiving feast today, we should take a moment to contemplate those things, great and small, that we are truly grateful for.
For anyone in Hawai'i, the list begins with that simple fact: We are grateful to be celebrating the holiday in one of the most beautiful, sharing places on Earth. Watching winter weather news from the Mainland and ever grimmer news of strife and turmoil overseas makes us particularly grateful to be in these peaceful Islands.
We can also look back over the year and remember some news items that left us thankful then and thankful today. Here's a sampling:
• After years of economic malaise, Hawai'i appears to have turned the corner. Home sales and construction are up, tourism numbers are up, diversified agriculture is finding new products and new markets, and a massive infusion of military construction money will soon pump billions into this vital industry.
Our gratitude is not just that companies are making money, but that jobs and employment opportunities are booming. This creates hope and optimism, and may even draw some talented expatriate Islanders back home.
The trick now will be to go beyond celebrating the new economic opportunities toward making our recovery sustainable.
• We are grateful to the men and women of our armed forces, many of whom are preparing even today for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, for their courage and devotion to duty.
• We are thankful to Akal airport security guards William Fonoti and John Chun, who took it upon themselves to reach out to a homeless man who was attempting to get back to the Mainland to visit relatives. Sadly, the man died before he could complete his journey, but Fonoti and Chun's kindness to a stranger in need taught us all a valuable lesson.
• We are thankful for the final return of Kaho'olawe after years of use as a military target and nearly a decade of cleanup. Kaho'olawe remains a scarred island, but now its healing can begin.
• The state's special Hawaiian language immersion schools celebrated their 20th year in November, marking two successful decades of restoring the Hawaiian language and culture and offering a valuable educational alternative to young people of all ethnicities.
• The entire state should be thankful for communities whose residents have gathered together to make a public stand against the sale and use of crystal methamphetamine, a drug whose ravages affect us all. By demonstrating their courage, these community members showed all of us what can be accomplished.
• We are equally thankful to the compassionate families who have agreed to take in and offer foster care to children whose parents are so disabled by the use of crystal meth that they can no longer do the job.
• The cultural community is indeed thankful this year that the Honolulu Symphony, beset by money problems, managed to find a way to survive. It took generous monetary contributions from several community leaders, but it also took sacrifice by the Symphony musicians themselves, who agreed to pay cuts off an already bare-bones salary.
• Downtown Honolulu is thankful today for the completion and opening of the Smith Beretania Park, an oasis of green that was promised more than 20 years ago but delivered only this year.
• It's a small thing, but one for which we can be grateful: After a suggestion from Gov. Linda Lingle, the White House began serving Hawai'i-grown coffee, the only domestic coffee in the country.
• We are grateful for the courage and quick thinking demonstrated by Marine Cpl. Quentin Gwynn, visitor Adam Smith and others who saved a 16-year-old from drowning. And while Gwynn was busy saving a life, someone stole his possessions, which had been left behind on the beach.
• Sports enthusiasts and everyone interested in seeing Hawai'i develop an economic niche in sports tourism are grateful for the success of a new regional soccer complex in Waipahu, which, among other things, attracted a U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV playoff with 10,000 players, families and fans.
• And speaking of sports, we're grateful for the thrills provided by the WAC champion Rainbow Wahine volleyball team, and we're gratefully looking forward to seeing the football Warriors in their bowl game on Christmas Day.
• While homelessness remains a wound in our community, we are grateful to the many who reach out and help those who are down on their luck. The greatest generosity seems to come from communities that one might think have the least to give, such as Waimanalo and the Wai'anae community.
• We have long been grateful to the veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, who gave so much both in war and in peace. We were particularly reminded of our gratitude this year as the 442nd marked its 60th anniversary.
• Finally, with a touch of sadness, we remember with gratitude and appreciation people who passed away this year after contributing so much to our city and our state, including businessman and community leader Robert Pfeiffer; kupuna, leader and educator Gladys Brandt; politician and civic gadfly Kekoa Kaapu; preservationist and historian Jim Bartels; and longtime journalist, community leader and Advertiser editor George Chaplin.
