HOLIDAYS

FEAR OF OFFENDING MAKES SEASON DULL

I think the current concern with generic holiday greetings has less to do with compassion than it does with fear of offending others.

In the good old days, Christmas trees abounded, people issued Hannukah greetings with sincerity, celebrated Ramadan openly, Salvation Army volunteers rang Christmas cheers as they sought alms for the needy, and we welcomed them all with open arms, regardless of the religious background they represented.

We were glad to give money to the needy, no matter what church or mosque it might pass through. We welcomed Protestants, Catholics, Shintoites and Buddhists with equanimity, and were pleased to join in celebration of the end of the year and the coming of spring no matter what religion we belonged to or how that religion celebrated these important dates. Children celebrated the seasons with no thought of the differences.

We now seem to live in a climate of fear of offending rather than the joy of embracing, and it makes me, and I am sure many others, both sad and uneasy. May God bless you all, and may you find peace in your hearts and on this Earth that nurtures you.

TRAFFIC

MARATHON GRIPER SHOULD LIGHTEN UP

Regarding the Dec. 8 letter "Marathon imposes too much on us; shut it down": The Ho-nolulu Marathon is more than just "another daylong blockade of public roadways, parks and beaches."

I'm from Kaua'i and fly down every December to watch my dad and brother race through the finish line. This event brings families together and is a lasting tradition for many.

M.B. Wilson stated that "it's time to kill the beast for the betterment of the communities." Millions are running and being responsible for their health. That is wonderful for everyone, including our communities.

Wilson also stated that there should be some kind of time limit. Well, if he ever decides to run in the Marathon, I'll be the one on the sidelines telling Wilson when his time is up.

Sorry, buddy, that you are having a bad time in the traffic. Try something new. Instead of sitting in your car all day, you can walk around Waikiki or even attempt to run in the marathon.

The Honolulu Marathon is not only good for the finishers, families, athletes and spectators, but for Honolulu as well.

MONEY PIT

WE NEED A GOOD RAIL PLAN BEFORE PROCEEDING

The City and County of Ho-nolulu needs to take a good, hard look at rail transit with unclouded eyes. Rail proponents can complain about stalling tactics, but at the moment, the city is jumping blindly into a deep pit.

Can we afford a project that will cost us millions more than the current estimates? Can we maintain a project that is divisive and has never been approved by voters?

Do we need a solid and cohesive plan before proceeding? You betcha.

FOAM BLANKS

SURFBOARD PRODUCTION HAS BECOME TOO TOXIC

Clark Foam closes its plant, and the surfing community scrambles around to search for a new supplier for foam blanks. The articles talk about the supply and cost of boards going up. Oh, no!

What about the reason the plant shut down? Why do we turn our back on the fact that Gordon Clark admitted that he would rather shut down his business than clean up his production to be less toxic?

So, now we must depend on companies in China and Australia to produce them because it is OK for them to produce toxic foam blanks for us.

I love my surfboards, but I get sick at knowing that the production of them is now too toxic for Americans to produce. And we surfers talk about our love for nature and ocean? Then, we need to figure our a way to produce a surfboard that doesn't harm the very environment we depend on to surf.

FIREFIGHTER TEST

STUDYING ONLINE IS TO BE COMMENDED

Firefighter recruits all study some kind of material in preparation for the tests they must pass. But the city has decided that studying online provides some kind of unfair advantage. Did the five students who studied online information bring that material to the test on cheat sheets? No. They just studied extra material. How is this a bad thing?

As a teacher, I am always gratified when my students go beyond their books and find other resources to supplement their learning. Resourcefulness and initiative should be encouraged in the classroom. This kind of interest and enthusiasm should be rewarded.

However, the people we're hoping to train to save other people's lives are punished for making the extra effort — a frightening thought. Initiative here is so discouraged it is the reason 2,300 students must take a test they've already taken. What a waste of the recruits' time and energy — and my tax dollars.

And the testers think the recruits' studying methods were unfair? That makes so little sense one has to wonder what the city's real agenda is.

UARC

MISSED OPPORTUNITY?

Regarding plans for a controversial UARC at the University of Hawai'i: That's a shame. It's a chance for "high tech" at UH to mean something other than basket-weaving.

MOTHER, 7 CHILDREN

DOESN’T ANYBODY CARE ABOUT HER HOMELESS PLIGHT?

I live in Waimänalo and I see many people living on the beach. It is sad, and I know some are substance abusers, but many are not.

I know a woman whose husband left her with his bad reputation and seven children ranging from about age 14 down to 4, and I've gotten to know her only recently.

She puts her children first, and I can see she is a good mother and tries her best. She gets help from Social Services and she has enough food to eat. She told me she is waiting to get Section Eight housing. She has been living on the beach and moving around for almost two
years.

If she does get housing assistance, she will still not be able to get a home. First, there are very few homes available. Second, no one will rent even to a nice Christian Hawaiian lady with seven children, even if the children are well behaved, and I know these kids are doing fairly good for living on the beach. They all go to school and the mother is a housekeeper and gets jobs during school hours. But she struggles.

Sometimes I stop by to see how she is. She is very nice. I know if I were a rich philanthropist, I would put her and her children first on my list of people I would help, but I am poor myself and I live off the charity of my children. But I am a millionaire next to her because I have a roof over my head, even though a leaky one.

I just wanted people to know that there are a lot of nice people on the beach and I see such a waste of taxpayer money on stupid stuff and such neglect of what is really important — human beings, fatherless children and nice Hawaiian people like this lady who so deserves a chance to make it with her children.

The answer is not to break apart a precious family and distribute the children to foster homes, to strangers’ homes where they could get neglected and even abused. Fostering also costs the state money. She doesn't want the state to take her precious children to foster homes, she wants to keep them together with her, a loving mother. She deserves to keep her family together.

Why not take some of that money and get her a home to live in?

Doesn’t anybody care?