Today's a beautiful day in paradise. It's warm and a bit breezy. The sun is peeking through the clouds. Mr. Sox has been basking in the day's balminess.
We're still awaiting arrival of the tractor. Today would be an ideal day to give it a first spin through the cane grass.
I spoke with a neighbor up the road this morning while on my daily walk with the pooches. She has two teenaged daughters and is currently sending them to a nice charter school in Volcano. She's not looking forward to their graduation to high school, as she's not too happy with the secondary school choices available here on the island. Too much violence and not enough actual education, she claims. Sounds familiar. I've heard similar concerns from parents all over the country. The news is full of stories about failing American schools. She's considering home schooling her kids. Any random thoughts out there on the state of public education in the US? From what I hear from people across the board, America's public schools are not keeping up, not educating kids adequately enough to qualify for college let alone compete in the global economy. Yet many do go on to college from public schools and do very well. I did and I know plenty of fellow public school grads who are living nice lives and contributing to society. So have the public schools deteriorated that dramatically in the past 20-30 years? It seems the standards are much higher than when I was in school, yet we continue to hear they are providing inferior educations to schools in other countries. We heard that back in the 70s and 80s and 90s, too. If you have any thoughts on the issue, we'd love to hear 'em.
Ron had a stink eye experience the other day. He's decided to keep his Colorado driver's license for awhile, since it doesn't expire for another 6 years. Instead, he went to acquire a state ID card. He had the unfortunate luck to encounter a state employee who was not too keen on newcomers. To put in mildly, this woman had lost her aloha spirit. Oddly, the very nature of her job requires her to work with people new to the islands every day. When he referred to the state ID card casually as a kama'aina card (kama'aina is the Hawaiian word that refers to Hawaii state residents) she responded curtly, "That's not what it's called. What are you, straight off the boat?"
"Well, yeah," he said. "That's pretty much why I'm here." She proceeded to tell him he must make an appointment and come back with a bunch of paperwork to prove he is who he says he is. When he returned, he was fully, mentally braced to deal with her. Luckily, a different woman was there to help. She was as nice and friendly as can be. Go figure. It just goes to show that there are unhappy people everywhere, even in paradise.
We had a lovely dinner with our neighbors the other night. They put out quite a spread and were, to say the least, outstanding hosts. We hit it off well and I'm looking forward to getting together again with them soon. I've learned in my travels that not every neighborhood has neighborly neighbors in America. In fact, in many of the places I've lived, I've rarely seen the neighbors, let alone gotten to know them. Everyone's just to busy with their lives - commuting long distances and working long hours - to get to know the folks who live right next door. It's sad, really. I've missed having neighbors. We know all the families on our block when I was a kid.
Well, it's time to head out to enjoy the sun a little while I can. More rain is predicted for the remainder of the week. Until next time, aloha!
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