A Short Dance With The Mayor At The North Kohala Senior Center

Aloha, and Happy Valentine to all of you!

Today I had the pleasure to dance and speak with the Mayor about our issue.  Dance with the Mayor?  I will explain later.

The Mayor was the surprise guest at the Senior Center, which was hosting a Valentine party today; there was dancing and singing, and many door prices were handed out.  In the midst of this activity a special Valentine was announced, and in came Billy Kenoi the Mayor of Hawaii.  Apparently, none of the seniors were told beforehand that the Mayor will be speaking at this gathering.

The Mayor talked to us about his family background, and the fact that we are all one family here on this Island of Hawaii.  His mother came from the mainland, and his wife, whom he met on the mainland came from Japan.  He told us that his father, a big Hawaiian Teddy Bear according to his mother, told him, "son think and feel before you speak, this way you will speak not only with your brain, but also with your heart".  The mayor, unlike your average politician, did not speak from notes, but spoke from the heart.  He learned his father's lesson well.

Billy Kenoi explained to us some of the hard choices he has to make in light of the current economic conditions.  He shared with us some of the conversations he had with people who have been through rough times on the Island, before he was born, and they all told him that those hard times were not nearly as bad as the current economic situation.  While the Mayor was giving us some insight into his world, as the Mayor of this Island, the MC of the senior center had other ideas,  he interrupted the major by announcing, that anyone wishing to dance with the Mayor could do so by paying a dollar.  And, since I was anxious to speak with the Mayor I forked over my dollar and stood in line, with a host of ladies, to dance with the Mayor.  While the Mayor and I were kind of dancing, I discussed with him very briefly our situation regarding the planned waste facility near Ainakea homes.  The Mayor is still under the impression that this site was selected by the community; I told him the opposite is the case, the community actually rejected this very site.  And, while nothing was settled during my one minute dance with him, he promised to discuss this issue with me further later on, at some other time.

I, for one, was impressed with his style of speaking, his candor, and had he not been ushered away from his talk so soon, I am sure we would have learned a lot more.  I can hardly wait to continue my conversation with Billy Kenoi, the Mayor, who, apparently, thinks and feels before speaking.