Great again?
There have been three presidents from Illinois: Lincoln, Grant and Obama.
Lincoln thought his crowning achievement was the Emancipation Proclamation. He freed the slaves.
Grant was the general who won the war that freed the slaves.
And Mr. Obama? Well, he freed the felons.
I don’t know what “make America great again” means, but perhaps …
Sam Wallis
Hilo
Mo‘o and the whale
On Oct. 14, 2012, I went paddling on my one-man canoe out of Kawaihae.
While leaving the small boat harbor, I noticed a mo‘o, the light green gecko with orange spots on its back, on the front of my canoe. I guess I missed him when I assembled the canoe.
I thought of dropping him off on the breakwater on the way out of the harbor, but figured the ‘a‘ama crabs would eat him for breakfast. So, I thought he would just have to go for a ride with me.
For 10 minutes or so he walked around the front of the canoe. He would get close to the water, then go back up higher on the canoe. Finally, he decided to stay on the bow of the canoe facing forward. My maidenhead.
While I paddled up the coast, I thought I saw the back of a whale one-quarter mile away. I figured I was mistaken after paddling for a while and not seeing anything more, and also considering it was too early in the season to see a whale.
Then, to our right about 75 yards away, between us and the shore, a whale breached. It also got the attention of the mo‘o.
I said to the mo‘o, “They’re back.”
When my paddle was over, I put the mo‘o in the bushes at Kawaihae. He had a great story to tell his friends about his most amazing ride and the whale he saw.
Kit Roehrig
Waimea
