A poem
Today is Veterans Day, and November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. This poem memorializes a World War II veteran who also had Alzheimer’s disease.
A Salute to Patrick at Punchbowl Cemetery (a military burial)
The soldiers stood cemented to the grassy ground
Like statues, while Buddhist sutras filled the air.
Movement would dishonor the man who once stood
In his uniform, like his comrades today.
The three-gun salute, the wailing taps,
The precision of the folding of the flag,
A salute purified by white gloves
For the presentation of the symbolic flag.
Each step of ultimate precision, a tribute to dignity,
Honor and respect for the fallen soldier,
From the country whom he had served
With love, dignity and honor.
Whatever Alzheimer’s had stolen,
All was returned to him today.
Whatever memories, forgotten,
The country that he loved, remembered.
A final rest in peace.
Frances H. Kakugawa
Former Kapoho resident who resides in Sacramento, Calif.
Fix the bridge
Finally, Waianuenue Avenue will be getting that very long-awaited restoration (“Green light for Waianuenue,” Tribune-Herald, Nov. 9).
However, just like many infrastructure projects here, this project will probably be facing delays.
Also, with all those now-available infrastructure funds from the feds, how about doubling that current single-lane bridge on Kilauea Avenue just west of Haihai Street?
Traffic on that Third World road and bridge has increased over the years, funneling cars, a few cars at a time, and crossing that bridge while the opposite side waits their turn.
Time to replace that 90-year-old bridge with a new double-lane one. A possible bridge collapse waiting to happen.
Officials, please be proactive, not reactive.
Rick LaMontagne
Hilo