Mahalo for the
holiday decorations
I often wonder why I see Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas front-lawn inflatables that are inflated and lit up beautifully during the evening hours but deflated during the day.
Maybe the homeowners are trying to save on their electricity, despite homes that are using solar panels to cut down on their electric bills. These deflated inflatables look like deflated party balloons and unfolded tarps scattered over the lawn.
But then I suddenly realized that these inflatables work the evening shift and at sunrise are off duty and are sleeping during the day, resting up before their next shift begins at sunset! And these inflatables work seven days a week, keeping us in the holiday mood.
But despite our social and economic issues, I certainly give 100% kudos to many homeowners, as well as the many businesses, that keep us in the holiday spirit with their holiday decor.
Happy holidays to all!
Rick LaMontagne
Hilo
Merger not good
for Hawaiian Air
The recent announcement that Alaska Airlines will be gobbling up Hawaiian Airlines certainly came as a shock and disappointment to most of us who fly Hawaiian Airlines.
Hawaiian has flown and served the islands for nearly a century, enduring a bankruptcy from 2003 to 2005 with the help of employees not striking and pulling for the company, a strike that surely would have crippled the company for good.
That employee attitude of working with the company has been carried forth ever since and has helped make the company what it is today. Its ingress into the mainland and foreign markets has given us welcome specialized alternatives to the conglomerate fleets of the mainland.
This “merger” has been called a “match made in heaven,” and “both airlines have so much in common.” That phrase is undoubtedly coined by investors who stand to gain financially by the merger.
Having flown both airlines many times, with Alaska at times not even being able to offer a pillow or blanket in premium class, the only thing I see these two have in common are planes that have wings and wheels. Having been through a merger myself — being with the smaller company — the larger does not learn from the smaller, it only dictates.
Soon, the icon of the skies seen on the Hawaiian tail will be flying with a tear in her eye.
James Lehner
Keaau
