Page 2 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - April 20, 2022

2 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK APRIL 20, 2022
Busy Me, Thwarted By Infant
“If you’re always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you’re in?” — Nanette Mathews
AChicken Scratches
few weeks ago, I commented on proposed leg-
From as early as I can remember, I’ ve been a busy person. When I was 6, I was determined to make a blouse. So, you can imagine how that turned out.
whatever they needed. To this day, if I have many projects going on, my mom calls it my “monitor work.”
stop at the grocery store on our way home. I freak out. What will I do while he’s shopping? Relax? This was never a word that formerly described me.
for two hours? Unheard of. A complete sense of peace overcame me.
islation that would help to mitigate the growing
When I was 7, I decided that my sister and I should be insurance agents just like our dad. So, I made a policy debit book that was just like his. I made one for my little sister as well. Her book was smaller because, in my opin- ion, she wrote baby policies. My dad’s company wrote an article about this endeavor in their monthly publication.
When I was 24, I came down with a bad case of the flu and had to stay home from work.AsIlayinbedwitha 103-degree temperature, I insisted that my boyfriend go to the store and bring art projects for me to start.
This all came to a crashing and surprising halt on Feb. 11, 2021.
This was such a wonder- ful learning lesson for a true A-type personality. It taught me that I could disconnect; I didn’t always need to keep busy. Instead, I could indeed be present and simply in the moment. Who knew a week- old baby could impart such wisdom?
problem of feral chickens rambling around these islands. I certainly had some fun writing the column, with some obvious double-entendres and wordplay, but I also thought that the suggested solution of using birth control feed to render hen eggs infertile was interesting.
A beautiful granddaughter named Lucy was born. When my daughter handed her to me, I was speechless. After a few seconds of silence, my daughter said to me, “You can say something.” All I could do was to whisper, “I can’t.”
But here come vocal ova-omitting opponents, shedding some new feathers on this chicken tale with testimony given during the early-April legislative session. “Save Hawai‘i Chickens” spoke about how chickens eat centipedes, pro- vide fertilizer via their droppings and provide eggs for food; they say that feral chickens could provide a sustainable food source, and there’s a contamination risk to other birds and animals with specially formulated pellets. There might be risk to our groundwater as uneaten chicken feed leaches into the soil. Who knew? Certainly not me.
When I was in fifth grade, I drove my teacher crazy. I often finished my work early and asked her for something else to do. She finally made me a monitor. After that, I helped other teachers with
In my 50s, I loved getting massages. It wasn’t because they were relaxing and calm- ing; they provided an uninter- rupted hour for me to figure out what my character would do next in whatever book I was writing at the time.
The following two weeks were magical. Whenever I could, I would hold Lucy and simply look at her in wonder. After an hour or so of doing this, I realized that this was something I’d never experienced. Doing nothing
Jeri Lynch is a wife, moth- er and pug owner. She writes a monthly newsletter called “OLIO.”
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
Wow, civic-minded individuals coming forward to defend feral fowls. The chickens, who speak loudly (that’s part of the problem) but were too chicken to gather forces at the legislature, surely wished their human advocators good cluck.
My husband and I like to take morning hikes together. Because nature surrounds us, I don’t carry my cell phone. However, he often wants to
Unlike some of the bewildered birdbrains who disagree with one another ad nauseum on myriad issues befuddling our nation, this was all done via common sense arguments based on facts, not half-truths, alternate facts, social media chicken feed or omnipresent, digital bird poop rantings so rampant in our tribalistic nation nowadays.
with Jeri Lynch
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Fill in the blank cells using numbers 1 to 9. Each number can appear only once in each row, column, and 3x3 block. Use logic and process of elimination to solve the puzzle. The difficulty level ranges from Bronze (easiest) to Silver to Gold (hardest). Answers are on page 11
RATING: BRONZE
National squabbles today evolve around ego, power, con- trol, fear and not getting egg on one’s face. But this local poul- try powwow revives my sense of hope for humanity because, yes, political discourse can actually be presented reasonably, civilly, and can ultimately be decided upon by focused leaders elected to decide great debates, whether locally or nationally.
In days of yore, reaching across the congressional aisle might mean accommodating, actively listening, compromis- ing and/or keeping in mind the bigger picture. Nowadays, reaching across that same aisle is likely to be met with a virtual viral slap, condescending comments, grandiose accu- sations, or we witness tired, redundant retreats to predictable sectarianism. Voters grow weary, remain wary and, too often, we witness nothing productive getting accomplished.
But this local debate about the fate of foraging ferals can be celebrated as an example of how “the system” works when cooler heads prevail. So, why did the chicken cross the road? Perhaps to actually listen to the other side.
Think about it ...
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com