Page 2 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - April 27, 2022

2 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK APRIL 27, 2022
I think what you do when you think you’re by yourself says a lot about you. As an example, when I’m by myself at home working on something, I whistle. To be exact, I whistle the theme song from The Andy Griffith Show. Is that weird?
Timothy even wishes Charlotte could come to his school: “Then I wouldn’t be scared to read out loud.”
And, Michaela exclaims, “I don’t quit like I used to. I have to finish the story, because Charlotte wants to know how it ends!”
If I’m by myself watching the Bruce Lee movie, Enter The Dragon (for the millionth time), I will recite every line of dialogue out loud, verbatim. The same goes for the following movies: The Big Lebowski, 300 and A Quiet Place. Well, not A Quiet Place, I was just seeing if you’re paying attention.
Charlotte, a granny don- key at Afton Whitmer’s Wild Horse Haven Rescue in Arizona, was nearly sent to another facility because the other donkeys were picking on her. She wasn’t getting her fair share of the food and was losing weight. When Afton moved her into the llamas’ pen, the llamas
Research shows that those who don’t learn to read while young “can turn away from education” (cited from “Read On, Get On”), while children who learn to love reading will commit to life- long learning (cited from “The Children’s Bureau”).
My wife is a fabulous cook. But no matter what she makes, I’ll wait for her to leave the kitchen before grabbing the salt shaker to season my food, whether it needs season- ing or not. I’ve been busted doing that and it’s not pretty.
Her patience helps chil- dren relax while struggling
I’m not known for using a lot of profanity. I never swear around children or people I don’t know. But when I’m alone driving my car, no one swears more than me. Not even Samuel L. Jackson.
I’m usually by myself when I have to pick up a quick dinner for the family from a fast-food drive-thru. Being alone without witness means I can sneak hot fries from the bag on the trip home. I have to make sure no one can tell that I’ve done that so I have to “fluff” up the bag of fries to make it look untouched. There is no amount of willpower that can prevent me from sneaking some fries.
Being alone with my dogs, Buddy and Wilson, presents another kind of environment where I’m not ashamed of what I do in front of them.
When I’m watching television with them and I see a dog on TV that looks like one of them, I’ll actually yell out, “Look, Buddy and Wilson! You’re on TV!” It doesn’t dawn on me that they have no idea what I’m talking about, although once I did see both of them roll their eyes.
Charlotte The Reading Donkey
“There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.” — Marcel Proust
The Invisible Man
When two beings lovingly attend to each other, something magical opens up. Just ask Charlotte. That is, of course, if you are the kind of person who would speak to a donkey.
to learn to read.
“I love reading to Char-
were gentle with her, and Charlotte is now thriving in their company. Children, in turn, flourish in Charlotte’s company. Her quiet listening and focus on them as they read is changing lives. As 7-year-old Ruby said, “Char- lotte makes reading fun!”
Ioften wonder what people do when they’re by them- selves. There is so much freedom in solitude — no one to see or hear you, so no one to judge you. Being married leaves so little time for that, although my wife respects my privacy when I need it, for the most part.
Charlotte is a donkey with a very special mission. She helps children learn to love reading. She usually stays in her pen, but as soon as some- one sits in the reading chair, she moves to stand next to the child, her nose over the reader’s shoulder as the book is opened. She alternates be- tween gazing at the page and looking into the reader’s eyes when a child looks at her.
lotte because she doesn’t make fun of me. She just lis- tens,” says 7-year-old Mat- tie. “I have more confidence now, and for the first time I love reading.”
Mattie, Timothy and Mi- chaela are well on their way to joining those lifelong learners, and Miss Charlotte is helping them get there.
Genie Joseph is the cre- ator of Animal Conscious- ness Institute, and has been a volunteer at Tripler Army Medical Center, where she helped wounded warriors. Visit animal-consciousness. org.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
with Genie Joseph
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 7
RATING: SILVER
DIRECTOR OF CONTENT/ SUPPLEMENT PRODUCTS RON NAGASAWA
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I guess it’s kind of a stress reliever and always better than acting on road rage. It’s amazing, though, the kinds of things that set me off — like people who drive at or below the speed limit in the fast or passing lanes.
How about people who don’t use their turn signals? Or those clowns that steal the parking space that you’ve been patiently waiting for? Then there are those folks in the coffee drive-thru that hold up the line because they’re looking at their phones.
rnagasawa@midweek.com