Page 2 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Sep 7 2022

2 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
A Life-saving ‘Strangulation’
To change one’s life, start immediately. Do it flamboyantly.
AWnimal Attraction
I went on (less evenly), “Well, look at you, Arnold, you quit smoking, and you can’t putt!”
otine fit kicked in. It took an inordinate amount of time to write all the stories I had to finish that day. Still, I have not smoked since. At 95 years old, I think I can say that Arnold Palmer’s “strangulation” gave me breath for a long life.
After sports reporting for the Associated Press, Jim Becker covered wars in Ko- rea, Vietnam and the Middle East; was a columnist for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin; and worked with television networks, including NBC, in Europe.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Lynne Johnson and Robin Stephens Rohr.
hen nature calls, one must respond. Under the watchful eyes of hundreds at Kaimana Beach and then under the care of officials who moved
This was an incorrect ap- proach. He lunged for my col- lar, twisted it in his big right hand and snarled, “What do you mean, I can’t putt? I am going to win this tournament. And if I do, are you going to quit smoking?”
him to a remote beach elsewhere, Koalani became the latest monk seal pup of reliable Rocky to find his way into this not-always-friendly world. Good for Koalani. Hopefully now that he’s had time to frolic and explore, he’ll make his mom proud as he ventures into his watery world and thrives over the next (we hope) 30-plus years.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration did its job by shepherding the young pup through his critical first phases of life in the semi-wild, reminding people to keep their distance, monitoring the baby and ensuring that this endangered species now has a shot at living a full life. Rumor has it that Koalani waved his (you knew it was com- ing) seal of approval as he took off. One estimate suggested 500 man-hours were used to help this pup! If only we would treat needy human specimens so well.
The following year, 1964, I was covering the Masters golf tournament for the Associated Press. On a Tuesday morning, I approached Arnold, notebook and ballpoint pen in hand, and a cigarette dangling from my mouth. He instantly snatched the cigarette, hurled it to the
Yes,” I gasped in a half-strangulated voice. He loosened his grip, and we shook hands; we had a deal.
Aside from Hawaiian monk seals, the only other mammal native to these islands is the Hawaiian hoary bat, and we don’t see much fuss being made over these furtive flyers, who are classified as endangered though some suggest they shouldn’t be. Named our state’s official land mammal in 2015 (was there really much competition?), hoary bats are nature’s pesticide. Bats have been much maligned histori- cally and stigmatized repeatedly by Hollywood, but these solitary winged wonders feast on termites, mosquitoes, bee- tles, crickets and moths. So there really should be no bad blood when one envisions our lone, land-based endemic mammal. Dingbats? I think not!
“When are you going to quit that stupid, filthy habit?” he barked.
TNo exceptions.— William James
In this April 12, 1964 file photo, Arnold Palmer swings his putter after winning his fourth Masters golf tournament. He also helped the author stop smoking.
AP PHOTO/FILE
here was a time when nearly every- one smoked, houses
“I’d like to quit smoking, but I think it helps me write.”
were full of ashtrays and we gave cigarette lighters for Christmas. Then in 1963, the Surgeon General’s report told us what we already se- cretly knew: smoking kills. A number of famous people quit smoking publicly, among them, the great golfer Arnold Palmer, then at the peak of his powers. However, his quitting coincided with a slump in his golfing fortunes. People said he couldn’t putt any more.
“Nonsense!” he snapped.
ground, and stamped on it with his spiked shoe.
When Palmer sank his win- ning putt on the 18th green the following Sunday, I pulled out my pack of cigarettes, looked at it for a moment, then fierce- ly threw it into the trash can. Almost immediately, a nic-
“Arnold,” I replied evenly,
with Jim Becker
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I’ve witnessed wandering mongooses snatching Spam musubi from golf carts, but I’ve yet to hear local stories involving dive-bombing belligerent bats at dusk as they search nightly for prey, while wary humans pray that they just stay away.
Hawaiian hoary bats house high in trees, fly after sunset and are normally quite solitary. While not much is known about their actual numbers here, concerns exist that wind farms could be hazardous to the health of bats (and other locally flying creatures) unless greater mitigation rules are enacted and enforced.
Two endemic, solitary creatures — Hawaiian monk seals and hoary bats — just doing their things and providing hu- man distraction and relief (seals are cute, bats eat insects) as they mind their own business.
Think about it.
john@thinkaboutithawaii.com