Reflection upon waking
I woke this morning between my fresh Memorial Day Sale sheets and thought, “How great is it to be free!” My freedom to travel, get up early, stay up late, sleepeth day away… hike, surf, snorkel… travel to anyplace … see anyone I want to see … do anything I want to do … say anything I want to say. I can surround myself with friends or sit alone by the surf … safe, spoiled, nestled up with everything I can afford or finance, able to dream. Thank heavens for a holiday!
But then, I remember May 27, 2019, at 11 am. Memorial Day — more than a day of sales and fun. Diane and I join the families of our fallen soldiers at the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery. Families, friends and neighbors gather. We sit next to an empty seat, a seat once held by a young man or woman, brother, sister, friend, stranger, daughter, son, uncle, aunt, father — men, women, young and old, every race and color, who willingly gave up everything they had and everything hoped to have, fellow Americans who sacrificed their lives for us and our way of life.
The names of our local fallen are called out, one by one, punctuated by the single haunting tone of a bell after each name. I do not know them personally, but at each toll of the bell, I imagine someone I do know and love. Each bell, I substitute a family member or friend. I begin with those who served and sacrificed. When I exhaust those, I substitute those closest to me, lost loved ones, living loved ones, friends, family, myself.
I am humbled, reminded that we are one people, one nation, proud brothers standing together without regard to race or color. How proud I am to be an American. I hear the national anthem — I lay down my personal angst and rise in salute to my brothers and sisters, our families, our friends, their sacrifice, our sacrifice. I raise my hand to my heart and pledge my allegiance to our republic, not only in gratitude to my fallen brothers, but in allegiance to all of my brothers and sisters across our great nation.
I woke up this morning. Wake up with me, my brothers and sisters.
David Blancett-Maddock
Kailua-Kona
Judges today not like they used to be
A few weeks ago, Judge Ronald Ibarra wrote a letter to the editor in this paper exclaiming his faith in the judicial system. In the letter, he talked about how he trusts the system just as much as when he was actively involved.
I have known Judge Ibarra for over 40 years going back to when he was a prosecutor. He has and always has been fair in his decisions. I think that it had to do with his interest and his effort to listen to the whole story from both sides and sometimes more than both sides.
I have had personnel experience when my career was in jeopardy and his interest and willingness to hear both sides of the story saved my rear end.
However, today I respectfully disagree with his assessment that the judges of today are just as fair and interested in their cases as when he sat on the bench.
It has been 25 years since I retired as a cop and so I don’t sit in the courtroom as often as I once did. I do notice from reading the papers that there is a noticeable change in the way people plead in court. There was a time when the plea of no contest with an opportunity to explain was more often utilized. I am now told that one should never make that plea. The reason is because the judges sitting on the bench are not interested enough to learn why the accused was placed in the position where it seemed the only option was the violation.
Example: A speeding motorist may have a valid reason for speeding but neither the cop nor the judge takes the time to hear the reason. The violation is the only thing in consideration even though it did not endanger anyone else. There are times when speeding is the only solution to an emergency but no judge will listen. It could be that today, “tell the truth and nothing but the truth” has little meaning to most people thereby causing the judge to turn a deft ear.
In today’s courtroom, everyone pleads not guilty because that is the only way to beat the case or even to have the judge listen to both sides of the story.
So to Judge Ibara, I have always respected you and your ability to hear both sides. In the courtroom today, some judges do not have the interest or the willingness to hear enough of the total story to make proper decisions. The result is that some honest people now suffer consequences that make them criminals in an effort to survive. This last statement is not made in a theoretically speaking manner.
Leningrad Elarionoff
Waimea