Hope is not a prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart. It transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizon.
When Alex Harui began his tribute to his father last Saturday in the jam-packed gymnasium at Sakai Intermediate School, he said: “No doubt you are here because, in some way, Junkoh touched your lives…” Yes, no doubt.
First, a confession. My husband was recently recruited by a large coffee company across the water, and I have relatives addicted to their products. I appreciate the importance chain stores play in the lives of many Americans.
Altagracia, Oct. 26, 2008
You’ve got to love Bill Conerly, the Portland-based regional economist who was invited by Viking Bank to the island this…
“The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed the Hawaii Legislature in 1959, two years before Mr. Obama was born in Honolulu, and declared that the civil rights movement was aimed not just to free blacks but ‘to free the soul of America.’” – Nicholas Kristof, New York Times, Nov. 5, 2008.
As a child, I was always surprised at those characters in fairy tales who were granted three wishes by some magical genie or talking fish. They always managed to fritter away each wish, thoughtlessly and impulsively, and always ended with nothing or worse.
This letter is regarding the Strawberry Plant Park design process, specifically the proposed “composite design concept 1 and 2.”
It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity. – Dave Barry
Many of us on Bainbridge Island may not have noticed, but there are a large number of islanders who are already feeling the pain of the economy’s meltdown. While the haves dramatically outnumber the havenots here, this recession – if that’s what this is – is beginning to get a grip on many an islander.
I can’t think of a single person who goes more to the heart of Bainbridge Island than Junkoh Harui. No biography can capture all that this gentle man has meant to so many – to our gardens, to our souls.
This week, as in years past, we’ll turn on radios and television sets on Tuesday evening, Nov. 4., to listen as the election results come in.
Twenty-five years ago, Junkoh published stories of his childhood in his newsletter.
