Down we go. Wow! Even further down. Will this path ever take us up again. Yes! We are rising now. Oops! Down again, this time we are going to hit the valley floor. Hikes are never as tricky as the stock market over the last three days. It is becoming even more unpredictable especially as the ‘experts’ inform us what needs to be done while the government meddles. This week’s issue, which of course has been around for years, is about grease. What do we know? It’s all Greek to us anyway. “Back to the real ‘ups and downs’”, we declare as we headed off to a trail through military property.
‘We need a permit according to the book,” our editor informed us. The locals said ‘don’t worry about it’. Who to believe? The government or the people? How high is the fence? we wondered. We sometimes hone in on the critical issues when we are alert. Our editor had doubts at one stage, particularly when a low flying military helicopter hovered near us. ‘You see’, she said, ‘they’re on to us—maybe we should have got the permit’.
‘Don’t worry’, we answered, ‘they have their hands full chasing after Bin Laden and his band of terrorists.’ We were confident that we’d put our editor’s fears to rest. Ever the calming and stable influence, we thought. ‘But they killed him less than two months ago,” she said, just a little hysterically.
‘Hmm! Perhaps we should worry after all. Maybe...panic.'
The hike was a tough one as we climbed steeply, crossed through the ‘jungle like territory’, over and through streams, maneuvered around muddy pools, successfully most of the time. Our editor surprises us with her endurance and courage. We wish she did not have so much—it’s killing us. Eleven miles is a long distance especially in the terrain we hiked. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable although the pictures will not give one an appreciation of the day.
‘Look at those giant golf balls over the ridge,’ our editor exclaimed. ‘What do you think they are?’ she wanted to know.
We are getting tired of all these questions. The disadvantage of being so wealthy in knowledge and understanding is that one is called upon constantly to solve the world’s problems, to provide answers. Of course, we only say this with utmost humility. Who could be more humble than we?
'Let me explain this logically,’ we began. ‘Hawaii is a big tourist destination, ‘saturated’ with golf courses. Many tourists visit to play and enjoy golf. Are you still with us?’ we wanted know. We often lose people with our sophisticated thinking. ‘Okay, what do you think would happen if they ran out of golf balls? Aha! So they have built a factory on this mountain. Those big white balls are the company’s logo. Why on the mountain, you ask? The reason is quite simple. The Americans do not want the Japanese to obtain the formula used in this lucrative manufacturing process. We should not forget Pearl Harbor.’
‘But why are there marines guarding a golf ball factory?’ the inquisitive editor prodded.
‘Aha! The point exactly. Don’t you see its importance? They have such high security needs, hence the Armed Forces. Need we add anything further?
Hopefully, we can now get on with important things. What’s for lunch?’
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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