Ghastly Neighbors

Halloween should be a fun time when parents and kids can go trick or treating in their neighborhoods. Around Kailua though, the "PRIVATE ROAD" and "NO TRESPASSING" signs that stand on the intersection of nearly all the beach-side lanes has dampened the spirit of aloha that used to exist in Hawaii.

And then these same people wonder why they become the targets of graffiti or acts of vandalism? Ironically, many of those overbuilt oceanfront McMansions that have sprung up have huge picture windows allowing anyone on the beach to look inside at the owners who don't want neighbors using their private roads because they want "privacy." So why are they rebuilding so close to the beach then?

Negativity breeds negative responses. Treat your neighbors with kindness and respect, and you will get the same in return. Treat them like criminals just because they want to walk to the beach rather than have to drive to a public beach parking lot, and you're going to get stink-eye. That's just common sense.

BTW, this isn't just a local issue. On a recent Law & Order: Los Angeles episode, the ripped-from-the-headlines case revolved around a fictional surfer from Hawaii who is killed by young rich thugs over... public beach access. Yep, and it's based on true battles in California, where wealthy oceanfront property owners have tried to keep people off "their" beaches. For more on that L&O show, here's a link.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1720510/

Aloha, Bob...

About a hundred people attended Bob Moncrief's memorial service at Lanikai Beach on Sat., Oct. 2, and many more who could not be present were there in spirit, because his life impacted and inspired people all over the islands.

In addition to his contributions to the public beach access movement, he was active in protecting Hawaii's environment for decades. But more than that, he was a good man... and also something of a rascal when he was younger! Friends and family shared a number of funny stories about Bob as a kid, who grew up to be a scrappy young man, then matured into a loving father.

I wanted to share some of my impressions about Bob at the service and tell everyone how he and his wife Trudy inspired me to co-found Beach Access Hawaii. To be honest though, I kept choking up just thinking about it and didn't think I could convey what I wanted to say in words. So I'll just keep it simple: Aloha and mahalo, Bob. We'll miss you, but you won't be forgotten.

And thanks to those who have made generous donations in Bob's memory to Beach Access Hawaii. We'll continue to promote this cause because of people like Bob and yourself.