MONDAY MOP UP

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

This is BEAR, my companion.

He is never satisfied with my work. We have a running disagreement about use and ownership of the desk chair in front of my PC.

His favorite time of the day is when I go to bed and he gets to have his ears and tummy rubbed, at the same time, until I drift off to sleep. Then he'll move over to his side of the bed and go to sleep.

He'll be 6 on the 21st.
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OVERLOAD

The amount of luggage people bring with them to Mau'i always amazes me. Its as if they've "downloaded" their entire closet (wardrobe) for the trip.

The large bags usually weigh over 200# (91kg), and each person usually has two of these, plus assorted other smaller pieces.

I thought the airlines had weight restrictions?!!

Trust me folks. You really don't need that much clothing on Mau'i. No restaurant requires a jacket or tie. Just bring some decent sportswear or buy alohawear here and you'll be fine.

And, especially for the ladies, don't bother wasting your time trying to find swimwear in your local mall in the middle of winter. All the latest styles, in all sizes, are available all over the island.

In November, 2004, I was loading some of these megaton(ne) bags into "one-nine's" trunk (boot). Followed the cardinal rule of "LIFT WITH YOUR LEGS, NOT WITH YOUR BACK". On the initial uplift, two ligiments under my right patella (kneecap) "snapped". Now I must wear a knee brace and occassionally must use a cane to walk.
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FEMALE CABBIES

Bob, from TAXI TALES, commented on the number of lady cabbies that I work with. Thinking about it, I guess we do have a larger percentage than the industry average. The main reason is that Mau'i really is a safe place to drive cab.

Officially we've only had one cab robbery in the 13 years I've lived here. Unofficially, I know of one other that wasn't reported to the police. Compared to the rest of the country, thats pretty low. Overall, Mau'i has a very low crime rate.
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KIHEI

Kihei is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Maui County, Hawaii. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 16,749. The local paper recently cited state/county estimates of 25,000 population in 2003. I'd say that in 2006 we are around 45,000 to 50,000 population. We are one of the fastest growing areas in the country.

Kihei has a total area of 11.9 mi² (30.8 km²).

10.2 mi² (26.3 km²) of it is land and 1.7 mi² (4.5 km²) of it is water.

The total area is 14.55% water.

The 2000 demographics were 47.76% White, 0.74% African American, 0.48% Native American, 24.72% Asian, 7.85% Pacific Islander, 1.58% from other races, and 16.87% from two or more races. 7.52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Microsoft Virtual Earth provides a pretty decent satellite view.

We have 300+ days of sunshine per year and average less than 10" (25.40 centimeters) of rain per year.
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Later.....

Wil
=8^))
"Let's all be careful out there!"