ATTITUDES

EVERY DRIVER HAD THEM LAST NIGHT

Shamefully, myself included.

Poor Kimo (#22). A couple of years back, I quietly tried to move Kimo out of doing the "dispatch". He is a good driver and is well known and respected in our community. He is going deaf. By his own admission, he cannot hear out of his left ear, at all, and probably only has 50% use of his right ear. I had set-up the dispatch schedule so that his shift was covered by other people, myself included, on a rotating basis. Back then, only four of us were qualified and capable of doing that hated part of the job. After a few months, "Crazy" Brian (#11) complained to the, then, owner. Kimo was placed back on the board, one night every week. Lately, his difficulties are becoming frustrating. If he is on the phone, he can't hear the radio. More than half of the radio traffic directed towards him goes unanswered and/or unnoticed. He forgets our protocols, both "day" and "night" rules and does whatever seems convenient. Trust me, this draws a lot of flack from the crew, because doing this screws a driver.

"Crazy" kept getting sent to the Four Seasons, some wedding party, and each time it was a "10-13" [no show/no load]. Eventually, he stopped accepting dispatches to there. He was boiling and railed Kimo over the radio. TMR couldn't keep the disgust out of his voice on any radio traffic between him and Kimo.

I am now in my sixth year of driving cab and Kimo is one of two people who taught me the business. He was sharp as a tack. Unfortunately he has dulled quite a bit since then.

I got pissed at him when he told me that someone had called and he had given them my private cell number. I am very restrictive about who gets my number and won't answer when an unknown number appears on the screen. I firmly told him not to EVER do that again.

I can hardly wait until I get the chance to tell "Crazy"

I TOLD YOU SO!

If he would of just left well enough alone.

Kimo is 73, healthy as an ox but age is taking its toll. He has a few years left as a driver but his time as a dispatcher is long past its "use by" date.

For me, I had a very decent shift. Never left town but tucked 16 acceptable trips under my belt.

Just before 1:00a I was sent to an intersection buried deep within Maui Meadows, a residential subdivision. A street map of Maui Meadows looks as if someone had dropped a plate of spaghetti and used the markings to delineate the streets. The concept of a straight line was missing from the creators imagination. Arrived and it was a lady, moderately intoxicated, who had been involved in a "domestic" and she was the one leaving to promote tranquility. Somehow, she convinced the police officers that those bruises on her upper right arm had been self-inflicted. She showed them to me.

Not bloody likely!

Actually, physically impossible.

She was a friend of a casual friend of mine and knew me, though I can't recall ever having met her. But my appearance is distinctive and most "people of the night" do know me by sight and first name. She invited me to "come in for awhile" when we reached her destination. I politely declined. "Buyers remorse", the next day, is one headache I don't need.

***

I am going to turn very political now. Something I try to avoid here. But I think this one is too serious to ignore.

First, read this news commentary, follow the links therein, then come back.


By these presidential directives, the president, at his discretion, can supercede the Constitution and take over every level of government from federal to tribal and also private industry. The incident causing this to happen doesn't even have to occur in the USA. Any situation, real or perceived, anywhere in the world can trigger this.

Dubya has signed the directives, on May 9th, that now give the Office of the President of the United States of America

TOTAL
DICTATORIAL
POWER

Does this scare anyone else as much as it does me?

I wonder what he has in mind? Whatever, it'll happen before January 20, 2009.

***

Time to go see "Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod".

I'll be back after work tomorrow.

Hope you can join me.

Mahalo

Aloha

---

THE PICTURE GALLERY

"Baby" Beach
Lahaina

Pretty Beach Scene

Ma'alaea Bay

Makena

Molokini

***

"Let's all be careful out there!"