MORE VIEWS OF MAU'I

ENJOY THE TOUR

A map of Kihei/Wailea

Another map of Mau'i

A magic Mau'i sunset at the Grand Wailea Resort.

The Four Seasons

Sunset at Kapalua

The Plantation Course at Kapalua, northwest Mau'i. Moloka'i in the background.

The pools of O'heo, beyond Hana, on the southeastern coast.

Kapalua Bay, northwest Mau'i. The island of Moloka'i in the background

Ho'okipa Panorama

Ho'okipa Beach. The windsurfing capitol of the world. The International Windsurfing Championship is held here every year.

Windsurfing at Ho'okipa

Kite Surfing at Ho'okipa

Makena Beach, south of Wailea

I'ao Valley - The I'ao Needle

Dead trees in the Poli Poli rain forest. "Upcountry" Mau'i

Another Gorgeous Sunset

Sprecklesville

A view from "upcountry", looking across the isthmus at the West Mau'i Mountains. The island of Lana'i to the far left. Ma'alaea bay on the left with a view of Kihei. Kahului and Wailuku are located at the juncture of the mountains and ocean on the rightside.

A Totem pole honoring Capt. George Vancouver

Later.....

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

SPECIAL RESPONSES

ALEX DOMAIN

Alex, I am sorry if you thought I was portraying the story as true. I thought everyone would recognize a parody when they read it. I guess I was wrong.

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SHADOW

Have you thought about using a RSS reader? I use BlogLines. I can get a quick read and it also feeds the pics on the posts, and you don't have to load the entire blog unless you want to.

---

JO

Humpback Whale season is from December until June. Some have been spotted in late November. If they aren't stopped by the DHS for customs and border inspection, then the waters are full by December 15th.

Here are some pics for you:

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JEEPGIRL

Tell "your cop" to keep his eyes open. Might snag one for transporting drugs. I am sure that Virginia has that law that lets the police "arrest" the vehicle for transportation of narcotics. The vehicle, after conviction, usually reverts back to the arresting agency. I liked that law.

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DOGBAIT

I just flick them out of the way now. But that was my first encounter and I had no knowledge of what I was dealing with. When in doubt, call in an "air-strike".



Later.....

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

BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?

Full credit for this one goes to Mirth, Musings and More, by Lugosi

PLEASE HELP

Monday, July 17, 2006

Please Help
I rarely bother to read anything that looks like a "chain email." The stuff is usually a waste of my time, time that is better spent pursuing more worthwhile pursuits in life, like checking out those sites with the naked Britney Spears photos. And I would certainly never subject YOU, my loyal readers, and I'm referring to both of you, to such asinine drivel.

This one, however, really touched my heart. It is truly moving, and has caused me to rethink my cynical attitude towards my fellow man. I urge all of you to take a minute to read it. And if it is at all within your means, please donate to this worthy cause.
________________________________________________________

My name is Billy Evans.

I am a very sick little boy. My mother is typing this for me, because I can't. She is crying. The reason she is so sad is because I'm so sick. I was born without a body. It doesn't hurt, except when I try to breathe.

The doctors gave me an artificial body. It is a burlap bag filled with leaves. The doctors said that was the best they could do on account of us having no money or insurance. I would like to have a body transplant, but we need more money.

Mommy doesn't work because she said nobody hires crying people. I said, "Don't cry, Mommy," and she hugged my burlap bag. Mommy always gives me hugs, even though she' s allergic to burlap and it makes her sneeze and chafes her real bad.

I hope you will help me. You can help me if you forward this email to everyone you know. Forward it to people you don't know, too. Dr. Johansen said that for every person you forward this email to, Bill Gates will team up with AOL and send a nickel to NASA. With that funding, NASA will collect prayers from schoolchildren all over America and have the astronauts take them up into space so that the angels can hear them better. Then they will come back to earth and go to the Pope, and he will take up a collection in church and send all the money to the doctors. The doctors could help me get better then.

Maybe one day I will be able to play baseball. Right now I can only be third base. Every time you forward this letter, the astronauts can take more prayers to the angels and my dream will be closer to coming true.

Please help me. Mommy is s-o-o sad, and I want a body. I don't want my leaves to rot before I turn 10.

If you don't forward this email, that's okay. Mommy says you're a mean and heartless bastard who doesn't care about a poor little boy with only a head. She says that if you don't stew in the raw pit of your own guilt-ridden stomach, she hopes you die a long slow horrible death and then burn forever in hell. What kind of cruel person are you that you can't take five freakin' minutes to forward this to all your friends so that they can feel guilt and shame about ignoring a poor, bodiless nine-year-old boy?

Please help me. I try to be happy, but it's hard. I wish I had a kitty. I wish I could hold a kitty. I wish I could hold a kitty that wouldn't chew on me and try to bury it's turds in the leaves of my burlap body. I wish that very much.

Thank You,
Billy "Smiley" Evans

Later.....

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

A 22 HOUR DAY

I AM GETTING OLD

In the early part of my prior life, I could do a 24 hour day without blinking an eye. 36 hour days were rare but doable. Reached my limit when it extended past 48 hours.

Later, 24 hours were still a snap but the upper limit had dropped back to the area of 36 hours.

My Saturday/Sunday was 22 hours long. Looks like my upper limit has dropped to 24 hours. I was exhausted when I finally got to bed.

---

SATURDAY NIGHT

Logged on just after 7:00pm and took over the phone. Dispatching for nine cabs.

While parked outside the Ballroom entrance of The Grand, I could faintly hear Hawai'ian chants and drums from one of the luaus. Hmmmm. Natives are restless.

An early run was a pickup from the Haggai Institute to Wailea. Tha Haggai facility was originally a 7-story hotel called Maui Sunrise. The leadership students there come from all over the world. Part of the training is to build fellowship and develop skills, while networking. This week they have a visitor, a lady from Nigeria, who opted to stay a one of the major hotels in Wailea. It was my misfortune to encounter her. When she finally came to the cab, trailing one of those small, wheeled, totes. I popped the trunk and loaded the bag. She handed me a medium sized shopping bag and then proceeded to remove one small bottle of water at a time from another sack and instructed me to put them in the first sack. There were probably 15 bottles. I looked at her and laughed. "Lady, I can legally charge 30-cents for each piece /item that I load into or out of the vehicle. Why don't you just dump that second bag into the first and lets get going."

I got that "I stepped in something bad" look from her. She placed the sack in the trunk and went back inside the building. I started the meter. It was about 10 minutes before she came back out. When I dropped her at her hotel I checked the back seat. Sure enough, she had left multiple items of rubbish on the seat and floor. I took them out and handed them to her. "Lady, my cab isn't your personal rubbish bin. Take your garbage with you." The look she then gave me said it all. This was a woman of some "power" in her country and, if we had been there, she would have had me summarily executed for my audacity. A very christian woman.

"Do unto others as they would do unto you. But do it first."

Had my largest fare ever. No, not $$, but size. Picked up 4 guys from a central Kihei condo and dropped them near Kamaole Beach Park #2. The guy who barely fit in the front seat was at least 6'9" (2.06 meters) and weighed well over 500# (227 kg). Even with the seat fully retracted, he barely made it inside. ONE-NINE has an "air suspension system" and it took a bit of time for the car to "level" itself.

Jack In The Box, a western US fastfood chain, returned to 24 hour operation on Friday and Saturday nights. This is going to cause us some headaches. Every drunk wants to go thru "Jack" after bar close. Spilled drinks, dropped food and a waste of time, earning 30-cents per minute on the meter as you inch your way forward. I'll have to enforce my "I am sorry but no food or drink are allowed in the vehicle" rule.

From 7:00pm to 2:00am the night was very slow. I had 10 runs on the log and had not even made $90 on the meter. Then everyone else went home and the phone started ringing. Metered over $120 on the next 8 runs. When the graveyard shift "pays", it "pays" well.

Finally logged off just after 6:00am and then the second half of my day started.

---

SUNDAY

One of the most profittable businesses to own on Mau'i is "pest control". The island is rife with creepy-crawlies. It is an unwinnable battle for pest control. This spring, three different neighbors had their homes "tented" and fumigated. By June the insect refuges had migrated to the house I live in. The main house and all three apartments were awash in cockroaches. Oh, did I mention that cockroaches fly on Mau'i? We all decided that Sunday we were all going to set off "bug bombs" at 9:00am and vacate the property for 4 hours. I put Bear, my kitty, in the storage shed with a bed, litterbox, food and water. (He is still pissed!) Then I had 4 hours to kill. I am normally asleep and it had been a long night. Went to Denny's for breakfast. Drove around for a bit and finally came home. Aired out the apartment and crashed. Slept a solid 8 hours (rare for me)

---

CATCHING UP

Forgot to mention the problem I had getting started on Thursday night. When I arrived at the garage, ONE-NINE was parked with the drivers door less than 6 inches (15 cm) from cab #5. There is no keylock on the passenger door, so I had to climb up on the roof of my cab, reach down and enter the access code, open all the doors. Then enter via the passenger side, climbing past the radio, meter, etc. and finally pulling forward enough to get the drivers door open. Not the most pleasant way to start the night.

REAL ESTATE CONTINUES TO CLIMB!

The asking price for this two-bedroom, two-bath townhouse (right side) is $499,000, making it the lowest-priced single-family listing in Kahului. The average price of a single-family home on Maui has gone over $1 million.

The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Average home price tops $1 million

And a related story:

Kaanapali plans for 4,850 housing units



Later.....

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

I AM TIRED

AND I WANT TO GO TO BED

It is after 1:30pm. I finally am at home. I'll write more when I wake up but here are some pics I took today to tide you over until then.

---

I live 4 doors to the right.

A busy south Kihei Road.

Kamaole Point

Headed to the beach at Kamaole Beach Park #1

Renting a motorscooter



Later.....

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

THE CALENDAR SAID "FRIDAY"

I THINK IT IS RUNNING SLOW


SOMETHING IS OUT OF SYNC.

The weekends are supposed to be our "busy time" but lately, they are the slowest nights. Easily bested by middle-of-the-week shifts.

---

LAST NIGHT

I started my night with a run from The Grand to central Kihei. When I pulled up in front, I saw two very large hotel security officers escorting an obviously drunk woman to my cab. She couldn't stand by herself and they each had her by an arm, lifted high enough that her feet just barely touched the ground and at a cursory glance you might think that she was actually walking on her own. She was pissed! Following behind was another security officer with a second, less drunk, female who could walk unassisted. She, too, was pissed!

It seems that they had been drinking in the hotel for a rather long afternoon and when they went to valet to get their car, one of the "Top-Of-The-House" staff realized that they were both way too drunk to drive and called security. The hotel paid for them to take a cab home and they were not "happy campers".

The typical foul mouths and alcohol induced bravado.

Half way to their home, I had to stop at a traffic light. Drunk #1 thinks she is home. The interior illuminates and warning alarms and lights trigger on my dashboard. She had opened the door and was getting out, right in the middle of south Kihei road. Her companion and I coaxed her back into the cab and I pressed the door lock switch.

1/2 half mile further and drunk #2 decides she needs to pee and wanted some cigarettes. I pull into the UnoCal-76 station, only to discover that they have already closed their restrooms for the night. Start to pull away and drunk #2 remembers she forgot to get the smokes. I back up and we just sit there. Finally, drunk #2 figures out that neither of them had any cash. Finally dropped them, at home, 1/2 mile further up the road.

The next fare handed me the ladies' housekeys he found when he got in. I didn't want to deal with them anymore and had valet just attach them to their car keys. They'll get them back today, if they show up sober.

Those "hotel pay" runs come with an automatic 15% gratuity. Pretty decent start to the night, moneywise.

Overall, it was a very slow Friday night. 8 runs between 7:00pm and 2:00am. 5 runs between 2:00am and 4:00am. Those last 2 hours generated 75% of the dollars that the prior 7 hours had metered. Started with 9 cabs and still had 4 on at "bar close".

My final run was from the Four Seasons to a vacation condo in lower Kihei.

I had been expecting to pick up 3 guys and a girl. Instead, it was a forty-ish woman. She was escorted to the cab by a 40/50-ish male. She was crying and he handled her like he was taking a diaper to the pail. At the door, she turned to give him a kiss, he turned a withdrawn cheek towards her. She hugged him and his arms never left his sides. Very, very cold.

The woman softly spoke, to herself, the entire trip.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I did evrything they wanted.
Why couldn't I stay?
I was fucking stupid.
Fuck, fuck fuck."

I kept my mouth shut. I didn't even want to know.

At 4:10am, Primm, the Guamanian driver, logged on. Followed by Flor at 4:12am and Murph at 4:15am. First driver in got the phone and I was home by 4:45am. Yippee!!



Later.....

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

IS THIS "LIVE"?

OR A RERUN OF WEDNESDAY?

Oceanview Of Mau'i

Oceanview Of Moloka'i

I'ao Needle

Banyan Tree - Lahaina

Oceanview Of Hana

The past three nights have put me in contact with people I drove on their prior visits to Mau'i. They remember me, I vaguely remember them. Last night's version was a 4-pax that I met this past February. I haul "regular" locals and kama'ainas all the time but now I have been driving long enough that I am getting repeat visitors. I guess my prior contact with them was pleasant, since no one screamed and pleaded to get out of the car.

They tell me that three things cause them to remember me:

• My pony-tail


• My beard


• My voice

I know my voice is distinctive. I sound like a radio announcer. My voice is a deep baritone and my accent is "American Broadcast Standard", which means I do not have a regional dialect. I can thank a high school speech teacher for that. Everyone I come in contact with think I am from their part of the States and people from other countries say that I am easy to understand.

---

LAST NIGHT

It was a replay of Wednesday. Everybody on their best behavior. While this is very pleasant, it does make it hard to "talk story" for you folks. Moneywise it was good. Made half the meter between 7:00pm and 2:00am and made the other half between 2:00am and 5:30am.

FoodLand had a pretty major theft about 2:15am. Some guy came in about 1:30am and wandered the store carrying one of those hand baskets rather than pushing a cart. Piled expensive food items in the basket and draped himself in t-shirts and huge beach towels. He kept loitering near the checkout stands and when Maggie, the night checker, was occupied he bolted out the door, carrying all the loot. She called the cops and they were slow in responding, by about 45 minutes. The store has a pretty decent digital camera system and they might get a good image of the thief when the store manager replays the tape. This island isn't that big and with a good pic he will be nabbed eventually.

Just two more shifts to go this week and I have to dispatch on both of them, !@#$%&*#@!

---

HOUSEKEEPING

You may have noticed that I added the Mauna Kea and Mana Kai web cams to the sidebar. While these images should be static, I wrote a javascript that refreshes the Mauna Kea image every 90 seconds and the Mana Kai image every 3 seconds. At times the Mana Kai image will disappear briefly when a refresh here coincides with a refresh at their server. It will reappear three seconds later.

I did this so that dial-up users would have a more "real-time" view. Of course anyone using dial-up to visit Paradise Driver must be a glutton for punishment since the 400-500 assorted images on this blog must take forever to load. My old desktop takes about 10 seconds to load (11 mb connection) and my laptop takes about 2 to 5 seconds to load (54 mb connection) and they are both on broadband wireless router cable connections.



Later.....

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