TALK STORY with Frank #10-1 (2010/4-5)

“Talk story” is a term from Hawaiian pidgin, roughly meaning to converse informally

New Beginning

Several months ago I started to write an e-column periodically for the Owners at Paniolo Hale. I had hoped to cover what is going at Paniolo Hale, Molokai and Hawaii without necessarily repeating everything that’s already in the various reports on our website, our Forum and in the newspapers. I plan to give more emphasis to items of interest to those Owners off island than those currently here.

Income Taxes, etc. got on the front burners. Also a staffing shortage up at the R.W. Meyer Sugar Mill, where my wife and I are Docents, required us to spend five days in one week up there.

Hi, after this hiatus, I’ll introduce myself again. I’m Frank Pratt.. My wife Wilma and I have been full time residents at Paniolo Hale since 1994; except for two week San Francisco Bay Area vacations twice a year to visit our sons and grandsons.

As a member of the AOAO’s Communications Committee, I have undertaken to Talk Story – to converse informally - with those of our Owners who read our website. O.K., I guess you could say that I’m writing a column, except that Microsoft Vista has a Speech Recognition feature and I hope to have a mike in my hand. I guess, I’m “talking a column”! (When I have to train Vista to recognize my speech)

Once before, in about the year 2000, when the Kaluakoi Hotel “Closed for ‘a month’”, and when, after a month, no formal announcement s were forthcoming, I started getting queries from all those off-island as to “What is going on?”, expecting some action to be taken within those 30 days.

( This was back when the Japanese were the owners of the hotel, golf course and unsold ranchland lots. They had bought them with the paper gains on the Japanese Stock Market – the era when they were buying up much of America – Rockefeller Center, Pebble Beach Golf Course and Kaluakoi Resort. Soon they had a severe cash flow problem and were siphoning all profits back to Japan and skimping on maintenance.)

I started putting out a “Rumor Sheet”- which listed all the new rumors I’d heard. . I probably ended up with over 100 names on my mailing list - people at Paniolo Hale, Ke Nani Ki, the Villas, and the Ranchlands and twice as many rumors.

The only thing accurate about the report was that I had heard them – not that they were true. Some obviously weren’t. I remember one in particular. I wrote, after returning home from town: “I just heard 3 new rumors in 5 minutes while in the checkout line at Friendly Markets – 1] The Contract was signed yesterday! -2] The contract will be signed tomorrow! – 3] The deal is off!” – Take your choice!

This time, since I’m not dealing with rumors, I feel the need to check facts. I, for instance, had a phone call a couple of months ago about a body found on Make Horse Beach and the Police were, supposedly investigating to see if it is a murder or suicide! I asked around Paniolo Hale and no one knew anything about it. I decided to do further checking before publishing anything.

About a week and half later, an article appeared in the Dispatch. A couple strolling along Papohaku Beach discovered a body floating in the water, pulled it ashore, and called 911. The paramedics pronounced the body dead. The Police were investing it as they do all “unaccompanied deaths” to rule out foul play. About a week later there was a notice that the death had been ruled as an accidental drowning.

I hate to think what this story would have looked like if I had gone forward with my original information. I didn’t see any need to become an obituary column, unless the Deceased had some connection with Paniolo Hale.

Now that I have set some parameters for “TALKING STORY with Frank”, I hope to keep short-winded and “talk” a fast moving column several times a month. I’ll try to keep each Talk Story to one or two pages at the most.

We have had our first Auto Fatality of the New Year and the deceased had a connection with Paniolo Hale. Scott, the deceased, was the Zac’s Fumigation’s employee sprayed our units at Paniolo Hale each month. The sole car accident occurred in the evening when the vehicle went off the road near Molokai Shores; hit a sigh post, etc. The driver, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the vehicle. Our condolences to his family.

Till next time.

Frank Pratt