Friday, March 30, 2012

Are Fancy Meals Art or Edible?

You are sitting at your table in a restaurant. Your meal comes.

There it is: At the corner of the plate is a ball of mashed potatoes, there are peas implanted here and there. Very pretty. Next to that is group of radishes and carrots interspersed like a deck of cards. On one end is a green pepper cut length-wise and filled with a shrimp and dressing dollop.
Three trees of parsley stick out of this like a forest.

The center is a medallion of a piece of meat, surrounded by 12 olives with pimientos, all of them pierced by different colored toothpicks.

Looking at all this, the question arises: How many different hands and fingers arranged all this on the plate?

(letter published in The Maui News Nov. 12, 2011 and Lahaina News Nov.17, 2011)

Monday, March 12, 2012

Urinals for short people

This subject concerns males only.

Urinals in public toilets have caused problems because of their placement on toilet walls. Usually there are two or more urinals installed at the same level on the wall. The assumption is that all males are the same height. Not true.

Men and boys are different heights. Boys and shorter men are forced to use the toilet bowls. I contend that this is discrimination against shorter men and boys.

Since there are laws about everything else, the government should enact a law to require placing urinals at various heights.

After all, we need to provide for the health, welfare and comfort of all people . . . even short people.


(Letter published in The Maui News Oct.8, 2011 and Lahaina News Oct.13, 2011)

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Pay to Exercise?

When a person gets out of shape, he decides to do something about it outside of changing his daily habits.
He joins a health club at a big cost. He inspects all those impressive machines in the facility. He envisions himself getting healthy working all those contrivances. Evercise is what he wants.
The first day comes. He drives to the club. He frantically searches for a parking spot close to the entrance. After all, he's paying for exercising in the club. A long walk in the parking lot is not part of the curriculum.
Some people won't exercise unless they pay for it.
Letter in the Maui News Aug.28, 2011, and Lahaina News Sept. 1, 2011