Being Vulnerable and Strong in Hawaii

     On a beautiful day on Oahu's North Shore, merchants are cringing. They're seeing less traffic and less spending, and they're bracing for a rough economic year.

     A businessman and neighbor knows I work for a non-profit organization. "Good luck to you and to me," he said. "I'm not used to saying 'no' to good causes. I even had to turn away the local Little League team. I've been turning down all requests for charitable contributions for months because I just don't know how bad (the economy's) going to get."

      Up and down the main road of storefronts in Haleiwa, there's head-shaking about current rice limits and the high price of gas. There are comparisons to the financial drought after 9/11, and to the 1970s oil embargo that caused shipping delays and left us with gas rationing and a toilet paper shortage.

      I thought back to a long. chatty letter I received during the oil embargo from a college friend on the Mainland. "Cheer up," she wrote. "I'm giving you more than moral support. After you read this, divvy it up among our pals." The letter was written entirely on toilet paper.

      Unless you have a source who can supply you with a whole lot more than toilet paper, it's tough to get over and around hard times. You just have to GO THROUGH the economic cycle and hang on or re-tool, keeping your eyes open for opportunities.

      Right now, our geographic isolation and dependence on factors outside Hawaii is underscoring our vulnerability. But living on remote islands, there's great strength in knowing that we have each other.

      I hope most Hawaii residents' philosophy stays the same in good and bad economic times: Do everything you can to take care of yourself and your family, and try to help your neighbors.