BOB KRAUSS

A 55-YEAR LOVE AFFAIR WITH HAWAI'I

A MASTER STORYTELLER WILL BE SORELY MISSED

It was with heartfelt sadness I heard about the loss of Bob Krauss; a masterful story teller, maritime historian and, most important, a friend of more than 30 years.

I first met Bob Krauss in the spring of 1963, when the end of the sailing vessel Falls of Clyde seemed imminent.

Bob Krauss led an effort of local civic minded individuals — aided by funds from Matson Navigation Co., other corporate donations and money raised by schoolchildren such as myself — to purchase the Falls of Clyde and save her from being scuttled as a breakwater.

I got to know Bob when I served as a rigger for the Bishop Museum in the 1970s, assisting in the vessel's restoration to return her to her former glory.

Over the years, I and others in the maritime industry had the pleasure to work with Bob in the preservation of Hawaii's rich maritime history so it could be shared with others to experience and appreciate.

Bob was someone we could always go to in time of trouble, when you had a problem, however slight. He was a charitable, warm and wise man, always compassionate and understanding of others.

I'm grateful to have had him in my life and to have called him a friend.

Friendship is like the wind (Ka Makani), although you cannot see it, you can feel its presence.

Bob touched many of us directly and through his writing for more than 50 years. We are all better people as a result of our association with Bob. He will be missed.

A 'LIFE-LONG HERO' TO ANOTHER FAN OF KOLEA

If there ever was a man in our Honolulu whom I considered to be a life-long hero, it was Bob Krauss.

I started reading his columns when I could finally read beyond "Dick and Jane." I learned to love our island home and its unique history, thanks to people like Bob Krauss. There were others, but no one with the ability to interpret island life the way he did.

When I was just a young girl reading The Advertiser, I always thought he was Herb Caen. Actually, I thought he was better! Tears are falling as I write this. I will miss him, especially when the kolea return. Whom will I call now? Who loved the kolea the way Bob Krauss did? I know I do.

"Hey Mr. Krauss, the kolea are back at Hale 'Aha!" I wanted to tell him we have six kolea this year instead of our usual three. Like others, I hoped with all my heart that he would recover from heart surgery and return to the craft he so loved. I admire that he chose to risk surgery rather than becoming a couch potato. Aloha, Mr. Krauss. Mahalo for the memories.

HAWAI'I LOST A FRIEND AND A GRACIOUS WRITER

I was lucky enough to meet Bob Krauss in 1989 after I finished the Honolulu Marathon.

I had blisters the size of silver dollars on the soles of my feet and was sitting with my back to one of the banyan trees at Kapi'olani Park waiting for my wife to pick me up when Mr. Krauss walked up and asked me how the race went. We chatted for a few minutes, and a few days later I saw my name mentioned in a story he did about the race.

In April of this year while leaving a local Zippy's I was lucky enough to meet him again. We chatted a few minutes, and although he didn't remember me, he was as gracious as ever.

I am saddened at his passing, but was glad to have met someone who understood the true "'ohana" spirit the Islands are famous for.

Hawai'i has lost a good friend.

A WRITER WHO TAUGHT LESSONS OF DIVERSITY

My aunt, with the improbable name Blanche Vilanch, was an exchange teacher in Hawai'i in 1956. She fell in love with Bob Krauss' Advertiser columns and sent me, the budding writer in excessively chilly Paterson, New Jersey, stacks of them.

That was the beginning of my love affair with the Islands. Through Bob's eyes, I saw how a haole could find sunshine and aloha in that unique and wonderful place you all call home. He showed me how to cherish diversity, which may be the most important lesson anyone can learn in our global village, and he made me laugh an awful lot.

Mahalo, Bob.

WAI'ANAE BEATING

LIVE BY GOLDEN RULE, MAKE HAWAI'I BETTER

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Roger Haudenshild and any others whose loved ones have been victims of violence. It is sad to think that this is what our society has come to as a result of the desensitization of generations to violence as a result of the media and society's acceptance of it.

Often, Hawai'i's residents will gladly give a can of food or money to this or that organization and fundraiser without a thought. However, when it really counts, do we step up to the plate or is our compassion simply a matter of convenience? It is easier to step up and give something rather than give ourselves?

I think as a society, regardless of one's religion or beliefs, we must all live by the golden rule: Treat others the way we want to be treated and perhaps, just perhaps, we can honestly make this a better place in spite of ourselves.

H-1 TIE-UP

MORE HELP WAS NEEDED TO SPEED UP TRAFFIC

Broken bridge, fatal accident, hostage stand-off, and chemical spills. What will all of these mean?

Traffic will come to a stop. We all found out last Tuesday that we really need more help than what we are getting from the traffic center alone. I was lucky to make it home early, but what I didn't understand is why we didn't get help at the outer areas leading into 'Aiea.

The traffic center can control the lights but a police officer/traffic control person, would have definitely sped things up or let the traffic move a little longer than the current programmed light controls. We might not have needed them at all lights but having a person to make that decision at the light should and would have sped things up.

How many times does this have to happen? I hope we learned from this incident.

RAIL SYSTEM, FERRY WOULD HAVE HELPED

I hope last Tuesday night's adventure in O'ahu traffic opened a few eyes.

An enhanced bus lane is not the answer to the island's traffic woes. Some kind of rail system that isn't affected by what happens on the "freeway" could have eased much of the snarled traffic. A commuter ferry would have been the ideal way to move thousands of us from the downtown area to 'Ewa.

As bad as it was, there were some bright spots. I'd like to commend TheBus driver who brought 75 to 80 of us home from downtown to 'Ewa Beach on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. He had finished his regular express run on another route and was drafted or volunteered to drive the last 91 route when our regular buses/drivers were stuck somewhere on the H-1.

Dozens of regular bus riders who had waited for an hour or more for anything going in our direction were finally able to leave the Alapa'i bus lot around 6:15. After hours of creeping along, the driver gave us a very welcome bathroom break at 1 a.m. at Anna Millers. I got home in 'Ewa Beach just before 2 a.m.

I love road trips — that's one of the things I've missed most while living in Hawai'i. But I must say that Hawai'i's version of the Road Trip needs some tweaking! I'll happily leave this all to you locals to figure out (or to watch as it worsens) as we move to the D.C. area. There they have terrible traffic as well, but they also manage it through the use of trains, a Metro system, slug lines and multiple ways to get where they want to go.

LAND USE

KA IWI CABIN PERMIT APPLICATION INCOMPLETE

We appreciate the thoughtful analysis of issues related to the recently returned application to build an outdoor recreation facility with vacation cabins at Ka Iwi under a conditional use permit application (Editorial, Sept. 7).

We wish to clarify some of the terms used. As director, I found the application to be incomplete and inadequate. I, therefore, declined to process it.

Since the proposed use is listed in the P-2 General Preservation District in our Land Use Ordinance (LUO), by law I am required to accept an application for processing when it is complete. Acceptance means that it has met the requirements for application. It does not mean approval.

An accepted application must be analyzed and a decision made — to approve, approve with conditions or to deny based on criteria outlined in the LUO.

FOOTBALL

UH DEFENSE SHOULD GET BACK TO TACKLING BASICS

I was a linebacker when I played football in high school more than 30 years ago. The first thing our coach told us was, "Go at 'em high and hit 'em low." In other words, run at them high and then tackle them below the waist.

After watching the University of Hawai'i go above the waist for more seasons than I care to remember, I can't help but wonder who is responsible for teaching the defense how to tackle. Common sense should tell them that to stop a running ball carrier you have to stop their legs from giving them power.

After seeing Leonard Peters ride the shoulders of the Alabama running back to tackle him, I turned the game off because I knew it was going to be another one of "those games." There was all kinds of hype when Jerry Glanville was brought in. So where are the results? The greatest pass defense in the world is useless if your opponent knows that you're ineffective at stopping the run.

Get back to the common sense basics of tackling and make the fans proud once again.