Respect. Civility. Good manners. Valerie Haas expected that her students embody these values. It’s been more than 40 years since I first walked on the campus of ‘Iolani School and met Ms. Haas, but…

The room smelled of disinfectant and the floor was cold, but the exceedingly kind staff had placed a blanket on the floor. I sat down and began to cry, leaned against the wall, then invited Buddy t…

Nearly 400 years ago, over 100 passengers boarded the ship Mayflower and set sail for the “New World.” Their destination was the mouth of the Hudson River, but two months of sailing over perilous s…

Last summer I finally broke down and bought a pair of noise cancelling earbuds.  My father had hearing problems late in life so as I’ve grown older, I thought the active noise cancellation cou…