Masaki:

On which island in Hawaii would you suggest living? One thing I have experienced that Carol hasn't experienced as much is the niceness of the people of that State. In my USAF officer training program back in the late 60's, we had a young gentleman from Hawaii who was a true Hawaiian. He arrived in San Antonio wearing no shoes! He had to be briefed on what a snake looked like (they are common in San Antonio). And he was one of the nicest guys I've ever met. While in the school, his wife had a baby daughter. After the school was over, he was allowed to go home for a couple of weeks, and then have his family join him for his next assignment (Pilot training). But he had no money for an airline ticket. After our graduation, I approached a Major with the USAF Security Service I had met before joining up and asked for his help, as there were no AF planes going to Hawaii from our base at that time. The Major looked over the situation, made a phone call, and suddenly there was a plane going to his island ready to go. Fifteen minutes later, this big, black plane pulled up (I think it was an SR 71) and my Hawaiian friend got in the back seat, and literally shot off for home. I asked my friend, the Major, how long it would be before my friend got home. He said "about three hours ago!" I clearly did not do this alone. The Major saw that this was a nice guy, just as I saw in all the Hawiians I met in the USAF.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)