Edging Towards Death

TheBus

No Hawai’i Kai visit today because moms had a medical appointment. The “free” time allowed for a jaunt to the Ram® dealership in Kane’ohe, the only one that stocks the Promaster cargo van. The total commute time, to and from the dealership amounted to three hours because of revamped bus routes serving the Windward area. Fortunately, wait times were were minimal. The time spent at the dealership was less than half-an-hour and disappointing at best. The quoted price for the smallest Promaster cargo van was more than the quoted price for a larger Ford® Transit model. WTF?

The average amount of time spent commuting by bus daily is about two hours. Total wait time can and often exceeds 90 minutes. Add in an odd errand as the aforementioned trip to Kane’ohe and the amount of time waiting and riding the bus becomes significant. Today, that amounted to six hours. Every hour that passes is one hour hour closer to death.

Part of the journey by bus today included scenic Kalihi. Actually, it’s a slum, plain and simple. There’s no paradise in Kalihi. To be fair, most of the neighborhoods on the island are gradually devolving into Kalihi-like dumps.

Ghetto is Honolulu! Really? Yes, really. The homeless, the derelicts, the “blahlah” locals ... there’s just no escape. And, it gets worse by the day. Even the gym in town is not excluded. On any given day, there is some form of dereliction on display (e.g., derelict sleeping in locker room). Of course, that’s the “norm” everywhere in town ... the fast food joint, Fort Street Mall, Chinatown, and so forth. As the old saying goes, “Lucky you live Hawai’i.” What a crock of shit!

Addendum: There has been minor effort expended in search of rental housing that runs less than $800 per month. There were about three out of the hundreds of listings. Of course, there is little chance of securing any kind of rental housing because of age discrimination and income disqualification (see previous Notes on the topic). Then, there’s the issue of dealing with landlords, neighbors, and assorted other fools.

Update: The Ford® dealership in town has a “pre-owned” 2017 Transit cargo van for sale. Contact with the dealership was established early on to obtain a price quote for a new Transit cargo van (about $41,000 out-the-door). The “pre-owned” Transit is priced at $30,000 out-the-door). A visit has been scheduled for midweek to inspect both models.