https://www.authorrobertlindsey.com/
I grew up in in Waimea, small town USA, when it was a ranch town. Waimea is located on the north tip of the Big Island of Hawaii and nestled in a crease of the Kohala mountain. I was born three years after WWII ended. Hawaii was a US Territory then and a training area for twenty to forty thousand marines, prepping for assaults on Iwo Jima, Tinian and Okinawa. Fortunately, the war ended with the Iwo Jima incursion. My family was poor. In fact, everyone was poor except for Richard Smart, the owner of Parker Ranch. We were all in the sane boat. The irony is, we were happy. Very happy as we were rich in spirit. Most of us sat on a three-legged stool. 1 Church. 2 School. 3 Family. Parker Ranch was our economic engine. Most of our dads worked for Parker as cow pokes, fence menders, and whatever Parker required. Sometimes, I wish we could go back to those days. Everyone knew everyone. The sound of your car, tractor, horse. Everyone shared their extras. Milk. Eggs. Vegetables. A slab of pork or beef. The best of what we had. Emphasis on BEST! The post office was our meeting house. My mom kept house. My dad was a construction worker. I have a younger brother. We both went to our local public school until ninth grade then transferred to The Kamehameha School for Boys, a military school. I graduated in 1966. Kamehameha was known back then as The West Point of the Pacific. After high school, I attended the University of Hawaii, graduating in 1970 with a BA in Sociology and two certificates in executive development. I met my wife, Kathy there. We have two sons, two wonderful daughters-in-law, and four precious grandsons. Kathy is a retired schoolteacher having spent fifty years, teaching little ones (kindergarten and preschool). I have been a probation officer, land assets director, state legislator, farmer, construction worker, coffee plantation manager, national park service ranger, and trustee with the office of Hawaiian affairs. My interests are writing, reading, people, community service, politics and American history. https://podopshost.com/yayadiamond