I read recently in “Ask Georgia” that there was a move afoot to get rid of Jeffrey.

Jeffrey might possibly offend the delicate sensibilities of certain members of our community, but to my knowledge he has never hurt anybody.

Jeffrey is a homeless man who for many years has lived on a small strip of land located alongside the main highway and Wailua beach. Jeffrey’s physical domain has shifted somewhat over the years but essentially it consists of a 10 X 10 square foot piece of dirt alongside a busy highway just a few steps from the white sand and blue water of Wailua Bay.

Within Jeffrey’s tiny plot is a chaise lounge upon which he sleeps, and a small neat bundle that contains, I assume, all that he possesses in this world.

In the old days, Jeffrey lived without the chaise lounge and without the small bundle. In the old days, Jeffrey would simply stand day after day, hour after hour on his 10 foot by 10 foot spot, sometimes muttering quietly to himself and sometimes staring silently at some secret spot on the ground.

For years, it seems, he did not have any possessions whatsoever. For years he has simply existed, apparently secure and comfortable in that one particular little corner of the earth he calls home.

Through wind, rain and sunshine, day after day, night after night. Jeffrey would simply stand there, occasionally he could be seen shuffling down the highway headed toward Sizzler or the convenience store, but most of Jeffrey’s life consisted of standing or sitting in that 10 by 10 square that is his home.

Jeffrey’s home is immaculate. Never will you see trash or litter within or near Jeffrey’s 10 by 10 dirt square. There is no tent, no structure of any kind and no car, abandoned, rusty or otherwise. There is just a chaise lounge, a small neat bundle and a quiet man sitting or standing in a 10 by 10 foot square of dirt.

Jeffrey rarely has guests or visitors. There are no rowdy late night parties nor problems with parking congestion. Jeffrey’s visitors are few and mostly uninvited well-wishers who bring him unsolicited hot meals, perhaps a fresh shirt or jacket and sometimes spiritual counseling on Sundays.

The chaise lounge and the small bundle are not items Jeffrey purchased at Walmart but the gifts of good-hearted folks trying to add a little comfort and warmth to Jeffrey’s life.

Jeffrey lives a meager existence and doesn’t hurt anyone. He doesn’t build fires, he doesn’t panhandle, he doesn’t sell drugs, and he doesn’t go naked on the beach. Technically Jeffrey is not even camping. He is merely existing.

There is not and should not be a law against merely existing. Jeffrey clearly lives in a world far removed from the day-to-day reality of most Kaua‘i residents, but he is no criminal.

He may be offensive in appearance to some who pass in their cars and he might be an embarrassment to our visitor industry, but he is no criminal. Jeffrey is homeless and poor, but he is no criminal.

I have a suggestion to those who would support getting rid of Jeffrey. As you drive by Wailua beach you can distract your visiting friends or VIPs by turning their attention to the Coco Palms Hotel which continues to sit unoccupied and deteriorating before our eyes.

Your polite conversation can discuss the negative impact on our economy this still unopened and unoccupied hotel presents to our community, and you can discuss ways to accelerate the rebuilding process.

Then, as you pass Kealia Beach heading north, encourage your friends to look toward the mountains so that they can avoid being confronted with a view of junk cars and trash piled along the highway.

Our community and our visitor industry has many serious problems and challenges that need to be dealt with and Jeffrey is not one of them. Car break-ins at scenic look-outs are committed almost daily by people who live in real homes located in legitimate neighborhoods. Why not spend some time solving this real and serious problem?

The still abandoned Wai‘ohai hotel on the Southside hurts our image and our economy far more than Jeffrey ever could. Why not take action to remove the Wai‘ohai from Po‘ipu Beach?

Jeffrey has his problems but he keeps them to himself. He may need care, help and protection but health care professionals in our community are probably the only ones qualified to evaluate and recommend “what to do about Jeffrey.”

I say leave him alone.

Gary Hooser
July 6, 1997
Published in The Garden Island newspaper

Read also on this blog “The State Budget, A Moral Document”