WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:03.799 It's Night's Eyes with Dan Ray. I'm going you mazy 2 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:05.960 Boston's news radio. 3 00:00:06.519 --> 00:00:08.560 I know certainly is. We are in the final hour 4 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:12.560 of myself filling in for Dan Ray on night side 5 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:15.720 on WBZ. Ben Parker here and normally you would hear 6 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:18.359 me from two until six o'clock at the afternoon doing 7 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:21.960 the news here on WBZ. But Dan is away and 8 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:25.160 I get a chance to play, so very nice to 9 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:27.039 be here with you. We've had a great night tonight. 10 00:00:27.079 --> 00:00:31.239 We talked a bit about Kamala Harris's pick for Vice President. 11 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:34.240 Tim Walls, the Minnesota governor, get a little bit into 12 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:38.119 the housing crisis with the Massachusetts Housing and Livable Communities 13 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:43.759 Secretary at Augustus, little gun violence talk shot spotter system. 14 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:47.399 And then the Paris Olympics. We got to talk about 15 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:49.039 that a little bit. And we also got to talk 16 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.920 to a gold medal Olympian named Michael Ruzioni, who is 17 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:53.840 from Winthrop and you've probably heard of, the captain of 18 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:56.880 the nineteen eighty Winter Olympics hockey team. I'm gonna take 19 00:00:56.920 --> 00:00:59.799 a little trip back in time a couple of different 20 00:00:59.799 --> 00:01:03.640 ways here in this half hour. First of all, we're 21 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:06.840 going to go back just over a year. Everybody is 22 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:09.680 very well aware and was very well aware at the time, 23 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:12.920 and hopefully you still are, and maybe say an extra 24 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:16.640 prayer or something at night for the folks of Lahaina 25 00:01:16.760 --> 00:01:19.840 in Maui in Hawaii, because it's been a year just 26 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:23.840 about since the devastating wildfire that everybody saw, whether on 27 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:27.400 social media or on the news or on wherever the internet, 28 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:31.680 and they're still dealing with this. Just because we all 29 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:34.599 moved on with our lives and something else grabbed our attention, 30 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:37.359 they are still dealing with it. And I'm honored to 31 00:01:37.400 --> 00:01:42.560 bring in tonight the founder of Rebuildmaui dot Org Alfi 32 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:45.959 Bassetturro and welcome to the show. Alfi. 33 00:01:47.319 --> 00:01:49.560 Hey, thank you, Ben, thank you for having me. 34 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:52.280 I really appreciate that absolutely, and I think it's important 35 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:54.719 that people realize that things are still going on there. 36 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:56.799 And I shouldn't say it that way. I make it 37 00:01:56.840 --> 00:01:58.920 sound like nobody knows that stuff's still going on there. 38 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:01.560 I'm sure plenty of people do, but it's not top 39 00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:05.719 of mind u for for most people, most Americans, as 40 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:07.680 it was a year ago or so when when it 41 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:09.800 when it first happened. But well, there's a lot of 42 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:12.240 stuff that still needs to take place there where where 43 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:14.159 are we, I guess, And when I say we, I 44 00:02:14.199 --> 00:02:17.840 mean you in terms of getting things back to some 45 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.000 semblance of something normal. 46 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:25.879 So it's it's really been challenging here. Okay. So if 47 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:29.639 anyone's been to Maui or why do, they'll know that 48 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:32.400 if you're trying to build something, create something, it always 49 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:34.800 takes much much longer than it would on the mainland, 50 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:38.680 right when you're in Boston. So because of the island, 51 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:41.680 if you're trying to shift something here, the work ethic 52 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:45.120 here is also a little bit delayed. Normally, if you're 53 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:48.479 trying to build anything here, you're you're talking about twice 54 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:51.400 as long. It's not three times as long. So now 55 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:54.159 you layer in the fact that we were hit by 56 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:56.719 a mega fire right. It took about it took us 57 00:02:56.919 --> 00:03:00.599 a couple of thousand homes within the fire right. We 58 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:06.680 are approaching our one year anniversary and we haven't had 59 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:10.360 one home to rebuilt since that time. It's a shame 60 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:14.319 to be able to report that, but that's the current status, 61 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:17.120 right Like, we haven't had one structure, we built one home, 62 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:20.319 one residence. A lot of folks are still living in 63 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:24.800 hotel shelters. Some posts are still are homeless after this event, 64 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:29.080 and I mean, I wish we had something better to report, 65 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:33.960 but that's that's the current state you know of events 66 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:34.599 at the moment. 67 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:38.439 I did. I did see a news story this week that, uh, 68 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:42.080 some of the survivors of the wildfires moving into a 69 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:44.840 former hotel as well. So I mean, there's there's places 70 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:46.960 to put people. But first of all, I would I 71 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:50.560 would imagine that I don't care where you're staying. If 72 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:53.560 you're not staying in your own home, you're not staying 73 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:54.599 where you want to be. 74 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:58.759 Okay, So listen, we lost our home in the fire. 75 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:02.360 We lost three businesses and fire we had to evacuate 76 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:05.199 five times. So what what I mean by that is 77 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:07.479 when we were at our home, we saw the we 78 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:10.439 saw the fire start. We started the fire approach our 79 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:14.039 home and it was about two buildings away. At that 80 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.680 point we said, okay, time to leave. We we evacuated. 81 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:21.360 We went to another location. When the fire got there, 82 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:23.319 We're like, let's get out of here. So we evacuated 83 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:31.439 five times total. Now with now, yeah, with that said, 84 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:37.240 it's I mean, like you fast forward one year later, 85 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:40.399 everyone's just trying to get on with their life. But 86 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:44.240 it's really hard, man. Some people are stuck and when 87 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:48.240 something grand like this happens, to get stuck in that event, right, 88 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:51.680 Like if they're in divorced, if they lose a family member. 89 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:53.560 I'm not talking about this fire, I'm talking about it 90 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:56.079 in life and something huge happens, they get stuck in 91 00:04:56.120 --> 00:04:58.759 that event, right. So a lot of people are stuck 92 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:03.480 and they have really hard time moving on. And I 93 00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:06.199 see a lot of those people, right, I really struck. 94 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:08.319 Yes for some people, like did you just mentioned then, 95 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:11.759 who are moving into some shelters that's not home. I 96 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:15.240 mean it's not home. Like, we lived in a hotel 97 00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:17.920 for two months. We had to get out of there 98 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:21.560 because we weren't on vacation and people who were staying 99 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:24.120 in the hotel with us were on vacation. And I'm 100 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.360 not gonna, like, I'm not going to like judge them 101 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:29.120 for like having a good time or ordering drinks and 102 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:32.759 like they're on vacation and I'm in a hotel, right, 103 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:35.040 And so we got out of there as quickly as 104 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:38.199 we could. We found a home to live. But when 105 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:42.959 the fire happened, all of the renolds they increased two 106 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:45.360 to three times. I'm going to tell you what that means. So, 107 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:48.319 for instance, I was running a home before the fire happened. 108 00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:51.720 It was five thousand dollars right it's it's forty five hundred, 109 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:55.680 and we lived right across from the ocean. Now Reynolds 110 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:58.800 are going for the house that right now is ten 111 00:05:58.839 --> 00:06:01.959 thousand dollars, So it's you know, I don't know how 112 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:05.279 many people can afford ten thousand dollars, but I have 113 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:13.079 the least spensive rental on Maui or bedroom on Maui 114 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:16.040 on the west side of Mountain, because right now the 115 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.319 two houses that are on my streets are running for 116 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:21.720 eighteen and twenty one thousand dollars a money. Now, I 117 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:24.920 don't know about you, Ben, but that's a ton of 118 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:27.040 money to pay on a monthly basis. 119 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:29.079 Yeah, I mean, it's my man. I would guess it's 120 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:32.079 almost impossible for anybody who's not already made a money, 121 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:34.800 which you know, a lot of people who are just 122 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:38.879 regular people living in Maui aren't made of money. I mean, sure, 123 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:41.560 there's celebrities who go there and buy millions and millions 124 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:44.399 of dollars, you know, in terms of estates, and stuff. 125 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:46.759 But yeah, the average person's not not walking up with 126 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:49.279 eighteen grand a month and going I'd like to live here, please. 127 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:52.879 Yeah, they don't even qualify for the rental, you know that, 128 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:56.319 Like you go apply for the rentals, they don't even qualify. 129 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:59.600 They didn't make sure the Yeah, no, no, the renolds 130 00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:01.920 are you have to get them through FEMA or you 131 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:04.079 have to get them through the county, and those are 132 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:06.720 far and few between. So there's a lot of people 133 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:10.199 who are who are being lost to shuffle and it's unfortunate. 134 00:07:10.560 --> 00:07:13.040 And you know who's speaking really lost to shuffle is 135 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:18.839 the teenagers. The teenagers because right now there is very 136 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:22.480 little mental health and whether anyone wants to talk about 137 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:24.279 it or not, but let me just tell you something. 138 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:26.720 Whenever a crisis it's a family, right, it could be 139 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:28.680 it could be loss of life, It could be lost 140 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:32.240 your home and a fire. It could be you know, hurricane, tornado, whatever, Right, 141 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:36.639 it could be flood. Right when something when something significant 142 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:40.360 happens and it changes the course of your life, that's 143 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:43.759 when trauma occurs, right, trauma. Right, But right now we 144 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:47.839 have very little attention on mental health care, and there's 145 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:49.959 a lot of kids who are suffering from that right now, 146 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:52.319 and it's a shame. And I'm only mentioning that because 147 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:54.600 a lot of our teenagers need that. We have a 148 00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:59.839 huge emphasis right now on bringing trauma therapists into our 149 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:02.759 community to provide that kind of care for our kids, 150 00:08:02.839 --> 00:08:06.680 because it's it's not being aggressive. 151 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:10.319 So anyway, one of the one of the reasons I 152 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:13.360 wanted to do a check here on how things was going. 153 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:15.360 There was a little bit of a selfishness to it. 154 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:18.759 And I alluded to this before we brought you on earlier, 155 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:22.879 back in uh many years, many many years ago. I 156 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:26.360 actually I worked in Hawaii. I was actually a DJ 157 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:30.800 on a cruise ship out of Honolu and we thankfully, 158 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:33.759 by the way, Maui's my favorite island that we that 159 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:35.840 we visited because we were there two days a week. 160 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:38.200 We were there two days a week. We docked over 161 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:41.120 in ka Alui, which is where I had my mail delivered. 162 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:43.879 So technically, at least according to the post office, that's 163 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:46.639 where I lived, although it was hard to live in 164 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:48.279 a little post office. 165 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:48.600 Yeah. 166 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:51.840 But but of course, you know, we would come over 167 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:56.159 to Lahaina, whether we would have lunch or we just 168 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:00.320 drive over there. We'd go up Alaiakala. Sometimes we'd over 169 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:04.320 to Hannah. We would snorkele up on Kinapali, off the 170 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:06.480 off the beaches there by the hotels. I mean. So, 171 00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:09.480 I mean, I'm of all the islands in Hawaii and 172 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:11.919 and and certainly I saw, you know, many of them. 173 00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:16.240 Maui is is is is my favorite for a number 174 00:09:16.279 --> 00:09:18.360 of reasons, not the least of which is it's a 175 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:21.200 really beautiful island. But I spent the most time there 176 00:09:21.639 --> 00:09:25.080 of any island. And so when I heard, uh, you know, 177 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:29.200 and obviously not about me, but when I heard thea 178 00:09:29.799 --> 00:09:33.639 was burned to the ground, it was like, holy you know, 179 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:34.960 somebody could have hit me in the side of the 180 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:37.159 head with a baseball bat and it wouldn't have hurt anymore. 181 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:41.559 Yeah, you know, it was really unfortunate, man, And I 182 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:42.720 just wish there was. 183 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:45.480 Yeah. Well, and I still know people who live there 184 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:47.559 and and and worked there longer than I did. I mean, 185 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:49.240 this was many, many, many years ago. 186 00:09:49.720 --> 00:09:49.840 Uh. 187 00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:52.799 But you know, when you go somewhere and you work 188 00:09:52.840 --> 00:09:54.799 and you know people, and you've met people, and you've 189 00:09:54.840 --> 00:09:58.039 you've gone to these places, and and even someone who 190 00:09:58.080 --> 00:09:59.879 just goes there from vacation for a week, probably fe 191 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:03.039 in their heart about Lahaida. But I mean this was 192 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:05.919 a place I went every week for two days a 193 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:09.799 week and you know, fell in love with because everybody 194 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:13.679 does unless they're crazy. So yeah, I mean my heart 195 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:16.679 bleeds for you guys, knowing that you A went through 196 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:20.879 this and b that you're still going through this. I mean, 197 00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:24.200 the ocean still looks blue and it's beautiful, but holy cow, 198 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:26.879 I can't even imagine you know, what you're seeing on 199 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:27.519 the shore there. 200 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:31.840 Yeah, No, it's still beautiful here. It's still wonderful. Like 201 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:33.919 I'm actually at the beach right now with some friends 202 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:37.080 that are visiting from the mainland right now. But I'm 203 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:40.639 always I will always stake time to talk about what's 204 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:44.919 happening here, because yeah, I mean, everyone's for gonden about 205 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:45.639 what's happening here. 206 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:46.360 And I don't blame the. 207 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:49.120 I'm not criticizing anyone for like, forgetting or moving on, 208 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:52.759 because it's just what happens, right, But I will tell 209 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:56.240 you that there there was over you know, over seven 210 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:59.919 thousand people who were displaced fire right and a lot 211 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:02.480 of those people had to move. They didn't want to, 212 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:03.159 but they had to. 213 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:03.679 Right. 214 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:06.759 We have a ton of families who are still living 215 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:10.960 in these you know, subpar you know housing, you know structures. 216 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:13.759 Because we're an island, we can't just move to the 217 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:16.360 next city. We don't have that. You know, when on 218 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:18.440 the mainland, if a tornado hits, what do they do 219 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:20.919 They just drive to the next town right where the 220 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:24.600 tornado didn't affect it. We don't have that capability. And 221 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:27.240 that's just that's just the way it is, right So, 222 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:30.799 but you know, there's just there's there's a lot of 223 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:33.320 people who are still suffering. There's a lot of people 224 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:36.039 who still need us son of help. There's a lot 225 00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:39.360 of kids. There's a lot of kids need a lot 226 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:41.759 of help because when parents are in crisis, kids are 227 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:45.559 and right now that's our big focus right now. There's 228 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:47.919 a lot of kids just need a ton of help. 229 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:51.960 Even if there was no fire that ever happened, right zero, 230 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:54.600 think about them. Think about when you were a teenager, 231 00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:58.279 you just you just don't know, Like there's just so 232 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:02.279 many questions about life. You know, you're question yourself. You're 233 00:12:02.279 --> 00:12:04.919 like you wonder if you're good enough, you wonder if 234 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:07.679 you're enough you want to like those are kids are 235 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:09.759 still dealing with that. Plus to dealing with the fact 236 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:12.080 that you want their homes when they're dealing with the 237 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:14.200 fact that they all lot their their parents lost their job. 238 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:15.840 They're dealing with the fact that their parents don't get 239 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:17.919 along anymore because they don't know if they're going to 240 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:22.080 be able to live here anymore. And that's really difficult, right. So, 241 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:25.639 you know, I don't blame anyone for like rushing over 242 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:27.759 here and trying to help. That's not what I'm trying 243 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:33.799 to do. I'm just trying to just explain what's happening here, because, uh, 244 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:37.000 you know, when people realize, like, hey, there's still a 245 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:40.600 lot of families kids, I my kids, they have friends 246 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:43.360 who are living in a hotel and who are still 247 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:44.960 expected to go to school. 248 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:45.600 And it's bad. 249 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:48.960 It breaks my heart because it's really people realize like 250 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:50.799 they're like, oh, you're in a hotel, you're in a resort, 251 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:52.679 you're living on the beach. It's cool, no, but you 252 00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:55.240 don't realize you have to get to the you have 253 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:59.000 to walk to the parking structure which is minutes away, 254 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:01.480 and you have to get in your car, you have 255 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:03.879 to drive off, you have to park in the parking 256 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:06.759 structure again, and none of this feels like home. You're 257 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:10.960 not stucking down my ties, enjoying life. You're only worried 258 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:14.000 about when you have to leave. No one tells you 259 00:13:14.039 --> 00:13:16.639 when you have to leave. That's a really hard part 260 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.679 because you know, usually you have like a leaf right 261 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:22.799 or you have a mortgage, and that tells you how 262 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:23.759 long you have to live there. 263 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:24.840 This is different. 264 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:27.480 No one tells you how long you get to stay 265 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:31.159 in your current residence. So it could be tomorrow, it 266 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:33.639 could be today, it could be three weeks, and that 267 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:37.080 becomes really really stressful for a lot of parents. So 268 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:41.000 you know, I just want to tell people what's happening 269 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:44.120 on Maui and that I just I also want to 270 00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:47.840 think we want people to still come to visit Malle. 271 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:52.360 Our economy depends on tourism. And I know it sounds like, 272 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:54.039 you know, you're speaking out of both sides your mouth. 273 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:58.000 That's that's the fact of the matter. We need to WURSM. 274 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:00.600 But yet we're still recovering, and that's it's going to 275 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:03.679 be that way for years. That's the unfortunate truth. 276 00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:05.480 Well, Alfie, we wish you all the best, and I 277 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:07.679 know the website will direct people there so they can 278 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:09.919 check it out. And yeah, go visit Maui if you can. 279 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:12.000 I mean, who doesn't want to visit Hawaii? And it's 280 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:14.159 beautiful there, and it's you know, it's still beautiful. And 281 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:15.759 the people, by the way, I got to say this, 282 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:17.480 and I'm not saying this to uh, you know, to 283 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:19.240 kiss up to you or anything, but you know, the 284 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:22.639 people there are just such wonderful people in Hawaii. You 285 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:24.759 don't know until you go in and and and hang 286 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:26.840 out with them. 287 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:28.039 You know what, I'm going to say this, and then 288 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:30.679 we can go. When people come to Maui, they realize 289 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.639 it can be kinder. You can be more patient, they 290 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:36.600 can be more generous because everyone else is. They feel 291 00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:39.840 like they've been giving they been given permission to be 292 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:43.720 the kindest version of themselves. Everyone's waiting for permission to 293 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:46.159 be kinder. And when they come to Maui to finally 294 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:48.639 find that, when they go back home, they're like, Okay, 295 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:50.360 I can't be that way. I got to haunt my horn. 296 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:52.279 I got to be even patient. When they come to 297 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:55.600 Mawi they can find us, so like, yes, that's what 298 00:14:55.679 --> 00:14:58.519 you can find. And it's a wonderful place to come 299 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:00.759 and invite everyone to come out here and enjoy it, 300 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:04.840 experience it. But we're still recovering. But it's gonna take 301 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:06.879 a while. But you know what all over the world 302 00:15:06.919 --> 00:15:09.759 is people suffering bad things that happen to everyone. So 303 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:13.799 I'm not trying to tell anyone like what was you know, No, man, 304 00:15:14.440 --> 00:15:17.720 bad things happen to everyone. Now it's our turn. We're 305 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:20.120 going to figure it out. It's gonna take a little while, 306 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:24.120 so I appreciate you taking a few moments to focus 307 00:15:24.200 --> 00:15:26.720 on us. Thank you, Ben, thank you for your listeners, 308 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:29.440 and you know, thank you for taking the time to 309 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:30.240 be interesting though. 310 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:32.919 Absolutely by the way, Alfie, as I let you go, 311 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:35.559 there's a couple of things that I haven't said in 312 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:37.559 a long time because you know, I'm not working in 313 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:40.960 Hawaii anymore, but I've always wanted to say it while 314 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:44.000 I was here. So mahalo for joining us. And aloha 315 00:15:44.080 --> 00:15:44.480 my friend. 316 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:48.840 Hey, aloha my friend. I really appreciate you. Gay, thank 317 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:51.840 you for not forgeting about us. Okay, thank you? 318 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:54.559 All right? There he is? That is That is Alfie 319 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:58.000 best Soto. He is with rebuild Maui dot org. It's 320 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:59.840 the website we build Malui dot org. Go ahead, check 321 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:03.279 it out. They're rebuilding Maui. That's gonna take a long 322 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:04.720 time to do it, and I just thought that we 323 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:06.360 should get an update. It's been a year since the 324 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:09.559 wildfires that everybody seemed to be glued to their TVs 325 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:12.639 and cell phones and whatever on, and they're still there 326 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:14.559 and they're still trying to get things back together. And yes, 327 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:17.759 I have a personal issue there because of working in 328 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:20.080 Hawaii so many years ago and spending so much time 329 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:22.360 in Maui. But I figured i'd share with you and 330 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:24.320 maybe you could share with somebody else. Not right, We'll 331 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:26.559 be back as we continue. Ben Parker filling in for 332 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:28.200 Dan Ray on Nightside. 333 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:32.720 Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World 334 00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:35.919 night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio. 335 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:38.720 That's not true. Not back to Dan Ray. Ben Parker 336 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:41.360 filling in for Dan Ray on Night's Side on this 337 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:45.360 Tuesday evening. We unpacked a whole bunch of stuff this 338 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:48.919 evening and we still have another half hour ago before 339 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:53.480 we're done. We did talk about and we'll take phone 340 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:54.919 calls if you want to talk about any of the 341 00:16:54.919 --> 00:16:58.480 things we talked about tonight, including the picking of Tim 342 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:02.879 Walls as Kamala Harris's vice presidential running mate. We also 343 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:05.200 talked a little bit about the Olympics this evening. Were 344 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:06.920 you watching them? Are you watching them? Do you care? 345 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:10.359 Do you not care? Who knows? And we, of course 346 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:12.319 we just talked about Maui. There's not really much to 347 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:15.720 call in on on that particular topic, but I did 348 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:17.759 want to just kind of revisit, and I thank Alfi 349 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:20.240 for joining us. Did you notice, by the way, when 350 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:21.559 we were talking to Alfie and he said I was 351 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:24.559 at the beach, it sounded like the beach. God, I 352 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:28.279 missed the beaches of Maui. Spent almost a year there 353 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:30.440 back in the early nineties as a DJ on a 354 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:32.039 cruise ship, and it was a lot of fun. And 355 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:33.640 I met a lot of great people working on the 356 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:36.000 cruise ship. I met a lot of great people who 357 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:39.440 came as tourists on the cruise ship, and a whole 358 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:44.440 lot of great people in Hawaii that you know, lifelong friendships. 359 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:47.359 In fact, some still I am friends with so And 360 00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:49.359 by the way, I'm gonna throw this out there too. 361 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:51.839 You didn't ask, but I'm going to tell you that 362 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:55.519 the first time because we just had if you remember, 363 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:59.839 in April we had the full solar eclipse. A lot 364 00:17:59.880 --> 00:18:01.720 of went saw it. They went up and saw it 365 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:04.240 across parts of northern New England and other parts of 366 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:06.079 the country. I went up to Vermont to see it 367 00:18:06.680 --> 00:18:11.000 because I wanted to see a full solar eclipse again, 368 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:13.680 because in nineteen ninety one that is the first place 369 00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:15.480 I ever saw one out the middle of the ocean 370 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:16.480 on a cruise ship. 371 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:17.359 That's great. 372 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:20.799 Hey, look look who's on the telephone? Figured out how 373 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:23.200 to call me tonight? Glenn's and brighton? Hey there, Glenn? 374 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:24.000 Hi? 375 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:26.440 Ben? Have it took to you in two years? I know? 376 00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:28.279 Well, you don't call me anymore, and that's it makes 377 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:29.319 me sad. But go ahead. 378 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:33.240 Oh oh, before I get to my call, what how 379 00:18:33.240 --> 00:18:37.720 do you spell team's last name? Kamala Harris's pick w 380 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:42.519 A l z Oh. I thought it was waos h 381 00:18:42.759 --> 00:18:43.519 like Marty Walsh. 382 00:18:44.599 --> 00:18:47.759 Its walls yeah, walls? Yeah? 383 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:48.640 Yeah? 384 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:51.880 All right? Are were you're going? You writing him a letter? 385 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:53.359 No? 386 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:55.640 Okay, thought maybe you were writing him a letter and 387 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:57.400 you wanted to get the spelling right before you dropped 388 00:18:57.400 --> 00:18:58.119 it in the mailbox. 389 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:03.160 Yeah. I'm not on his side politically, so that's not 390 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:04.079 one I didn't want to. 391 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:06.400 It's all right, you don't have to be. You don't 392 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:08.279 have to be on anybody's side politically. Last time I 393 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:10.480 checked your word in American. I'm an American. Everybody's American. 394 00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:13.079 We're all friends here, and we can we can be adults. 395 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:14.759 We can be the adults in the room if if 396 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:17.559 other people don't want to be that right. 397 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:20.319 Uh yeah, I called on the Mount rush Oh on 398 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:21.240 the Mount Rushmore. 399 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:23.000 Oh yeah, we didn't get to well, we didn't get 400 00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:25.079 to that exactly yet because we're going to start after 401 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:27.759