At Nakamakai (Children of the sea) receiving a lei from one of the junior mentors. They love having many generations of waterwomen/watermen around!

As a retired judge I am aware of the opportunity to give back to my community in unique ways.  Consistent with the Code of Judicial Conduct I want to continue to provide my community with service that makes a difference. Right now I serve as a mediator in a variety of  complex cases ranging from family law to professional licensing disputes to hospital ethics situations.  I also serve as a part time parole commissioner setting prison minimums, hearing parole applications and more. We travel the state monthly to all eight prison facilities on four islands and conduct hearings via video to two private prison facilities in Arizona (Saguaro and Red Rock). Periodically I present workshops or talks around the state and nationally regarding restorative and therapeutic justice themes and on resilience and vicarious trauma.  This community service model is one that retired judges and attorneys need to think through carefully.  For me I look for challenge and opportunities, not simply taking it easy.  I guess service is in my DNA.

I look out from my porch over a lovely part of the Pacific Ocean towards Tahiti some 2500 miles away.  That is called “Kealaikahiki” or the “road to Tahiti” historically. The Pacific including Oceania covers over 50% of the world’s surface with over 10,000 islands and some 40,000,000 people.   While there are many service opportunities right in my neighborhood and island state, I do travel regularly including the continental USA, Aotearoa/New Zealand and elsewhere.

An easy metaphor for me is that of being a “free range community servant”. Kind of like the six free range chickens that live in our back yard having a great time. They survive on grain, natural food sources, centipedes, garden scraps, roaches, random this and that.  I think community change agents, be they “free range” or tightly disciplined, can easily move horizontally and vertically throughout our communities in an informal way. We at times must make the “hard call” when needed, but do so with plenty of collegiality, thoughtfulness and hopefully humility because we may be dead wrong at times. I love finding natural leaders in my neighborhood and in my professional community where ever they are and nurturing them. These may range from small business people like my pharmacist to my general practitioner to new lawyers, law students,  a martial arts sensei, parents of all ages, to lots of coaches who just love youth and others. It is great to help someone embrace their “calling”.  I certainly reflect back happily on those leaders and servants who spoke life into me and gave me inspiration and called me out to do my very best.