Coffee Break

The Things That Make USA Special

Jerry Coffee — 2009-11-04T10:00:16+00:00

After a trip to Australia, I’ve decided the best part of the country is the people.

Our Puzzling Honduras Policy

Jerry Coffee — 2009-09-23T10:00:22+00:00

In 1982, when the people of Honduras drafted their current constitution - the 16th since their independence from Spain - they were especially mindful of the political history of Central America. Either governments didn’t last very long (coup d’etas were common) or governments lasted too long due to strongman takeovers followed by years of dictatorship.

Staying Vigilant Eight Years Later

Jerry Coffee — 2009-09-16T10:00:20+00:00

I pen this column on 9-9-09, two days before the eighth anniversary of 9-11-01, the day of the radical Islamic terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. Our secretary, who habitually arose earlier than we in order to get kids off to school, called us around 6:30 that morning: “Jerry, are you guys watching TV?”

New Knees For Lucy And Me

Jerry Coffee — 2009-09-02T10:00:40+00:00

It was a football Friday-kind of afternoon in the northern Florida fall of 1962, and our squadron flag-football team had enjoyed a successful season. We were looking forward to a fun-filled game and one final victory before beer and barbecue with the opposing team.

From Dumbbell English To Columnist

Jerry Coffee — 2009-07-22T10:00:00+00:00

As a junior in high school in Central California, my classmates and I were required to take the junior composition exam and the junior comprehensive math test to determine who would need remedial classes - a semester each - as a senior.

When A Pooch Tears Up A Knee

Jerry Coffee — 2009-07-15T10:00:00+00:00

Some longtime Coffee Break readers may recall my column about the dogs in my life, from black cocker Ribbons, to oversized Sheltie Prince, to Hawaiian poi pups Boats and Buddy, to the present yellow Labmix siblings Rufus and Lucy. To me, all the dogs in my family have been ... well, family.

A Final Word On Islam And Women

Jerry Coffee — 2009-07-01T10:00:00+00:00

In my first MidWeek column more than five years ago, I iterated what my readers could expect. I said, among other things, “no political correctness.”

An Upbeat Auto Confab In Detroit

Jerry Coffee — 2009-06-17T10:00:00+00:00

There are those of us who have had the good fortune to meet with strength and beauty, with majestic force in which we were willing to entrust our lives.

Honoring The ‘Marine’s Marine’

Jerry Coffee — 2009-06-03T10:00:00+00:00

The setting was spectacular. Looking south from the Hangar 5 tarmac across the shallows of Kaneohe Bay toward the steep Windward cliffs of the Ko’olau, each type of the base’s operational aircraft was represented in static display.

Just What We Need, Islam Day

Jerry Coffee — 2009-05-20T10:00:00+00:00

A few years ago, just before the Iraq war while Saddam Hussein was still neither denying nor confirming the presence of WMDs in his country, the Hawaii state Legislature - in the spirit of “make love, not war” - passed the infamous “Aloha to Saddam” resolution.