LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: People’s Voice

Dear Editor:

Shawn Miyake has retired! The community has finally found some peace. NOT!

Many questions are raised, over and above the sale of Keiro-Umbrella of Care. Such as: “What was his salary when he (so-called) retired?” “What was the retirement package (the golden parachute?) he was given by the board?”

Mo Nishida (Rafu Shimpo photo)

And his retirement doesn’t mean to me that all those past questions are retired either. Whose idea is/was it to pit the living care of the 600 against the “education” of the 125,000 families for the benefit of the 70,000 elders of our community? Why couldn’t you do both? Why did you opt to sell, when you could have done what Pacifica is doing now, leasing the programs out? And on and on.

There’s an old saying that the great Joe Lewis said about opponents that were hard to corner: “You can run, but you can’t hide.” Shawn, there is a way out that has heart in my book. Quit your running and trying to hide. Come out into the open and talk to us. Tell us what you thought and are thinking. I (we) may not agree, but at least we have to give you credit for respecting us enough to tell us to our face.

Finally, what do you think of the unspoken, unwritten promise of on/giri (duty/responsibility) to carry on the tender loving care of our less economically secure elders?

Kokoro kara, Mo Nishida