Sunday, January 29, 2012

Carroll Cox - Protecting Hawaii

A  L  O  H  A  !
What's Going On by Marvin Gaye on Grooveshark


This Beauty, These People,  Deserve Appreciation & Protection


 " At his best, 
man is the noblest of all animals;
separated from law and justice
he is the worst.  "

Aristotle











Courtesy: Carroll Cox
(please excuse the poor reproduction-
his originals GLOW with detail
and heart!)


" Always I fought
for what I thought
was right.
But never did I question
the character
of those with whom
I disagreed. "

Gabrielle Giffords













Bird Talk by Carroll Cox



" The cause is hidden;
the effect is visible to all. "

Ovid













Hawaiian Monk Seal, Carroll Cox


 " In matters of truth 
and justice,
there is no difference
between large and small
problems, 
for issues concerning 
the treatment 
of people 
are all the same.  "

Albert Einstein



















Deadly Sea Snake, Carroll Cox
KHON TV story with their kind permission


 " They have a right to censure 
that have a heart to help.  "

William Penn





 " Sense shines
with a double luster
when it is set in humility.
An able yet humble man
is a jewel worth a kingdom.  "

William Penn



Those Quotes are very appropriate
for the subject of today's post:

My Friend and Hero,
Carroll Cox


Broadcasting the Carroll Cox Show!


 " True godliness
does not turn men out of the world,
but enables them to live better 
in it 
and excites their endeavors
to mend it.  "

William Penn








     > < } } ( ° >


Carroll is such a FUN person 
to know!

He is a master photographer
of birds and wildlife,
a well known, and liked, character
much seen around coasts, harbors,
mountains, and all outdoors.

I admired him for a long time
before I ever met him.

And I was AWED at first!

This guy is a real life HERO
who effectively fights 
for what is RIGHT.

But Carroll laughs a LOT
and makes you laugh too,
often at the foibles 
of our public officials
because he always has
the inside "stuff."


This former Federal enforcement officer
as the founder & president of
documents and exposes:

Illegal toxic dumping by City, State, 
business & private individuals.

He effectively protects animals.

He repeatedly blows the lid off 
unreported stories
like treated fish being sold as "Fresh"
in local supermarkets.

Where there is malfeasance,
Carroll Cox and his cameras
(still & video)
sooner or later show up.


On a small island, 
people are often afraid to speak up. 
So Carroll gets LOTS of tips from
insider whistle-blowers
who want to keep their jobs, 
but do what's RIGHT
for the public they serve!


Carroll shoots and edits his stories,
   writes press releases
filled with great info,
and then he brings
the package
all wrapped up
to local TV stations,
who then run his stories
- often as EXCLUSIVES -
and action happens!



We really hit it off right away.
Can you tell that
I adore this guy?

Talking together
about growing up in the Sixties
there is a lot we have in common,
though I was ethnic in Philadelphia
and he was a "negro"
growing up in Mississippi.

Those were turbulent times. 


Carroll once told me
about sitting in church on Sundays
at the end of 
a lonely country lane
in that little Mississippi town.

Whenever the Sunday Silence
was broken by the rare sound of a car
the entire congregation knew
wordlessly
"This could be the time."
Because such churches were
firebombed
once upon those times.




 (c) Courtesy: West Cummington Church


 > < } } ( ° >







Lately we've discussed Gay Rights,
and my friend frankly spoke
of being raised to despise Homosexuals
by less antiseptic names.
(As, admit it, we all were)


I made some confessions to Carroll too
about MY upbringing, and
the things some people
in my world
said.


"Well one day I realized"
he told me,
"That demeaning Gays
was as wrong for us
as it was
for others 
to call us denigrating names.
It didn't feel right to me
to denigrate any other people!
That didn't make me popular
back then. "


Carroll went on:

"Rights are right
for EVERYBODY
or they are not
RIGHTS."


" Animals Too."


"AMEN"
Said I.


See why I love my brother Carroll?


 ><}}(°>


(^_^)

(*)>
/ )
           /"              
=^.^=



Do yourself a favor,
go check out the EnviroWatch
site

You will be blown away
by all the material there!
From hard evidence,
viewed thousands of time per month
by people all over the world,
to amazing Hawaii videos
like THIS one of those Whales
in Honolulu Harbor
a few weeks ago.



"Well, do you think the world
is ending this year?"
I asked Carroll.




He laughed
and quickly added:
"Nope, I'm too excited
about life
and all the great things
happening!"




Carroll knows more than most
of us do
about what's REALLY
Going On;

He fights hard 
and effectively-
a true Rainbow Warrior.

But he politely declines
awards
and accolades.


He graciously did ride
in Honolulu's
Martin Luther King Day
Parade
a few years back
as Grand Marshal.

It was the only time
I saw him look serious
for more than a few minutes!

But I know
that he didn't want to
be in that car.

He did it for those
who asked him
and for the kids.
He accepted it for his 
work, his mission.


He did his duty that day
(as always)
and then returned to his
life of laughs
caring
and advocacy
for the voiceless.




My dear friend
Carroll Cox;
Hawaii's friend
and yours!




Thank you for joining us today.
Your comments make it all shine!
                                         Warmly, cloudia

28 comments:

Indrani said...

Nice to know your friend. Great pictures.

Akelamalu said...

Loving the seal pic.

Joop Zand said...

The first shot is really fantastic.

have a nice sunday

Bye, Joop

Lynn said...

What a wonderful man! I'm glad you showcased him here today.

And if I was a bird, I'd live in Hawaii, too.

Birdman said...

" The cause is hidden;
the effect is visible to all. " Like this. Saving it. Also a fine tribute to the man.

Anonymous said...

This is a very nice tribute to your friend. I must admit that his name was unfamiliar to me, but not anymore! Mahalo, Cloudia.

Pearl said...

Carroll sounds like a wonderful man. How wonderful -- for you both!! -- that you are friends!

Pearl

21 Wits said...

Thanks for sharing this! Carroll Cox is a man worth knowing....!

Dianne said...

a true hero!!
we need more and more of him
and you my friend

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Your friend Carroll sounds like a very fine man Cloudia and I can see why you admire him so much and how you both hit if off so well. I'm happy to know him through you.

Charles Gramlich said...

It would be pretty scary to be sitting in church and having to think about being fire bombed. Wow.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Cox sounds like a great guy for humanity. Might he be able to help with the Koala Road evictions, or did the landowner really decide to be honorable? Try Sam's Club photo section to produce some of YOUR photos for da walls! DrumMajor

Full-On-Forward said...

YOU fix hearts! Everyday by giving us Gold like this!

I Love your Friend!

HFTEC,

J

I want a Sea Snake!

DeniseinVA said...

He is my hero now, thank you Cloudia, for introducing this amazing guy to us.

Gemel said...

Lovely birds, beautiful seal.
Bless the little snake, seems it had met with a grisly end (?) We have those here too..

Heidi said...

Wow, what a wonderful post. Your friend Carroll is admirable. All the best to him for his conquest. Enjoy your Sunday.

Windsmoke. said...

A Bonza tribute to your friend Carroll Cox. The Albert Einstein quote rings true :-).

FilipBlog said...

The tall palm trees and the blue sky is great.

Greetings,
Filip

Elephant's Child said...

What a wonderful friend you are to a wonderful man. Thank you for introducing him to us.

Anonymous said...

Seems as if he owns a lever to lift the world.

May time and life continue to treat you all kind.



daily athens photo

Mike Golch said...

Great posting,thanks for sharing it.

Cloudia said...

Thank YOU for visiting today!

Commander Zaius said...

Great pictures and quotes.

Pietro Brosio said...

Nice post! I like the palms & the rainbow picture!

Cloudia said...

Grazie! Bello BEllo

magiceye said...

A beautiful tribute to a great man! The world needs more like him...

namaste /\ from mumbai
aloha!

Kay said...

Very interesting, Cloudia. I've never heard of Mr. Cox, but I enjoyed reading about him. What a wonderful man.

I have to say I don't think we were raised to hate gays. Art and I have both heard of the term "mahu" but didn't think of it as anything hateful. I had a couple of good friends in high school who were gay and it was all cool. I was sad to hear that Donald eventually died of AIDS. Sighh... so sad. I didn't know when he gave me a last hug when we visited that he only had a few months left.

Anonymous said...

What an inspirational post this is. Thank you. From the scary, to the sublime, to the aloha we share: you DO do us all a good turn. "Fixing hearts", your friend said? I would most heartily agree. It is a joy and a treasure to be your friend these past three years.