Tucson Festival of Books (from their website)

Saturday, March 10, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 11, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The University of Arizona Campus, Main Mall, between Campbell Avenue and Old Main, on E. 3rd Street/University Blvd.

www.tucsonfestivalofbooks.org for full schedule, and list of which authors will be present.

2012 Tickets & admission
General attendance is free!

We suggest arriving at least 10 minutes early to each venue to ensure seats are available. Seating in each venue is on a first-come, first-served basis.

2012 parking
Parking on the U of A campus is free on the dates of the Festival. All garages and surface lots are free except the Second Street Garage, which is reserved for authors and moderators.

‘Get your program!’
The Festival’s program will be a special section inserted into the Arizona Daily Star on Sunday, March 4. Additional copies will also be available at Information booths at the Festival.

Yes, I’ve been to this wildly popular book event for the 3 previous years, listening to various authors speak about their poetry, prose, etc. as well as helping out at our Tucsoncitizen.com booth last year. There’s also lots of music, food for sale, children’s activities.

And since the last 3 festivals have been packed, may I suggest people catch the Sun Tran bus (routes # 4 and # 3 run right by the UA) to this event, or bicycle, walk, carpool, etc. Parking will be tight.

“Where Words & Imagination come to life”.

So what is love? I’ll know it if I see it, and I thankfully see it around me with my husband, son, friends, family, etc.

If you’re lucky enough to be in love this Valentine’s Day, express it in the Hawaiian way, by spreading a bit of “aloha” through our “aloha spirit”. What does that mean?

“Aloha” is the Hawaiian word for love (and hello & goodbye), but we use it to express actions “me ke aloha” (with love, caring).

So “aloha spirit” is our local Hawaiian way of extending kindness & caring — without expecting anything back. Lots of people practice it back home on all of the 8 main islands…Oahu (where the Capital city of Honolulu is located), Hawaii Island where I am from, Kauai & Maui (islands I worked on), Molokai, Lanai, and the 2 smallest isles Niihau & Kahoolawe (both off limits to tourism).

Once I rented a car back home in Hawaii & was worried on the last day that the car was a bit too dirty to return without washing off some of the mud that had accumulated on it. (Rains a lot on the Big Island of Hawaii). So I asked a woman operating a lunch wagon for some water. She didn’t have any to give me in a cup, but handed me a bottle of water, free of charge. I thanked her and used the bottled water to wash off the car with my hands. Then I ran back to her wagon & left her a $1 tip in the jar and said “mahalo” (thanks) for her “aloha spirit.”

And I’ve written this before (which many of you may not believe) but on Hawaii Island, if you get in a traffic jam, it’s bad form to honk your horn — it’s not polite, just not the “aloha way” of doing things.

Last week here in Tucson, while riding the Sun Tran bus, I observed several riders assist a blind rider who needed to be informed when his stop was imminent. And later I overheard another rider giving his $3.50 day pass to someone else to use again, since he was done riding for the day and it was only about 12 noon. Now that’s spreading “aloha”.

So today, Valentine’s Day, how about practicing a little bit of “aloha” by spreading some of your caring to others in Southern Arizona?

The Hawaiian group Mana’o Company sang this popular “Spread a Little Aloha” song:

Let me know if anything interesting happens — in the comment section below. Random acts of kindness definitely qualify.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

And Happy Birthday to the State of Arizona, turning 100 today.

This public forum is sponsored by the Tucson BUS RIDERS UNION Organizing Committee, call 520-624-0312 for more info.

I ride Sun Tran bus to go downtown to hear cases at Small Claims Court and do other work. After years of riding on the bus I well know that most of the people I ride with need public transportation at a low cost, as they are students (elementary, middle, high school, college), unemployed, disabled, commuters that can’t afford a car or the high cost of parking at a garage, those who don’t own a car/truck, job seekers, housewives & househusbands, families, bike riders, newcomers, etc.

Parking downtown is difficult & costly, plus using public transportation is environmentally sound. And I think that people in Tucson are too dependent on their cars, and need to explore alternatives such as biking, walking, using the bus or the proposed modern street car when it is built, taxi vouchers. Cars also are costly: the initial purchase, insurance, ongoing maintenance, fees & taxes, rising gas prices, radar enforced traffic tickets.

Perhaps the top City of Tucson officials –who live in the City– shouldn’t have car allowances but instead be provided with monthly bus passes (about $42/month), which would be a lot cheaper for the City budget. And this policy would actually support the City’s public transportation system – Sun Tran.

More info on Sun Tran: www.suntran.com.