It’s cold, but not that cold

We really have zero reason to complain, and we’re not — but baby, it’s cool outside. For Hawaii, temperatures ranging from a nighttime low of about 54 degrees to daytime highs of below-80 mean extra blankets at night and warmer jackets even in the sunshine. The cool, dry and gusty weather was expected to continue for a couple more days.

But real cold is hitting the U.S. Midwest in the form of Winter Storm Jayden, which now seems headed for the South and East. At least two deaths were reported in Iowa and one in Illinois; some 1,700 flight have been canceled; Georgia closed state offices and several school districts today; and a state of emergency was declared in Wisconsin and Alabama. Lucky we live Hawaii.

Reaching out to a man named John Cruz

For Kaneohe and Kailua residents, he was known only as Mango Man — a homeless figure in dreadlocks and an Army jacket, standing silently by the road, both part of their community and apart from it.

But, as Star-Advertiser reporter Dan Nakaso reported on Monday, over the years good Samaritans have restored his name and a good measure of his dignity. John Cruz, 69, a soft-spoken Vietnam veteran, now has a temporary home in Kaneohe, thanks to gofundme.com donations and help from his landlord, Frank Medrano.

Cruz still faces many challenges, but his changed circumstances show the power of human kindness — and of our essential humanity.