By Dave Donnelly
Monday, December 23, 1996
Hideto Kono, Alana Dung
Hideto Kono, Alana Dung
IT sounds like a variation on an old joke, but it really took place downtown recently. Three local businessmen - we'll call them Joe, Ed and Harry - were enjoying a beverage together when Ed realized he needed to make a phone call. Since the house phone was in use, he picked up Joe's cellular, walked to the back and made his call. When he returned he ordered a drink for Joe in thanks for the use of the phone. Joe was incensed that his phone had been used without his permission, refused the drink and drove off in a huff - a small car that looks like a Mercedes. Harry, meanwhile, found out Joe's cellular number and had the waitress place a call to it and when he answered from his car, she asked, "Is Ed there?" Word is that Joe hasn't come down off the ceiling yet ... One biz guy
did a number on ‘Joe’HE may be quite good at a number of things, but retiring isn't one of Hideto Kono's strong suits. He first retired as state director of economic development, then again after a term on the Public Utilities Commission and yet again as president of the Japan-America Institute of Management Science. Now, in his latest retirement, fellow members have chosen him to Gov. Ben Cayetano's "Blue Ribbon Panel on Living and Dying with Dignity." How about "Retiring with Dignity." ...
HAWAII Business magazine editor Jeff Barrus is back from a two-week fellowship in Japan, one of eight journalists nationally chosen for the honor. It was hardly a junket, however, reports Barrus. He had interviews and appointments from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. followed by a series of dinners and heavy tippling. One highlight was eating fugu, the fish so poisonous that if not properly cleaned can kill you. He also toured the home of Japan's deadliest yakuza family and met with an Osaka bureaucrat who took off his shoes and listened to polka music during their interview ...
LIKE so many families these days, Fred and Anne Lane send out Christmas letters informing friends of what they've been up to in the previous year. It was a big one for the Lanes in 1996, beginning in January with their 50th anniversary complete with Mayor Jeremy Harris declaring it Fred and Anne Lane Day. The Lanes end their note with a postscript: "Now that we're older and wiser, we realize that the 'over the hill' adage isn't necessarily so. We've decided that age is a relative thing and we have a clear choice in how we handle it. Therefore, we resolve in 1997 to nurture a more positive and happier outlook. And we'll stop thinking we're getting senile just because we forgot something trivial or seemingly insignificant. PPS: Hope this card arrives in time. We seem to have misplaced the address book." ... Lane changes
HAVING gone through a personal toss of the coin and come out a winner when she underwent treatment for a rare form of leukemia, Alana Dung has been chosen to participate in the official coin toss for the 15th anniversary Jeep Eagle Aloha Bowl Football Classic Christmas Day. Said Bowl director Lenny Klompus about 2-year-old Alana, "Her enduring spirit of hope and optimism is really what Christmas is all about." This will be her first "official" post-operation appearance ... Unable to attend the game this year is Don Murphy, who's visiting his mother in Oklahoma. His Murphy's Bar & Grill will be closed tomorrow through Thursday ...
KNOWING that many holiday parties involve lots of eating and drinking, Straub has come out with a holiday survival skills guide that has one chapter title that's precious: "Eat, Drink and be Wary." ... You might take that to heart if you're going to be enjoying the "seasons greetings" which celebrity chef Shigefumi Tachibe of Chaya Brassiere of Beverly Hills will bring to the "Grand Chefs on Tour" program at the Kea Lani . He'll be presenting signature dinners and cooking demonstrations at the Wailea resort from Dec. 29-31, and various California vintners will also be bringing their wares to the event. So don't forget the "Be Wary" advice ... Seasoned greetings
