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Kokua Line
Question: Help! My trusty typewriter that I have been using since 1938 has a broken key. It says something about my ego, I guess, as the "I" key is broken. So far I've not been able to find anyone who can or will repair a manual typewriter. Any chance that you may have a reader who could help me? Manual typewriters restored
Answer: We opened the telephone directory Yellow Pages to page 1175, saw an ad with a picture of a typewriter -- albeit an electric one -- and lucked out.
Not only does PF Electric Typewriter & Time Clock Service repair manual typewriters, it sells them as well.
"We just sold one today," Celia Julio, who "does everything" at the shop at 2363 N. King St., said on the day we called.
Asked who would want a manual typewriter in this computer age, Julio said sales are mainly to older folks. But there are also those who want one "because they don't have electricity," she said. That was the case with the person from the Marshall Islands who made the most recent sale.
Still, there's not that big a demand for manuals, Julio admitted. She pointed out her shop mostly deals with electric typewriters and clocks. But business has been steady enough that the shop has been around for more than 40 years.
"The owner (Paul Fernandez, the PF in the company name) is a senior citizen" himself, who knows how to repair manuals, said Julio, who's worked for him for 19 years.
Q: For green waste pickups, do they accept banana tree stumps and leaves? They are so fibrous, I wonder if they can be shredded.
A: As long as they are cut into maximum three-foot-long sections and are tied into bundles weighing no more than 50 pounds, you can toss out your banana stumps and leaves with the trash, according to the city's recycling office.
That would hold for any other yard trimmings and organic materials. Call the refuse collection yard nearest you with specific questions about curbside pickup or refuse:
Honolulu, 523-4424;
Auwe
To the owners of a beautiful brown dog in Kaimuki. I pass your house every day and always notice your dog. Although you provide shelter, you need to give your dog more shade from the hot afternoon sun and for rainy days. I see your dog panting in the afternoon sun because there's nowhere to go for shade. Imagine switching places with your dog for a whole day to see what he or she must endure. -- No name(Call the Hawaiian Humane Society, 946-2187, with an address and details.
("We encourage people to call us if they see an animal they feel is being neglected, certainly if it is being abused, or even if it doesn't have adequate care," said HHS spokeswoman Eve Holt.
(Animal cruelty laws do state that an animal has to be provided with adequate food, water and shelter, she said. "It's hard to determine from the "auwe' exactly what the situation is with the dog. But give us an address and we will be happy to check it out.")
Mahalo
Mahalo to Mr. Frank Sato for mailing all my cards, a doctor's prescription and receipt back after I lost my wallet on March 16. Just getting those important cards back was most appreciated. -- Dorothy
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com