Friends call after earthquake to make sure all was well

YOU JUST DON'T realize how valuable electricity is until you lose it for 12 hours.

That's how long it took to get mine back at Harbor Square Sunday after the earthquakes. After getting up I plunged into my disaster bag and found it lacking. The portable radio didn't work and some flashlight batteries were outdated. A big help was a battery powered lantern I received at Greg Gomes' St. Louis Education Foundation Golf Tourney. Calls came in to see if all was OK. My young, healthy neighbor Kevin Andreshak offered any help needed. Nery Heenan called and said she was checking on all of her friends who live in high-rises. She and husband Dave Heenan, a Campbell Estate trustee, were making do with canned tuna and fruit as I was, along with some poi, bread and Gatorade. No wine with my "dinner" as I wanted to keep a clear head, especially after injuring a toe after whacking it on a box in the darkened condo. Limping along, I had that glass of wine when the lights came on. Jade Sen called saying people were standing in long lines to get food and manapua at Chinatown eateries that were cooking with gas. In Waikiki, Li May Tang and her Shanghai Bistro staff got out their gas-powered woks and set up for business on the sidewalk outside the Discovery Bay restaurant. Longtime pal Frank Steinmiller rang up to see how it was going. He and wife Virginia have a gas stove in their Kailua home so they ate well, but they worried about food in their two freezers ...

Daniel Ho performs again with Tia Carrere

VERSATILE musician Daniel Ho is back for Saturday's Hawaii Arts Alliance show at the Hawaii Theatre after performing Saturday at the Spirit Awards with Actress Tia Carrere in L.A. Tia was a singer when she attended Sacred Hearts in the '80s and Daniel was in St. Louis at the same time. He backed her in the St. Louis Jazz Band and he also played for her in Brown Bags to Stardom ... Drummer Peter Factora celebrated his 53rd birthday Wednesday night playing at Neiman's Mariposa with bassist Miles Jackson and guitarist Dave "Yama" Yamasaki. The trio plays at Mariposa Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Peter comes from a family of drummers. He started beating the skins when he was just 10 years old and was a professional at 14 ...

Ben Wood, who sold the Star-Bulletin in the streets of downtown Honolulu during World War II, writes of people, places and things in our Hawaii. E-mail him at bwood@starbulletin.com