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Wood Craft
Ben Wood
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Performers, Worthy Women, surprise highlight my 75th
TURNING 75 is big, just to be alive and kicking. But it's pure joy when
Mihana Souza and
Andrea Kia get a group of
Worthy Women together, along with
Charlie Beeck, Mariposa Manager
David Brown and some of the best singers, hula dancers and musicians in town to throw me a terrific party. It was held Thursday at Neiman's Mariposa. Mayor
Mufi Hannemann had his brothers,
Gus and
Nephi, bring me a proclamation calling Oct. 26
Ben Wood Day. Gus had the crowd of 100 rolling with his jokes. The big surprise came when I was resting before the party and received a call from
Michelle Doherty. I thought she was calling from her home in Miami and I heard knocking over the phone. Then I realized the knocking was at my apartment door. I opened it and there was Michelle. Wow! I used to date her mom 45 years ago when I was working in Germany. I learned about Michelle last spring. She came here in July and we bonded. She told me, "I came to Hawaii to find my dad and I found him." That's just fine with me ...
Melveen Leed, Augie Rey, Kimo Kahoano, Danny Kaleikini, Kristian Lei, Jimmy Borges, Kanoe Miller and
Kanoe Cazimero performed. Melveen and Augie sang deliciously long sets. The solid band was made up of
Miles Jackson on bass, drummer
Peter Factora,
Aaron Aranita on keyboard and guitarist
Shoji Ledward. Mihana sang and did a chant for me ...
Jim Nabors' songs bring tears to her eyes
JIM NABORS attended and a guest said she cries whenever Jim sings. When told that, Jim said, "Do I sing that bad?"
Daynin Dashefsky stood by me with a big basket of long-stemmed roses so I could give each woman arriving a rose. Cameraman
Dean Sensui of "Hawaii Goes Fishing" shot much of the event and photographers
Laurie Callies, Bob Asakura and
Nora Gentry snapped away. Guests included
Jack and
Cha Thompson,
Irwin "Yoka" Cockett, Candes Gentry, Neiman G.M.
Al Tomonari, Ram and
Pat Pederson, Alice Clay, Vicki Borges, Lori Tom, Jackie Smythe, Myra Brandt, Norm and
Ramsay Goldstein, Al Dacascos, Bobby Joy, David and
Wendy Nagaishi, Karl Kimoto, Mariese Montano-Smith, Linda Wong, Margaret Murchie, Jane Stubenberg, Rachel Simmons, Corky and
Hana Trinidad, many of my Roosevelt classmates and the incomparable Worthy Women and their mascot, "Giddyup" Beeck ...
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