It’s 1040 parade
till midnightTODAY is that remarkable time when those of us who have a view into downtown can watch the lineup of autos heading makai on Richards Street right up until midnight. It's not a formal parade, but a kind of gathering of procrastinating folks who wait until literally the last minute to put their federal taxes in the U.S. mail. Fortunately, the postal authorities annually find some "gruntled" workers -- what else would you call them? -- who stand outside the main Post Office downtown to accept through people's car windows their returns, and make sure they're postmarked before midnight. So, try to leave a few minutes earlier than usual if you're one of those folks. Sometimes that line of cars moves slowly ...
AND I thought I had an unusual Easter weekend, dining Sunday on calamari steak with pasta in Lahaina. Jimmy Borges and Shari Lynn compared notes and found that Jimmy (the Christian one) spent Friday night at a Passover Seder while Shari (the Jewish one) was enjoying a home-cooked ham with her family. Borges and Lynn not only will be comparing notes, but singing them when they get together on Mother's Day to do a musical tribute to Irving Berlin, whose birthday is the next day. Backed by Jim Howard on piano and Lyle Ritz on acoustic bass, "Borges and Lynn Sing Irving Berlin" at the Atherton Performing Arts Studio at 738 Kaheka St., doing some 50 of his tunes -- he wrote over 1,500 -- in two shows at 6 and 8 p.m. ...
INCIDENTALLY, Shari Lynn has begun a series of Sunday evening performances (backed by Les Peetz and J.R. Erb) at David Paul's in the Colony Surf East. No cover ... The Wall Street Journal is coming out with an advertising section focusing on Hawaii that, according to a brochure, will "promote the benefits of Hawaii's thriving business climate." To which marketing consultant Christie Adams reacted: "Earth to Wall Street Journal!" ...
Cliche of the Day
EDGING out "leveling the playing field" and "raising the bar" in the Cliche Sweepstakes is the meaningless phrase "is arguably." It rarely is used to indicate an argument should be forthcoming, and has become merely an abomination of "may be" or "might be." ESPN uses the phrase on nearly every newscast, an egregious tendency, and the very first piece of mail I opened yesterday was a copy of a new coffee table book called "Hawaii: Heaven on Earth," which featured, according to a press release, "nine of arguably the most beautiful models in Hawaii today." No argument here! The book, by the way, is the work of author Lisa Uyehara Dohrn and photographer Sri Maiava Rusden and published by Horizon Hawaii Inc. ...ANOTHER dreadful cliche is "What's up with that?" It's become a feature of sportscaster Russell Yamanoha on KHNL, who appears to be unaware that it stemmed from an old "Cheers" episode. In the segment, Cliff Clavin was attempting unsuccessfully to be a stand-up comedian and followed every observation with, "What's up with that?" ...
Take a Bow
AMONG those showing up at her Kaimuki home to wish Chang Shee Bow a happy 100th birthday was former U.S. Senator Hiram Fong and his wife, Ellen. Mrs. Bow was pleased that the Fongs turned up, along with 130 other guests, but was especially happy to find a letter with birthday wishes from President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mrs. Bow attributes her longevity to "never letting small things bother me." That, plus, "Eating an apple at night and avoiding cold drinks." ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
His columns run Monday through Friday.Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.