Hawaii
DON'T give Maria Liu any gaffe about "Weekend Warriors." You may have read about her and her fellow air refueling squadron of the Hawaii Air National Guard returning home after a surprise detour from Bosnia to Yugoslavia, due to the sudden need for air refueling in the area. Liu, a cousin of former State Sen. Mike Liu, is a navigator in the guard, and naturally got singled out for news coverage about the return inasmuch as you don't see too many pretty Asian females coming back from war-torn zones. Unbeknownst to Liu, a former bartender at Havana Cabana, there was a former frequent customer of hers on the ground in the area while she was refueling planes. James Cachero, a Cabana regular, put down his cigar in favor of his camera and was in Macedonia and at the Kosovo border getting shots for Reuters. With him were two reporters, one from the New York Times and the other from the Christian Science Monitor, both of whom knew the words, "I'm a journalist -- don't shoot," in several languages, for which Cachero was grateful. He, too, is now back in Hawaii, his home base ... Message to Maria:
Yugo, girl
NOT everyone at Havana Cabana is talking Yugoslavia, these days, however. Many are looking forward to a cognac tasting tomorrow night that includes samples of Remy Martin VSOP, Remy XO and Louis XIII, all for just $30. And one guest will win a drawing for the $400 Baccarat Crystal bottle of Louis XIII ...
Pilots and Palm Pilots
HARBOR pilot David Lyman, proud of his new Palm Pilot, was showing off its flexibility. He and tug captain Ron Buelow both use the hand-held device to call up images of the stars overhead, the tides, etc. It can also store a few thousand addresses and phone numbers as well. Lyman asked for my number and address, printed it into his machine, then placed it alongside Buelow's, pressed a button and, bingo, it transferred by osmosis to Buelow's Palm Pilot without him doing a thing. Alas, Captain Lyman pushed the wrong button and it transferred every single address in his gadget to Buelow's. I hope he has better luck bringing in the Queen Elizabeth II ...THIS has been a busy time for the devout. We just emerged from Good Friday and Easter, are in the midst of Passover and on Thursday it's Buddha's birthday. Leaving anyone out? Oh yes, for the truly religious, baseball got underway in earnest yesterday, albeit in Mexico. The U.S. welcomes Major League baseball back today. My two wishes are that the Dodgers win it all, and that baseball players don't fall into the same plugola pit of race car drivers and golfers by wearing logos on their uniforms ...
FOR those who are wondering how sometime isle resident Mark Johnson, an American League umpire, did in the players' rankings of umpires, he scored in the top half -- barely. Still, he did better than his friend Ken Kaiser who the players voted worst umpire in the league. Most feel the vote was an attempt to besmirch Kaiser's reputation ...
Meeting of minds
NOBODY will remember, but it was just a week ago that "Baywatch" filming in Hawaii was pretty much conceded to be a dead issue. Especially after producer Greg Bonann unwisely called Teamsters boss Leo Reed a "bonehead" and said he was headed to Australia. At the time I predicted that filming would get the local concessions "Baywatch" was insisting upon. And I ended with the simple truism, "Hawaii as a locale would make a far easier sell than anywhere else." ...
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.