Hawaii
THERE were some prayers answered at St. Theresa's Church last week. Back in December of 1996, cash and checks earmarked for the church were misplaced, and no one knew what had happened to the money. Last week, the answer came. A new member of the Victory Ohana, a prison fellowship program, was sorting through donated items when he came across a ceramic figure of Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Inside it, he found $1,516.30 in cash and checks, the funds which had been misplaced. The Ohana member immediately reported the find and turned it over to Alice Parker of the Community Clearinghouse. Needless to say, the folks at St. Theresa's were thrilled and at least one Victory Ohana participant will be in their prayers for demonstrating integrity and honesty as he reenters society ... Victory for integrity
LOCAL businesswoman Ruth Lin won the sizzling competition in the Tony Roma's Taste of Honolulu BBQ Cook Off over the weekend. She took grand honors for her unusual recipe, which probably won plaudits for its title as well as its taste. She calls it "Finger Li Hing Good Ribs," and yes, uses li hing seasoning ... While thousands of folks milled around the grounds of City Hall during the Taste of Honolulu, one visitor was enjoying a different kind of taste. Former isle public relations exec Megan MacPherson and husband Scott were in the islands for a visit from their Pensacola home, but they had an Epicurean tour of a different kind in mind. They visited places like KC Drive Inn for fried rice and ono ono shakes and Leonard's for hot malassadas, not everyday items in Florida, I guess ...
Fish tales
PALS of the late Jerry Van Volkenburg got together for lunch at Murphy's this week to raise a cup or two to the former Trade Publishing exec. Being in the midst of such tireless practical jokers as Carl Lindquist, Jim Cook and the late Don Over and Jerry Beam made Van Volkenburg a perfect foil. Stories were told and retold, such as when he'd invited friends over for a whole smoked salmon he'd just received from Alaska, and as he removed the cover for all to see, learned that Lindquist had got there first and stuck a cigar in the fish's mouth ... Then there was the deep sea fishing excursion when a large ahi that had been secreted aboard the boat was attached to Jerry's line while he napped. When he was awakened to haul in his catch, he saw it skip from the water (thanks to the captain, who gave the boat a goose) and when Lindquist gaffed the dead ahi and hauled it aboard, Van Volkenburg noticed something in its mouth. He removed it to find a photo of the rest of his crewmates, all giving him the finger. The laughs were non-stop in those days and the jokers who are left will have trouble finding a foil as gullible as Jerry ...
Prince of a man
HOLLYWOOD makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin will tell anyone listening that the Maui Prince Hotel is his favorite vacation spot anywhere. You don't believe it? He recently spent two weeks there filming a pair of one-hour specials for E! Entertainment Television. Both "Profiles of Kevyn Aucoin" and "Makeup Artists" are slated to run in August. One of the people Aucoin picked to model for him was the hotel's marketing services manager, Liana Mulleitner. But after eight hours under hot lights, Liana nixed a move to Hollywood, stating that life at the Maui Prince was just fine with her ...
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: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com