Hawaii
Stormy trip for
StubenbergsNOW that local businessman David Stubenberg has retired and is free to do some extensive traveling, wife Marianne has spent a lot of time preparing trips to take in their new RV. But perhaps she should forget thoughts of become a travel planner. The Stubenberg's latest itinerary had them visiting another former isle couple, Mary Lou and Bob Sandla in Jacksonville, Fla. Get the idea where this is going? They managed to get out of town 48 hours ahead of Hurricane Floyd - even the Sandla's took off to visit friends in Atlanta. The Traveling Stubenbergs then drove to Savannah, departing the morning of the town's evacuation. Her plans called for them to drive to Wilmington, N.C., but the weatherman suggested Fayetteville, N.C. would be better due to the evacuation of Wilmington. They were then slated to visit the Outer Banks, but that was already being evacuated, so they headed for Virginia Beach. Just as they were about to enter their hotel they heard on National Public Radio that a hurricane warning had gone into effect there, the fourth evacuation city they'd visited in three weeks ...
BUT the worst was yet to come for the Stubenbergs. All interstates connecting Virginia Beach to the world were closed, and they had to take a local road to the relative safety of Washington, D.C. They soon realized they were the only vehicle on the road, what with dodging flying tree debris, diverting around fallen trees and flood waters, David all the while fighting to keep the car on the road with the strong winds. They'll never complain about tradewinds again ...
Murphy's pig
UH Rainbow Warrior supporter Don Murphy (of Murphy's Bar & Grill) prepared pans of kalua pig for the Na Koa pre-game tailgate Saturday, which partially accounts for why his van still smells so pungent. After the party broke up and everyone repaired inside Aloha Stadium to watch the game, Murphy blew out the Sterno cans and put the leftover pig back in his van. Hours later, flush with a victory over Boise State, Murphy opened the van door and reeled backward. The Sterno cans, it seemed, hadn't gone out and the leftover pig had remained cooking all that time. Resident wit Joe North likened the odor to "a porcine sauna." And you'd swear Murph's wife, Marian, has been treating the tale of the smell with a jaundiced look ...AFTER watching author Frank McCourt on the "Today" show yesterday talking about " 'Tis: A Memoir," his sequel to "Angela's Ashes," I called his brother Michael in San Francisco. Mike, an old friend of over 20 years, suffered a small heart attack 10 days ago and underwent an angioplasty. Just as Frank went into school teaching after leaving Limerick, Ireland, Mike became a bartender and for 20 years toiled at Perry's in S.F., though he's now at the Whitehall Tavern, Pier 33. All four McCourt brothers remain close ...
Get the low down
FEELING low? Sometimes it pays to have friends in low places. How else would Star of the Sea School get its hands on a piece of Lo'ihi, the sea mount that scientists think will someday be our next Hawaiian island? It was collected by scientists aboard the Pisces V manned submersible at 2028 meters below the surface as a gift for a local teacher who coveted it. He's displayed it at the school for kids to look at, touch, smell and hold. Any schoolteacher, scientist or Hawaiiana instructor who'd like to borrow the rock may do so - call 734-0208 ...
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