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Hawaii
THOUGH I'm one of the holdouts in the cellular phone front, there's no doubt the ubiquitous instruments do sometimes come in handy. Not when salesmen and schoolgirls lug them around so they won't miss a sale or a date, but when an emergency arises. If you blow a tire on the freeway, for example, though I wish people using cell phones in their cars would pull over and stop before talking. Good call by Hon Cell
One place where it really came in handy was when Audrey Ho, a teacher at Nanaikapono Elementary, found herself the only person with a cell phone during the recent Nanakuli standoff when cops forced teachers and kids to stay on campus until they could be evacuated. Ho's personal phone served as a life line for the 500 who were trapped, allowing them to call family members and stay in touch with the outside world. When Honolulu Cellular found she'd used her phone during the crisis, they credited her account for the calls. Kudos to Honolulu Cellular. Maybe one day I'll break down and sign up ...
IT looks like Hal Holbrook is becoming the alter ego of Mark Twain. The actor is reprising his "Mark Twain Tonight" at the Blaisdell Concert Hall March 23, and repeating it at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center March 25. Though Twain creator Samuel Clemens spent much of his early life in Hannibal, Mo., he also lived for a time in my hometown of Keokuk, Iowa, just two blocks from my parents' house. (No, not at the same time!) And you will recall he visited Hawaii as well and sent letters to the mainland with his personal insights ...
Mummy dearest
WHILE Cleopatra was known as the "Queen of Denial" in Egyptian psychiatric circles, and reportedly was a fan of rock singer Marc Anthony, she was constantly running home to her mummy. (All of the above is nonsense, of course, but is known in three-dot circles as a cheap attention grabber.) For those attending the reception heralding next week's opening of the "Mystery of the Nile" exhibit at the Academy of Arts, be prepared to meet a bartender from Hell. The mixologist, believed to be an employee of sponsor Southern Wine and Spirits of Hawaii, will be costumed as a mummy. And we're not just talking wrapped in gauze here -- this costume (from JJ Productions) is valued at $3,000 ...DID you see where actor Richard Gere and actress Carey Lowell named their son Homer James Jigme Gere. Both Homer and James were well known writers, of course, but Jigme? Well, if you ask Honolulu physician Dr. Greg Yuen and wife Keala, they can tell you all about it. They and Gere are all devotees of the Dalai Lama, and "Jigme" is one of his favorite names, meaning "fearless" in Tibetan. And you'd better be fearless if you sport that name in school, too. Just ask the Yuen's son, Tenzin Jigme, a 1998 Punahou grad ...
Searing and soaring
LOOKS like Hawaiian Airlines is going all out to corner the market on celebrity chefs. Maui's Beverly Gannon, who designed menus for coach class passengers on Hawaiian, has been named the airline's corporate chef. Members of Hawaiian's first-class chef's group for 2000 include Wayne Hirabayashi of the Kahala Mandarin, Chai Chaowasaree of Singha Thai and Chai's Island Bistro, Hiroshi Fukui of L'Uraku and three of Gannon's fellow Maui chefs: D.K. Kodama of Sansei Seafood, James McDonald of Maui's Pacific 'O and pastry chef Teresa "Cheech" Gannon of Hali'imaile General Store. Yeah, she's Bev's daughter ...
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