Honolulu Lite
I think people would be a little more sympathetic toward City Councilwoman Rene Mansho if they understood the serious psychological problem that probably led to her misuse of campaign funds. Mansho suffers from a rare disorder known simply as "Plumeria Dependency Syndrome." Rene Mansho fights
power of the flowerTo put it bluntly, Mansho is addicted to plumeria blossoms. The problem has become so acute that she will not appear in public without at least one plumeria blossom attached to the side of her head. But generally, she will be adorned with more than one blossom. She'll have a couple behind her ears and a lei of them around her neck and a couple more leis arranged in front of her on her City Council desk. And this is probably just the tip of the iceberg, or plumeria tree. It would not be surprising to learn she abuses plumeria when she is home alone.
Now, plumeria are beautiful flowers which bring a lot of comfort to those who consider them wardrobe assessors. But they must be used in moderation. Giving or receiving a plumeria lei at the airport is fine. Or even sticking a blossom behind your ear on a whim from time to time is OK. But if you find yourself buying plastic bags of Plumeria flowers from street dealers in Chinatown, then you've probably got that Plumeria monkey on your back.
It's sad to see, especially in Mansho's case, because she is such a sweet person. She's always trying to help others, she's a snappy dresser and you rarely hear her use foul language (at least I never have.) But the lady needs help. Her smile cannot cover up the pain she must be suffering, jacked up on the aroma of plumeria 24 hours a day. There she was, smiling bravely the other day, a large plumeria blossom protruding from her hair like a delicate, white satellite dish, as she was fined $40,000 by the Campaign Spending Commission. And there she was, covered with more plumeria as she was forced to step down as City Council Vice Chairwoman and head of the influential Budget Committee. It's hard to watch such a brilliant, powerful politician brought down by the devastating effects of plumeria addiction.
Now that Rene Mansho has faced up to misusing campaign funds for things like organizing golf tournaments and for forcing her council staff to work on campaign projects, she needs to acknowledge the root of her problems. Today it is only plumeria. But soon it could be larger flowers, carnations and, god forbid, hibiscus. Still fresh in the public mind are the images of former Gov. George Ariyoshi, standing pitifully with an enormous red double-carnation lei around his neck at all times. Ariyoshi dropped from public life after his condition became an embarrassment to the Democratic Party. I understand that other than wearing the occassional ginger lei in the shower, he's had a full recovery.
Let's just hope that Rene Mansho has the strength to break free from the power of the flower and regain control of her professional life. Rene, Hawaii needs you.
Charles Memminger, winner of
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
awards in 1994 and 1992, writes "Honolulu Lite"
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Write to him at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, 96802
or send E-mail to cmemminger@starbulletin.com.
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