My Kind of Town
>>Cartwright Field Wind change
The biggest crowd control concern for HPD Officer Quinn Ah Sun quickly became the Makule League softball players.
The senior citizens in their bright uniforms were "pretty darn teed off!" that their game was postponed due to a state senator's car lying upside down on the first base line.
The Rego's Backhoe coach vigorously suggested calling any ball that hit the car out of play and waiving the must-run-in-the-baseline rule for this one game only.
"No," Quinn said quietly but absolutely.
Rego's coach just nodded. One of the world's shortest arguments. Quinn the 6-foot-3 weightlifter won a lot of those. So the Makule League guys broke out their folding chairs, coolers and pupus, and started the party early.
Quinn couldn't see anything through the tinted windows and hadn't gotten to first base in his efforts to learn who was inside the senator's car. But when firefighters with the Jaws of Life cut open the passenger door, acrid smoke poured out.
"Ice," Quinn said, covering his nose with one hand and waving away crystal methamphetamine smoke with the other as he peered inside.
A young local woman lay unconscious on the ceiling, bleeding and naked. She was the lone occupant. No sign of the senator, the Democrats' great hope in next year's gubernatorial election.
Paramedics went to work immediately.
"How'd she get his keys?" Quinn said to nobody in particular.
And where are her clothes? Where is the senator? And might this be the next first lady?
>>Eden Off Kuhio
Lance Ah Sun agonized about his conflicted feelings for over an hour after Greg went off to his practice.
Lance just wanted to live and love openly.
And yet he lived with the fear of being found out, emphasis on out.
Greg wanted Lance to join him in the demonstration at the Capitol in support of the hate crimes bill, and Lance wanted to make Greg happy. But they expected a big confrontation with the Gabbardites. So the media would be there.
Wouldn't that be a fine way for his parents to find out that he's gay, seeing it in full color on the front page of the Star-Bulletin?
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin.
He can be emailed at dchapman@midweek.com