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Hawaii Dave Donnelly |
Lokelani, iron lady
of the billboardsREMEMBER Lokelani McMichael, the Big Isle girl who was the youngest female triathlete in the grueling annual swimming, biking and marathon running in the Kona area? She's now 26, but has eight Ironman events on her resume. Still a physical knockout, Lokelani is featured on Nike billboards in L.A. and Chicago, and is on the cover of numerous magazines currently on newsstands, the December issue of Outside, the November issue of Experience and the October issue of Hawaii Woman. NBC will air "The Road to the Ironman" 9 to 10 a.m. Dec. 5. She'll be the ambassador of Kona. Now, Lokelani is scuba diving for the Discovery Channel's "Adventure Highway" in the Maldives, India. ...
Word power
WHILE Lokelani is prepping for her next Ironman competition, I was playing Scrabble. Writer/editor Barbara Holm had been entertaining her daughter, visiting from Minnesota, and allowed that she was killing her at Scrabble. An idea popped into her head: "You play Scrabble, don't you?" I allowed I hadn't played for 25 years, since a girl I was dating announced one night that she was a champion player and nobody ever beat her. I made the mistake of playing her, and winning both games we played. She never had anything to do with me again, and I gave up the game instead of competing with anyone else. Holm, who we kiddingly call "Bad Barbara," promised that could never happen to us since she never lost. She arranged for a match. Final score: D.D. two, B.B. zero. No more challenges -- I'm retiring while I'm ahead ...SPEAKING of Word Power, Hank Taufaasau, who runs the local version of the national contest sponsored by Reader's Digest, has asked me to again be the official pronouncer of words and judge of high schoolers participating, as I was in the initial competition last year. Hank really plans ahead - the contest isn't until Feb. 27 ...
JUST opened in the old Dunhill's location in the Moana Hotel is Ray Suitor Jr.'s latest Honolulu Coffee shop. Should be a great locale for walk in traffic ... When Hawaiian entertainer Kahauanu Lake discovered someone had walked out with his beloved ukulele, he enlisted the help of Harry Soria Jr., who spread the word far and wide. It must have helped, too, because Lake got a call from a man who said he'd bought the uke from a guy for $20. He offered to meet Lake and return the instrument, in exchange for an autographed CD, an offer quickly accepted ...
Ghost story
AUTHOR Richard Goodwin was at the Yellow Brick Studio on opening night as a full house was treated to his Japanese ghost story, "Ten Million Reawakenings," a production of TAG based on a ghostly story by Lafcadio Hearn. There were authentic costumes and set pieces and the usual excellent performances from TAG veterans Eric Nemoto and Dorothy Stamp. One happy surprise was the role of samurai Nemoto's child bride, played to perfection by 17-year old St. Francis High senior Shaula Voge, who has a promising future in store for her ...
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968. The Week That Was runs Sundays and recalls items from Dave's 30 years of columns. Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com
