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Wood Craft Ben Wood |
Robert Spicer, 85, shows
his toughness after mishapRobert Spicer, who turned 85 Thursday, is a tough guy. He works out at Clark Hatch Gym three times a week, runs three times a week and still works as a clinical psychologist. That alone says something about his toughness. But there's more. On a Monday a few weeks ago I edited a story and wrote a headline about an elderly man who slipped on the Manoa trail the day before and slid about 100 feet down an incline on his back. A mound kept him from going over a cliff or that would have been it. That afternoon I went to the Hatch gym. Robert was working out and I saw that he had bruises and scratches on his body. I didn't think anything about it. When I went home, I turned on the TV and there was Robert, who had been on camera earlier in the day, displaying his bruises from the slide. I had just seen him in the gym. He was working out the day after that rough mishap! ...
Clark Hatch trainer Luis Roig slid down, too
Robert gives much credit to Hatch fitness trainer Luis Roig, who tried to grab Robert and wound up sliding down the hill, too -- on his stomach. After sliding over rocks and brush, they hit the mound. Robert is a seasoned hiker and handed Luis a 25-foot rope he carries in his knapsack. Luis followed Robert's instructions and tied it around him. Then Luis climbed up the slope about 20 feet and tied the rope's other end around large roots and pulled Robert up, who was climbing as well. They did this until they reached the trail. A copter airlifted Robert to the hospital for a checkup. Modest Luis didn't report his rescue role. He's tough, too. After all that, Robert was pumping iron the next day. He's my idol ...Beautiful people, bodies, cars and Hawaii's spectacular scenery will keep me watching "North Shore," the new Fox series on Monday nights. Jason Momoa came across well as a bartender in the opener ... This week's Maui Film Fest received a nice boost on CNN Wednesday from Clint Eastwood, Gina Davis and Rob Reiner ...
Congrats to Deputy Police Chief Glen Kajiyama, named acting chief to replace retiring Chief Lee Donohue June 30. Donohue, a karate expert, will soon have more time to focus on the Kick Start Karate program he cofounded to keep at-risk youngsters on the right path. The annual Taste of Kick Start fund-raiser is July 10 at the Aina Haina Bayer Estate. Call Michael-Ann Mercado at 677-3412 or 384-0815 for info ...
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Ben Wood, who sold the Star-Bulletin in the streets of downtown Honolulu during World War II, writes of people, places and things every Wednesday and Saturday. E-mail him at bwood@starbulletin.com