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Holiday meal
spreads aloha
The Salvation Army's annual
Thanksgiving dinner serves
more than 1,600 this year
Former Los Angeles resident Robert Herstek volunteered on Thanksgiving Day for years across the country and never thought he would end up on the receiving end of the food line in Honolulu.
But now that he needs a wheelchair to get around and has oxygen fed through a tube 24 hours a day, Herstek appreciates the kindness a simple meal and a smile can bring.
"Now I know," he said yesterday. "This above everything else represents the heart and soul of America. This is the sort of thing going on everywhere in churches and gymnasiums across the country.
"America is so special, and the people are so special ... no matter how much we screw up."
Herstek was one of many who showed up at the Blaisdell Center for the Salvation Army's Thanksgiving meal yesterday. Event officials estimate a little more than 1,600 paper plates filled with turkey were served, though those working in the kitchen said they had enough for 2,500 dinners.
More than the free meal, however, people seemed to appreciate the companionship from volunteers and their fellow diners.
For many, Thanksgiving at the Blaisdell was a chance to not be alone.
"My wife and two kids are on the mainland taking care of her mom," said mason Will Landers. "So this is really beautiful. ... I don't know how to explain it to them when they come back.
"It's just the love being generated here, the aloha. ... I'm finished with my dinner and now I don't want to leave, I just want to put my mat on the floor and spend the night."
According to Salvation Army Maj. Jeff Martin, a lot of people have the misconception that their free service to the public is for just the homeless and the poor.
"There's a lot of seniors here, a lot of people who are well off but by themselves," Martin said. "This is for anyone wanting to make new friends or see old ones.
"You can be rich but still be very lonely."
About 800 volunteers shuffled back and forth to serve plates and pour juice from before the meal service started at 9:30 a.m. and were still busy cleaning up after they had finished serving the last plate at 1 p.m. Among them high school students, senior citizens, and even members of Harley Davidson clubs, all here for their own reasons.
"My wife and I are here together, but I wish my kids were here too," said Punahou High School Key Club chaperon Koa Holiona. "I'd like to show them that there's more to life than watching TV and hanging out with friends.
This gives you more appreciation for the things you have."
Honolulu police Detective Bayard Doane said he was "thankful for the day off so he could volunteer" yesterday. But mostly he was thankful that the worst problem he had to deal with was a woman who demanded to eat her Thanksgiving meal with her dog.
"She said for psychological reasons she had to come in and eat with the dog," Doane said with a laugh. "So we ended up letting her come in if she put the dog in her purse."
Adeline Marks said she and her husband are thankful not to be homeless this year. After their landlord evicted them because the house they were renting was being sold, the couple managed to find a three-bedroom apartment in Mililani earlier this month.
"We're happy, the kids are very happy," she said. "We were staying with friends for a while and didn't know what was going to happen."
Palama resident Joseph Newman and Waikiki resident Consuelo Pacheco look like a happy couple but Pacheco said they were just "good friends of 25 years." Both were glad to stay friends and celebrate their sixth year of having Thanksgiving dinner together via the Salvation Army.
"God bless America and the Salvation Army," said Newman. "If I survive next year I'll be back for another meal."
