BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Admiral deserves medal for not laughing

Adm. Robert Willard, who heads the U.S. Pacific Command, showed admirable grace under fire recently. No, it wasn't in a war zone during the taking of a hill, but on The Hill in D.C., deflecting a congressman's looniness that Guam might “;tip over and capsize”; due to overpopulation.

That's no April Fool's joke, even as a CSPAN video clip was making the YouTube.com rounds yesterday. Appearing last week before a House Appropriations panel over more infrastructure on Guam for 8,000 troops and their families, Willard had to allay a concern from Rep. Hank Johnson (D, Ga.) that the U.S. territory would not go under.

After Willard confirmed for him that Guam is indeed a small island, Johnson, making a tipping motion with his hands, said: “;My fear is that, ah, the whole island will, ah, become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize.”;

After the slightest of pauses, the well-disciplined Willard responded evenly: “;We don't anticipate that.”;

PAMPER ME

Hawaii has a spa-tacular reputation

We in Hawaii sure know how to pamper. Perhaps not always ourselves, which we should, but certainly those lucky enough to indulge in spa-spa land. Hawaii had four spas in the top 25 of Conde Nast's annual Top Spa list: the Four Seasons Resort Lanai-Lodge at Koele, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, and the Hotel Hana-Maui and Honua Spa.

Conde Nast says the spa industry in America has exploded over the last 20 years. Good to know that even with all that competition, Hawaii can hold its own just fine.