Fun House
Caught short at birthday dinner
Editor's note: This anecdote plays off the fact that the same sentence in Japanese can mean "I have money" or "Do you have money?," depending on intonation.
It was my father's birthday and our family wanted to celebrate by going out to dinner at Stuart Anderson's in Pearl City. Before we left my older brother, who was in college at the time, said to our mother "Okane ga aru?"My mother nodded and said "OK" as she finished getting ready.We had a nice dinner, but when the check came my brother and mother just stared at each other.Finally my brother told my mom, "I didn't bring my wallet since I asked you if you had money." My mom told him, 'You didn't say "Okane ga aru ka."' I thought you were telling me that you have money so I didn't even bring my purse."My dad ended up paying for his own birthday dinner.That happened about 20 years ago and we still laugh about it today.
Dad always comes through for us.
— Janna Yamamoto, Waipahu
Has your child said something hilarious? Do you have a funny story about your spouse or other family members? The best Fun House anecdotes of 2001 will be reprinted in the 'Ohana section after the end of the year, and the writers will receive Honolulu Advertiser logo items.
If you have a true, humorous, unpublished short story about your family or a family-related topic, send it with your name, city and telephone number to: Fun House, 'Ohana Section, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; e-mail ohana@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 535-8170. Enter as often as you like. Preference is given to stories 200 words in length or less.
