BOOK REVIEW
Chronicling the travels of a Kaua'i man
By Wanda Adams
Advertiser Book Editor
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The interest in this compact memoir is as much in what is left out as in what is included. What drove a boy from Hanama'ulu plantation camp to jump from job to job, place to place throughout much of his life? How did his family handle his long absences, working as a merchant mariner or in construction in New Mexico, Seattle and Alaska? What was it about bromeliads that drew him to become an acknowledged expert in his later years — his yard in Kaimuki given over to the odd plants? (He told Advertiser reporter Mike Leidemann in a January 2000 interview that it was something to do in retirement other than drinking beer.)
Bob Okazaki, a multitalented, peripatetic adventurer, died July 17, 2001, at the age of 90. Dorothy Hazzard, whose son, Robert, is married to Okazaki's daughter, Marti, tried to get the University of Hawai'i oral history program interested in interviewing him, but there wasn't a project in progress then. Hazzard knew time was growing short. So, having worked as an advertising copywriter for years, she decided to record what she could of Okazaki's treasure trove of life memories herself.
Unfortunately, Okazaki's voice — the direct quotations that are the lifeblood of a manuscript like this — comes through only sparsely here. And Okazaki doesn't seem to have dwelt much on his internal life: what motivated him, how it felt to stand in bread lines during the Great Depression, or to be the only Asian American on the crew in many workplaces. Here and there, we get a glimpse, as when he tells Hazzard "the worst times make the best friends."
The book will appeal to those with an interest in plantation-camp days, and rough and ready adventures. It's enlivened by pictures from Okazaki's photo album and it's very well designed for a self-published book. It's a worthy tribute to someone that Hazzard clearly found to be fascinating, and a good friend.
A book signing for "Kid from Kauai" is set for 2 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Borders Books & Music store in Lihu'e, Kaua'i.
