By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

The headline read, "Snowstorm cripples much of East Coast." I thought about that as I walked downtown during the noon hour under a baby blue sky. King Kamehameha's statue stood tall in the sun, Japanese tourists snapping his picture.

"Pay attention," I said to myself. "You're in a special place."

I crossed over at Punchbowl Street to pay my respects to Hawaiian 'aumakua at the shrine on 'Iolani Palace grounds by the library. Two people were napping on the grass under the trees, myna birds strutting around, kolea scampering to and fro.

After depositing my paycheck at the bank, I went to Longs for some cigars. Have you noticed the social distinctions in downtown Honolulu?

White-collar workers eat lunch under the trees and modern statues in Tamarind Park on Bishop Street. Everybody wears nice shoes. Secretaries, file clerks, accountants. Blue-collar workers congregate on Hotel Street in front of Longs like they're waiting for the bus. Go-aheads, running shoes, backpacks.

Nobody wears hats, of course, except for baseball and military camouflage caps. My favorites are the old geezers in berets and sunglasses who pretend they were Charlie Chaplin's movie director.

Longs, inside, is like the lobby of the Concert Hall during an intermission. You can't hurry. Somebody is always blocking your way. After all, the old lady trying to decide what soap to buy has as much right there as me.

Mayor Frank Fasi broke the pavement on Fort Street with an air hammer when they started Fort Street Mall. Today it's like an untidy country lane, littered with leaves and scraps. Fast-food shops have taken over the mauka end — not the kind in New England, but Vicky's Filipino Fast Food, Take Out Sushi, 2-Go Bar-B-Q and Okazuya, Rada's Piroscki, Ba Le Sandwich.

Hotel Street is in constant evolution, a battleground of contrasts. Decrepit, gloomy Smith's Union Bar one block up from bustling Pho Saigon Restaurant, clean as a whistle, packed with smartly dressed office workers.

Now we're getting to my favorite place, Chinatown. Sidewalk stalls loaded with green onions, papaya, garlic, ginger root, tangerines.

Lion masks and paper lanterns on display. It's the Year of the Ram. But the tea expert in Spring Tea & Art Gifts Wholesale will tell you there were no sheep in ancient China. It's the Year of the Goat.

On the way back, I saw a young woman stop to ask an old man in a wheelchair if she could help him. He was alone on the sidewalk. He said, "No, thanks, I'm waiting for someone."

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.