COMMENTARY
Quiet but full life was seasoned with love

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

By trade, she was a homemaker; she retired years ago from her "forelady" stint at the old Hawaiian Pineapple Co. (which later became Dole) after the birth of my sister.

But she was a lot more: chef, crafter, party planner, party giver, household manager, baby sitter, confidante. And a whiz at everyday matters, from mochi- and sushi-making to shopping and, in her early years, fishing.

Her heart gave out in the wee hours of the morning of July 23, nearly two weeks after her 82nd birthday, bringing expiration to a quiet but full life. The news came in a dreaded phone call from my sister, Elva, at 1:30 a.m.; Mom's battle with diabetes and the daily insulin shots, her frequent heart seizures and the weak lungs that required occasional oxygen, came to an end.

Her name was Katherine, but she was Kat to her close friends and to Dad, the breadwinner to whom she was married for 62 years; Auntie Katherine to her nieces, nephews and youngsters she baby-sat; Mrs. Harada to her condo neighbors.

She never finished high school, but she had the smarts that didn't require a degree. She was a midrange sibling (four brothers, two other sisters), charged with taking care of Baban (her late mother; my grandmother) after Jichan (her late father; my grandfather) died; it had been his deathbed wish.

Mom also had to watch and worry over her younger brothers and sisters, so school was not an option.

That domestic role prepared her for a life that centered on family.

She cooked, often and well. Folks who've sampled her culinary skills still savor her makizushi and her cone sushi, perfectly flavored, generously loaded with filling. Her nishime, a Japanese-style stew, was classic, too, seasoned with love; and her kimpira gobo (a root-vegetable dish, for which she often substituted hasu, or lotus root) would surely be a staple at any okazuya.

In fact, many encouraged her to open a restaurant. She felt it was too much work; that the raves she got from family and friends were all that she needed to keep cooking.

She also loved to fish, in her younger days. Few could match her ability to hook bait, cast and wait from the shoreline for the papio or kumu to bite. But forget boats; she'd get seasick just watching the waves.

When relatives needed a sitter, they'd call her. So she had a stint for a number of years, feeding, changing, bathing babies — who are now adults and still recall those moments with Mom.

She was very good with her hands. Sewing. Crocheting. Knitting. Creating Christmas decorations. Until her eyes started to fail her.

New Year's was her most frantic season; she'd make mochi and sushi for days. Not just for home consumption, but to give to neighbors and friends; to have extra for family graves.

She took pride in what I did, writing about entertainers, and she had her own A-list of her precious faves. Charo, who called her Katerina (the Spanish equivalent of Katherine), was one of her choices. Mom relished making a faux-carnation lei from shiny red satin for the the "cuchi-cuchi" cutie, who wore the lei a number of times in her gigs.

Mom marveled at David Copperfield, whose magic shows she saw in Honolulu and Las Vegas; she practically went bonkers when she was invited to meet him in his Caesars Palace dressing room.

She also favored comics. Frank DeLima, with his local topics, always made her chuckle, and The Reycards' songs and humor left her with wet eyes from laughing.

Mom had diabetes, weak lungs and four clogged arteries that ultimately did her in. She had her share of 911 calls and ambulance treks to the hospital over the past three or four years. She really needed bypass surgery, but her age and her fragile health made her an unsuitable candidate.

Her deteriorating health didn't stop her from making annual pilgrimages to Las Vegas, however, and perhaps the journeys kept her going, wishing for those triple 7s, those royal flushes — but those good-luck frogs didn't always work.

When it was her time, she went swiftly. No suffering. No more needles. No more pain.

She's gone. But she left us with something we'll always have of her: memories.

Reach Wayne Harada at 525-8067, wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 525-8055.

70,000 in Hawai'i have diabetes

Q. How many Hawai'i cases of diabetes are there?

A. According to the most recent data available (2003), more than 70,000 adults have been diagnosed with diabetes in Hawai'i. An additional 40,000 adults may have the disease but not know it.

Q. Where does Hawai'i rank in prevalence compared to other states?

A. The national average was 7.1 percent in 2003. Hawai'i's 2003 average prevalence rate was 7.6 percent. Prevalence rates across the country range from a low of 4.7 percent in Colorado to a high of 11 percent in Mississippi and Puerto Rico.

In Hawai'i, Native Hawaiians, Japanese and Filipinos have about two times the prevalence rate of diabetes when compared with whites in Hawai'i.

Q. Whom do I contact with diabetes questions or concerns?

A. Locally, people can call the Hawai'i chapter of the American Diabetes Association at 808-947-5979 or go to www.diabetes.org.

Another good resource is www.cdc.gov/diabetes — the Web site of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Diabetes Translation.

Q. What is diabetes?

A. Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. When you have diabetes, your body either doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugars to build up in your blood.

Q. What are the symptoms of diabetes?

A. People who think they might have diabetes must visit a physician for diagnosis. They might have some or none of the following symptoms:

• Frequent urination.
• Excessive thirst.
• Unexplained weight loss.
• Extreme hunger.
• Sudden vision changes.
• Tingling or numbness in hands or feet.
• Feeling very tired much of the time.
• Very dry skin.
• Sores that are slow to heal.
• More infections than usual.
• Nausea, vomiting, or stomach pains may accompany some of these symptoms in the abrupt onset of insulin-dependent diabetes, now called type 1 diabetes.

Q. What are the results of the disease?

A. Complications of diabetes can include:

• Heart disease and stroke.
• High blood pressure.
• Blindness.
• Kidney disease.
• Nervous system disease.
• Amputations.
• Dental disease.
• Problems during pregnancy.

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.

Diabetes facts and figures, provided by the Hawai'i chapter American Diabetes Association and the ADA Web site, www.diabetes.org.