Posted on: Wednesday, August 25, 2004

OUR HONOLULU

By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

It's time to clear out our file of news from over the back fence.

Here's an item from Ed Greany, a former Advertiser reporter whose memory goes back a long way. He points out that Frank Fasi wrested the Democratic nomination for mayor from incumbent Johnny Wilson in 1954 by convincing folks that Johnny, at 84, was too old for the job. Fifty years later, Frank is running for mayor again. He's 84, in case you're interested.

Styptic, please

Raybern Freitas of Kane'ohe tried for 2› hours to find a barber shop on Maui where he could get a shave. He drove all over Wailuku and Kahului. Barbers sent him from one shop to another but none of them would shave him. Maybe it's just as well. He said the last barber who agreed to give him a shave was 90 years old. His hand holding the razor shook so badly that Freitas got up and walked out.

Time on his hands

Does the Kohala Young Men's Club on the Big Island still exist? If not, are any old members still around? Galen Olson from Tennessee writes that he has a 1939, 17-jewel Waltham pocket watch that was given to his grandfather, Walter C. Moore, a missionary who came to Hawai'i around 1900.

The watch was presented to him in August of 1941 by the Kohala Young Men's Club. It has been passed down in the family and is now in the possession of Olson. It has a 10-karat gold-filled case. Olson said he'd be happy to return the watch to the proper person or organization in Hawai'i.

Dasani this isn't

It turns out that Chinese aren't the only ones who bottle water on a certain day of the lunar calendar. 80-year-old Flora Watanabe from Waialua says her Japanese mother bottled water on Tanabata Day because the water stayed pure. She washed her hair in it because the pure water made her hair glossy. And the family washed clothes on Tanabata Day. Barbara Fuchigami in Pearl City says her friend bottled water on a certain day 10 years ago and the water stayed fresh. Barbara is interested in this because she's a Mormon who believes in saving food and water for an emergency. But the water always turns slimy with moss after a few months.

An island image

It was a scene that didn't need words. You could tell at a glance that the sumo-sized U.S. Marine in camouflage fatigues and combat boots was home with his family on leave from Iraq. The chubby woman by his side was holding a baby. The Marine tenderly held her hand as they walked across the parking lot. They were headed for a honeymoon luncheon at Zippy's.

But seriously, folks

George Atta at Group 70 sends me terrible jokes by e-mail. Sample: What's the definition of a will? It's a dead giveaway.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.