By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

The moral of this column is: "Save your family pictures and take notes on all the parties at your house because you might grow up to be first lady of Hawai'i and live in Washington Place and then you can write a book about it." That's what Jean Ariyoshi did and her book is a delight.

I mean, how often do you find a book with two pages devoted to kissing? On pages 86 and 87 Jean is shown kissing Prince Rainier of Monaco, Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda of Japan, Premier Zhao Ziyang of the People's Republic of China, President Gerald Ford, New York Mayor Ed Koch, actor Tom Selleck and her favorite, husband George.

This kind of book has never been done before. It's devoted to the social side of government in Hawai'i, which has been woefully neglected since newspapers stopped having society pages and turned to reporting on spouse abuse. Jean Ariyoshi has come to the rescue. Once people discover the pearls of inside info on every page, this will be a best seller.

For example, Jean pictured the king of Tonga as a slender fellow until she met him at the airport and he turned out to weigh 450 pounds. Jean asked the queen, "Does his majesty like Hawaiian food?" "Oh, no, he hates it," said the queen. "He likes Japanese food."

Jean said to herself, "I need a new menu and a large new chair." Fortunately, she found a McGuire rattan chair on the lanai with a huge seat, a little low but four zabutons raised the king high enough while he ate his sashimi.

She writes that her first dinner party was for the queen of England and she had only four days to prepare. Jean found an exquisite lace tablecloth purchased by previous first lady Berniece Burns, but it wasn't long enough to cover the dining room table that seats 24. A hasty shopping trip by secretary Mona Odachi produced two more tablecloths to cover the ends of the table.

The book sparkles with colorful, little known facts. Did you know that Jean and George have jitterbugged at Washington Place, the White House and palaces all over the world? Frank Fasi, in TheMayor's minivan, broke into the motorcade of the Emperor of Japan. Secret Service agents were pulling out their guns when Jean told them who Frank was.

George's father was a stevedore and a sumo wrestler. Jean's father was a studio photographer in Wahiawa. The Secret Service code name for Betty Ford was Pinafore. For Nancy Reagan it was Rainbow. Jean had to be satisfied with 502.

Russian composer and symphony conductor Maxim Shostakovich refused to play Queen Lili'uokalani's grand piano at Washington Place because it was out of tune. On the bright side, Jean immediately had it tuned up. The book, "Washington Place, A First Lady's Story," is loaded with pictures of the family and people who visited the governor's mansion. It's on sale at bookstores around Honolulu.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.