Leslie Wilcox Blogs

Like Mother, Like Daughter

     Chaminade University of Honolulu is holding commencement exercises for 400 graduating seniors this evening at the Neal Blaisdell Center.

      One of two student speakers is Shaunalei Awong, featured in this morning's Honolulu Advertiser. Shaunalei was working as a janitor when she was inspired to follow her mother's example of going back to school and graduating from Chaminade.

      She went back fired up! Shaunalei is being honored tonight as Chaminade's most outstanding graduate in historical and political studies.

      The other outstanding student taking the podium is Melanie Legdesog.

       I happen to be the non-student commencement speaker, and I'll also be listening closely to what the new grads have to say.

Senator Inouye is in Love

     "By the time this TV program is broadcast, I might be wearing a ring on my finger," smiled Senator Daniel Inouye, as he sat down with me for the taping of LONG STORY SHORT.

      He'll be a bridegroom at age 84.

       As it turns out, our two LONG STORY SHORT episodes featuring the Senator will make the air before he reaches the altar. We'll present them on PBS Hawaii at 7:30 pm Tuesday, May 13, and Tuesday, May 20. His small private Los Angeles wedding ceremony with California museum executive Irene Hirano takes place May 24th.

       As distinguished as he always is, he's also just a little bit giddy these days. That's love for you.

      LONG STORY SHORT looks at the individual behind the public persona. So instead of asking the Senator about his latest vote or what's next in the Presidential campaign, I wanted to understand who he is at this point in his life.

       What quickly unfolded was the strong ambition--for Hawaii and for himself--that still drives him at a time in life when many of his peers have been retired for 20 years.

       Senator Inouye is intent and intense, about moving up in seniority and power in the Senate. He speaks like a young man starting out in life, brimming with optimism and plans, when he's asked to envision his future. There's no thought of retiring, no resting on his laurels, no treading water. It's all about continuing to rise strategically in the hallowed hide-bound traditions of the Senate.

       And despite the bad rap on "earmarks," or what's better known in Hawaii as pork-barrel spending, in the Presidential campaign, Inouye is determined to keep using the process to bring money home to his district.

        And then there are his upcoming nuptials. He's absolutely delighted at the prospect of having Irene as his life companion and partner. But there's no sense he'll cut back on his work; instead he'll schedule differently to spend quality time with new bride.

        He tells of poignant final days with Maggie, his late wife of nearly 57 years.

        A short time before dying of cancer in 2006, she asked him if she could be buried with him at Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific.

        He said, "Of course." She paused and pointed out that Punchbowl only allows one spouse per burial and that he likely would have another wife.

        Inouye promised Maggie that she would be the one resting in peace with him at Punchbowl when the time comes. 

       The child they had together, long since grown up and married himself, will serve as the Senator's best man at this month's wedding.

      

      

Arming Myself With Good Advice

      I don't have any personal use for guns, but I just heard another wise saying that derives from gun imagery.

    Flipping through television channels, I came across an old Bette Davis movie in which her character was referring to how she was dealing with her meddling, anxious mother: "Stick to your guns but don't fire."

     I like that. And I also like an expression that offers a different take: "Fire and fall back." Very useful thing to do when you believe strongly that others are charting the wrong course. You share your conviction, and you step away to allow them to re-consider.

     Then there's the comment a former news director made to me, back when I was a reporter and someone was threatening to sue the television station over a story that we were sure was correct.

     "Don't do or say a thing," he advised. "But keep your ammo dry."  Excellent advice. We stood ready with solid findings. But the talk of a lawsuit was just that--talk.

      Nice, when advice hits the target.

Getting His Master's Degree with Fantasy Football

      We have about 20 college students working at PBS Hawaii, learning the television business and getting paid. Most work in production, assisting with weekly programs we shoot in our studio in Manoa.

      In the last few weeks, our college workers have felt the pressure of final exams. We can always tell when exams hit, by the furrowed brows, lunch breaks spent hitting the books and requests to take a day off.

      One of our workers, David Bergeman, is a master's degree candidate--and he's about to defend his thesis in communications at Hawaii Pacific University.

      I notice the other students aren't overly concerned about his stress level. Not after finding out his thesis has to do with fantasy football!

     Here's what he's been researching--the differences between blue-collar and white-collar fantasy football players.

      In his study, he found that the white-collar workers tend to put less time and less effort into the game than the blue-collar players he studied. The white-collar workers play for less money, and winning does not provide them with an increased sense of worth. They play the game for enjoyment and relationship-building. 

      With blue-collar workers, David found, the game is more important and they put more ego into it. The process sometimes damages relationships.

      Both groups do a good deal of trash-talking, often posted on online discussion boards. The white-collar workers tend to take the vulgarity and insults in stride. It's all in fun. But tempers flare among the blue-collar players and things can get nasty.

      David believes this is because they put more stock in the game. They seize opportunities to outwit each other and boost their regard in the eyes of their peers. David believes fantasy football affords them a measure of managerial control that's not attainable in their jobs.

      Other students in David's communications master's degree program are researching subjects like employee performance reviews and supervisory feedback. But I'll bet their friends and acquaintances don't spend as much time asking, "So what are you finding in your thesis research?"

Yoo-hoo, Loretta...It's Bette Midler!

     Loretta Ables Sayre, starring on Broadway as Bloody Mary in the classic musical "South Pacific," sent friends back in Hawaii an email that started out:

     "Guess who knocked on my dressing room door last night?"

      It turned out to be another fabulous singer/actor with Hawaii roots, Bette Midler.

      "We both graduated from Radford High School and we talked pidgin like two titas!" Loretta wrote.

       Bette, as you recall, created The Divine Miss M persona and she once said about it: "People always love a broad, someone with a sense of humor, someone with a fairly wicked tongue, someone who can belt out a song, someone who takes no guff."

        That's exactly the kind of character Loretta is playing on Broadway.

        Loretta is on leave as "the voice" of PBS Hawaii.

        Bette was born in Honolulu, to a housepainter and a housewife/seamstress. The family was one of the few whites in a Halawa housing area populated by Hawaiians, Japanese, Chinese, Samoans and Filipinos. The Midlers were also the only Jewish family. Bette has told friends that she felt like "an outsider" and that's one reason she was so fond of playing make-believe and chose a career in drama. Her school buddies remember her as "happy all the time." Bette dropped out of the UH Manoa after a few semesters and struck out for opportunities--and high-profile success--on the Mainland.

      Hawaii residents have long followed her singing and acting career, and if they didn't do this before, they certainly do so now--embrace her as "one of our own."

      The two stars and professional "broads" from Hawaii, Bette and Loretta, had fun comparing stories at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

      I wonder who else will come knocking at Loretta's dressing room door!

"Number 3 Son" Remembers Nona Beamer

      Neil J. Kaho'okele Hannahs, PBS Hawaii's Board Chair, was a kid from the rural town of Ma'ili on Oahu's leeward coast, when he got to know the late cultural educator and treasure, Nona Beamer.

    He shares the story in a remembrance written for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' current issue of Ka Wai Ola.

    The story goes back to when Aunty Nona was teaching at the Kamehameha Schools in Kapalama. Neil and her sons Keola and Kapono Beamer were students and friends at Kamehameha.

    Neil writes, "It was a long commute (from Ma'ili) with a 5 a.m. start in the days before H-1. Extra-curricular activities often left me looking for a place to sleep in town. By then, Aunty Nona had moved with the boys into faculty housing on the grounds of Bishop Museum. They graciously took me in. Their apartment became my second home, and Aunty Nona affectionately dubbed me #3 son. We became and continue to be family."

      Years later, Neil's daughter Lihau would have an opportunity to oli (chant) for Aunty Nona. Aunty gave Lihau feedback in an encouraging note employing a bit of shorthand a la today's text messagers.

      "Dear Lihau--how pleased I was 2 hear your fine chant. Your voice is very good--clear & pleasant. I hope U will keep up w/your chanting. You have a talent for it. Don't rush yourself--breathe deeply and sustain your tones," Aunty Nona wrote.

        Here's my favorite part: "Think about the meaning of your words & your heart will overflow in your voice."

        She continued, "This will give you great understanding & your voice will reflect your love. Much love 2 U dear & 2 the family. Come C me anytime!"

        Aunty passed away April 10 at age 84. Neil gives a wonderful account of her accomplishments and what she has meant to Hawaii. You can find it at oha.org/kawaiola in the He Ho'omana'o section.

        We certainly wish we could C Aunty anytime.

Spring Wen' Sprung

     My husband Jeff majored in English. He's an excellent writer. In fact, 14 years ago, he asked me out on a lunch date by sending me a perfect handwritten note--setting just the right tone, casual yet caring, interested but not presumptuous. We had sushi, hit it off, and got married a couple of years later. I still have the note.

      Over the years, I've seen Jeff call upon his English degree to write business proposals, speeches, sympathy cards, short stories, and more. He reads a lot. Our kids laugh because he'll sometimes use--without affectation--a five-dollar word, when they were expecting a common one.

       After all these years, none of us was expecting what he scribbled on the back of some junk mail when he came in from mowing our yard in Waialua:

                           First cut all da grass

                           Den come plenny birds

                           Eat da bugs it's spring now, no? 

         Jeff had cast aside writing in standard English for pidgin! Well, why not? In Hawaii, pidgin easily conveys thoughts that standard English makes cumbersome.

        

Weigh in with Your Vote on PBS Funding

     Parade Magazine's poll of the week asks whether federal funding should continue to go to the non-commercial Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). If you have an opinion, follow this link to Parade.com and speak your mind with your keyboard!

http://tinyurl.com/684ytw

       If Hawaii had to start from scratch, without federal funding, to build a public television station, costs might be prohibitive. But here we are, up and running with a full line-up of fine local and national adult and children's programs and educational outreach services. PBS Hawaii was launched by community-minded citizens supporting the vision of broadcasting for the public good. Hawaii citizens continue to support us heavily with contributions. In a world of media conglomeration, we're a locally owned and operated non-profit with an authentic voice. 

       Federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is also very important to us, making possible our ongoing transition to the digital age. One out of every six dollars in our budget comes from federal funding.

      We're convinced PBS gives an excellent return on public investment. For less than $1.35 per person a year, public broadcasting (including radio) provides everyone in this country with top-quality programming and educational services for children and adults.

       Trust is not easily earned, and the American public has placed trust in the PBS. This year, for the fifth year in a row, Americans declared PBS to be the most trustworthy institution in the country. The international research company Roper Public Affairs & Media found that Americans rank public television well ahead of the courts of law, commercial broadcast television networks, newspaper publishers, the federal government, cable television networks and Congress.

       OK, no secret how I'm casting my vote. I agree with Eric Boehlert, senior fellow at Media Matters, a non-profit media watchdog group: "PBS is a success story for the government, ranking up there with the national parks." We're also a success story for others who believe in us and extend support: viewer donors, producers, private foundations, corporations.

Robert Cazimero on PBS' INDEPENDENT LENS

    Tuesday May 6 at 7:30pm, I'll have the second half of my conversation with singer Robert Cazimero on our weekly PBS Hawaii program, LONG STORY SHORT.

     Then, on Thursday, May 8, at 8:30pm, Robert goes national, as the respected PBS national program INDEPENDENT LENS presents a moving documentary.

     Funded by Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC), the film focuses on Robert's all-male hula school, Halau Na Kamalei, as it doggedly and joyfully prepares for the "Superbowl of Hula," the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo.

      Watch the program, and you may get caught up in the dynamics of achieving a perfect, unified, culturally authentic performance from modern, regular guys who are also committed to busy careers and personal lives.

     Most hula halau teach both men and women. But Robert's own mentor and kumu hula (hula teacher), the late Maiki Aiu Lake, urged him to specialize in teaching men.

     She warned him that men wouldn't pay to be taught hula, as women do--so it wouldn't be an easy venture. (She was right.)

     The documentary shows the brotherhood bonds in  Halau Na Kamalei and explores Western stereotypes about gender and sexuality in hula. In ancient times, men learned hula as well as the arts of fighting and war.

      Robert told me he felt uncomfortable giving the documentary team open access to himself and the halau, but he felt his kumu Maiki would want him to do it.

     Come to think of it, we're not accustomed to knowing who Robert really is, only about what he's doing as a public figure. We see him in the media, pitching a concert or a worthy cause. But he's doing promotion, not introspection.

     On LONG STORY SHORT, Robert speaks frankly about about what it takes to get into the halau, why he expelled his beloved brother  and business partner Roland, the advice he received from Don Ho about "our people," how he feels about his voice, and why he sings every song as if it's his last.

      PBS Hawaii will play an encore of LONG STORY SHORT with Robert, after Thursday evening's INDEPENDENT LENS presentation.

Being Vulnerable and Strong in Hawaii

     On a beautiful day on Oahu's North Shore, merchants are cringing. They're seeing less traffic and less spending, and they're bracing for a rough economic year.

     A businessman and neighbor knows I work for a non-profit organization. "Good luck to you and to me," he said. "I'm not used to saying 'no' to good causes. I even had to turn away the local Little League team. I've been turning down all requests for charitable contributions for months because I just don't know how bad (the economy's) going to get."

      Up and down the main road of storefronts in Haleiwa, there's head-shaking about current rice limits and the high price of gas. There are comparisons to the financial drought after 9/11, and to the 1970s oil embargo that caused shipping delays and left us with gas rationing and a toilet paper shortage.

      I thought back to a long. chatty letter I received during the oil embargo from a college friend on the Mainland. "Cheer up," she wrote. "I'm giving you more than moral support. After you read this, divvy it up among our pals." The letter was written entirely on toilet paper.

      Unless you have a source who can supply you with a whole lot more than toilet paper, it's tough to get over and around hard times. You just have to GO THROUGH the economic cycle and hang on or re-tool, keeping your eyes open for opportunities.

      Right now, our geographic isolation and dependence on factors outside Hawaii is underscoring our vulnerability. But living on remote islands, there's great strength in knowing that we have each other.

      I hope most Hawaii residents' philosophy stays the same in good and bad economic times: Do everything you can to take care of yourself and your family, and try to help your neighbors.