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Screen Time
Katherine Nichols
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Game show puts Maui man in TV spotlight
'Deal or No Deal" will feature Hawaii's
Brad Falcon next week. The Wailuku resident applied to participate on the game show in an attempt to win money to help his father, who is relegated to a wheelchair after a stroke, and his mother, who cleans houses to support the couple. "We want to take care of them, but it's just so hard financially," Falcon said.
His sister encouraged him to complete the online application and send a video of himself. The effort paid off. He landed an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles with immediate and extended family -- and the opportunity for a financial windfall. "They treated us like movie stars," the 37-year-old Falcon said of excursions to Disneyland and Universal Studios with his wife and 10-year-old son after they finished shooting the show. Of course, Falcon could not reveal the results, but his effusive praise indicates there's something to smile about.
Falcon remembers when he, his sister and mother first moved to Hawaii in 1983 and slept on the beach for a short time before they found a place to live. "My family is close because of what we've been through," he said. Most of all, he values his mother's sacrifices.
"Our passion was to allow our mom to have more time off," said Falcon, who remodels homes for a living. "It's pretty remarkable that I got chosen. It just proves that our dreams can come true. The hardest step is just getting off the couch!"
If you want to know what happens, look for Falcon at 8 p.m. Monday and at 7 p.m. Wednesday on NBC.
Don Brown has organized a new series of films about sustainable living in Hawaii which begins at 5 p.m. Sunday in Spalding Auditorium at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. The first in the "Friends of the Earth Film Series" is called "Islands at Risk," a movie covered previously in this column. It examines genetic engineering in Hawaii and the way in which local farmers and consumers are trying to protect their food supplies. The next selection shifts attention from farming to the ocean. "Hawaii: Message in the Waves" shows at 3 p.m. Feb. 3 and features an interview with Jack Johnson.
The series runs from January to June. Admission is $5 for the film and discussion. Good news: Parking on campus is free on Sundays!
The Department of Health Child Wellness Program/Maternal and Child Health Branch joined forces with Hawaii Student Television to create a five-minute video and 30-second public-service announcement about sudden infant death syndrome, allowing Kapolei High School teenagers to learn about SIDS and perfect their video production skills in the process. The longer version features a narrative with actors Sean Jones, Malia Verdadero and Leysillie Williams. Additional on-camera contributors include Dr. Louise Iwaishi, a pediatrician at Kapiolani Medical Center, and Dana Fong, who lost his grandchild to SIDS. The PSA debuted last month, and will continue to air on a variety of channels throughout January.
