GRAND PRIZE WINNER

The judges picked this photo of Moses Pestano and
grandson Chason Yamaguchi as best of the dad-and-baby photos and
the best overall. They liked the composition -- the stretched out legs,
the way the baby seems to be holding on and almost slipping off, the
way Pestano sleeps so rigidly upright. He wins a Snore-No-More pillow,
a bag of his favorite snack (Snickers) and a framed 8-by-10 copy of this
picture. It was submitted by his daughter, Cassie K. Yamaguchi.

Let sleeping
dads lie

Our Father's Day
contest proves that pictures
snore louder than words

By Betty Shimabukuro
Star-Bulletin

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all dads are created sleepy, and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are the right to snore, the right to snore on the floor and the right to snore in front of the TV.

And although men and women may in many things be equal, in this matter men are considerably more equal.

This has been scientifically, more or less, proven by Jayne Hirata-Epstein, whose father can sleep, she says, anywhere, all the while snoring so hard "the floors of our house vibrate." She has photographic evidence of her father, Edward Hirata, passed out on the couch with her 2-month-old son Dante passed out on top of grandpa's generous opu.

Best Dad in a Chair

Juslynn Suzuki says her dad's daily routine after work
is to sit down with his newspaper and his glasses, then immediately fall
asleep. "Once his butt touches the surface he's out cold and you don't
bother him, you stay away, because his snoring will hurt your ears."

"I know this is a male thing because Dante's twin sister, my daughter Taja, will not fall asleep on her grandpa's tummy and his snoring keeps her wide awake," Hirata-Epstein says.

Hers was one of 50 entries in our Father's Day Sleeping Dad photo competition. Alas, it was not the winner, but we do thank Hirata-Epstein for her succinct analysis of the Sleeping Guy phenomenon.

Best Decorated Dad

Ed Kalinowski falls asleep watching TV after work.
"The bugs on his glasses add an up-close experience to his Discovery
Channel watching (or maybe he's just studying his eyelids)," say Ian,
Dane and Christian Kalinowski.

If you doubt it, conduct your own poll: Ask a dozen people at random if their dad/grandad/husband ever falls asleep in chairs, on couches, in front of relatives on major holidays, etc. Our own newsroom poll came up with 11 yes answers and one guy who claims it's his wife who drops off. But we don't believe him.

The entries provide substantial anecdotal evidence, with some clear subcategories of interest:

Dads sleeping with pets on their tummies or tucked in their armpits: 8, the usual pet being a cat.

With babies on their tummies: 9.

In large chairs: 14.

On sofas: 15.

On the floor: 6.

In public places: 8, including one guy sleeping in the busy lobby of a San Francisco hotel.

While reading: 5.

While doing a crossword puzzle: 1.

While driving a car: 1 (not sure if the car was moving).

Only five photos showed the sleeping dad in front of a television or holding the remote control, but in their written comments more than half the entrants mentioned the TV.

Such was the case with Cassie K. Yamaguchi, who submitted the grand-prize-winning photo. It shows her father, Moses Pestano, asleep upright in a chair with grandson Chason also asleep and balanced precariously in his lap. Pestano has a habit of dozing off during sporting events on TV, his daughter says.

"He does, in fact, have exceptionally keen instincts because every time we try to turn the TV off, he opens his eyes and says, 'I'm watching.' Isn't it amazing how he can watch TV with his eyes closed -- and snoring at that?"

Best Dad on the Floor

Harold M. Onishi heads for the living room floor every
day after lunch, says son Paul H. Onishi. And he drapes himself carefully
the same way, his son says, to block out the light and the cold.

This is a talent noted by many entrants, among them Nanette Amba Balding, who calls it "magic sleeping ears." She recalls as a child waiting for her father to drop off. "We would say to each other, 'All right, Dad's sleeping, let's change the channel.' In a blink of an eye, he'd say, 'Hey, hey, hey, I'm watching football, turn the station back and I'm not sleeping!' "

More comments:

"My dad (Bobby J. Hartsock Sr.) is a hard worker, that is why he falls asleep when he is reading about cars. He snorze and likes to sleep on the sofa. He also sleeps on the carpet." -- Mercedes Hartsock, age 9.

"My dad (Richard Chang) was able to fall asleep at the climax of 'Air Force One.' Moreover, he fell asleep in the beginning of 'Titanic.' He also has fallen asleep in his $70 seat at a Broadway show. ... Finally, he has fallen asleep while the dentist worked on his teeth." -- Stacie Chang.

"Our dad (Rodney Kochiyama) always denies how long he takes a nap. We say an hour, but he says 15 minutes." -- Shelly and Kelsey Kochiyama.

Best Dad with a Pet

One judge especially liked this photo, saying it's easy
to get a cat to do this, but that few dogs would put up with it. Such is
the case with Po'okela, the Tseu family dog. Daughter Tatiana says her dad,
Leighton, has to grab the dog and hold him firmly until they both fall
asleep. It's his way, she says, of showing his love for the dog.

Best Sleeping Expression

Stanley Cadiente's daughters, Tanya and Andrea, offered
no explanation for this sleeping position, but they did say their dad's
snoring "is like the sinking of the Titanic."

Best Dad in a Public Place

Richard Rocheleau's family found him in this spot after
they got back from skiing in Lake Tahoe. "The wind was strong and the
temperature was in the upper 30s." For Dad, though, it was as
comfortable as the living room couch.