Do you just
call him Bo?IT'S been a hectic couple of weeks, one of the nicer aspects of which was not having to see and listen to the multimillion-dollars worth of political TV electioneering in Honolulu ... My vacation began on Maui where I got to see the legendary Bo Diddley perform at the elegant Four Seasons Resort, of all places. Yes, he's still alive and kicking at 70. (But how to address him? "Bo" seems overly familiar, but "Mr. Diddley?" Get real!) He wailed for a full two hours in the hotel ballroom while concert-goers, led by youthful hotel G.M. Tom Steinhower, danced the night away. If there'd have been a mosh pit, I venture he'd have led the crowd into that as well ...
THE event was part of the cancer fund-raiser dedicated to the late Terry Fox, the young man who lost a leg to cancer. He was an inspiration to many. He was fitted with a prosthetic leg and drove his message about coping with cancer home by running a marathon every day for some 143 days, nearly across the entire country, before succumbing to the disease ...
THE Four Seasons chairman was so moved that he promised Fox on his deathbed he'd hold a cancer fund-raiser at every Four Seasons in the world annually to promote cancer awareness and raise money to fight for a cure. And he's been true to his word ...
Princely resort
THE same weekend I was attending the Bo Diddley concert, the prince of Saudi Arabia and his entourage was in residence both at the Four Seasons and the Grand Wailea next door. Chef George Mavrothalasitis oversaw a dinner for two dozen members of the prince's entourage. They ordered "everything on the menu" one waiter said, including 40 lobsters and a like number of filet mignons. Apparently, members of the group like to keep their stomachs well lined. You can bet the tab amounted to a princely sum ...WHILE the Saudi entourage dined in privacy, those attending the fund-raiser were treated to an array of selections from some 15 of Hawaii's finest restaurants including Roy's, Sam Choy's, Alan Wong's, Haili'imaile General Store, Indigo and many more. Suffice it to say, nobody went away hungry ...
THERE was a 10k run and a 5k walk held in connection with the cancer awareness theme, and who should walk off -- make that "run off" -- with the prize in the 60 and over category in the 10k event but Hawaii Business publisher Kim Jacobsen ... The resort's physical fitness facility contained a nice feature: Walking or running machines -- set your own speed -- that contain their own private TV sets, so six or so people using the machines can each watch separate programs while they work off those pounds ...
Anything possible via satellite
WHILING away my final hours on Maui before jetting off directly to San Francisco, I wanted to watch the Monday Night Football game "live" via satellite, not an easy task in Wailuku. Suddenly an idea hit me, and I scoured the roofs of buildings for a satellite dish, and located one in an unlikely spot in a noodle shop. I was doubtful of my prospects, but looked inside and sure enough, there was the game, complete with big screen TV.Tomorrow, it's on to the City by the Bay with a sidetrip to Seattle ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
His columns run Monday through Friday.Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.