"A Hui Hou Perry's..."

I read with sympathy the recent article in the Staradvertiser, the closing of Waikiki's famous restaurant, "Perry's Smorgy."

There was one time in my life I had very little money and for three years on a daily basis, I would sit and relax and eat like on a king while people watching from my favorite table facing Kuhio Blvd.

I would start with the awesome salad bar, then the drink bar for a few lemonades. I would finish and start on sliced turkey, prime rib, shrimp, mahi mahi, beef stew, pizza, and an array of many other entrees to choose from, along with corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, gravy, rice and more...

I would need to rest, then proceed to watermelon, cantaloupe and papaya form the fruit bar, with a small dish of vanilla ice cream from the sundae bar, occasionally I would also sample the puddings, jellos cakes and cookies.

I would finally finish eating, I would read the paper, relax and have a cup of Lion coffee which Perry's was famous for serving.

Back then it was only 4.95 for all you could eat and drink. Most people never tipped but I could feel like a hot shot and leave one dollar and they were ecstatic.

I now live on Kauai and when I visit Honolulu I always looked forward to visiting Perry's. Many ties when visiting I would take the bus directly from the airport to Perry's.

It comes with great sorrow that another great Hawaiian Institution is closing it's door.

To Perry's, you were more than a restaurant, you were a friend and lifeline. I say mahalo and A Hui Hou,

"Sporks for Sprunch..."

The 'SPORK' never really gained any momentum or took of to be a competitor with the knife fork and spoon.

The fast food restaurant chain taco bell is famous for it's disposable 'spork.'

The 'spork' is a spoon with 4 teeth that can be used as fork or spoon. it is a genius piece of cutlery that no home or restaurant should be without.

Brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch. Why hasn't someone invented the "SPRUNCH," a combination of supper and lunch, hence "SPRUNCH."

Ideally one could eat "Sprunch with a 'spork' and not look like a dork, unless of course you use your fork.

Try it, Sporks with Sprunch!

"If I were a crook..."

Hawaii like the rest of the country is going through the worst recession in history. The recession was at one point so bad that our keiki (children) were given a four day school week in order to save the state monies.

These furloughs are no longer in effect, however the county and state now have furloughs on the first and third Friday of each month.

Lifeguards, police, the courts, the mayors office and many county and state offices are closed to save money.

If I were a crook, the first or third Friday of each month is the day I would pick to commit my crime. Robbing banks, murder, rape, selling drugs, speeding, running stop signs, drunk drivers all getting away with their crimes in turn will cost us much more in the long run.

Lawsuits will increase with the lack of a well staffed county, no lifeguard on duty, means there may be a lawsuit for a drowning, then who pays? Who pays when the bank robbers shoot the tellers and their families suffer?

Let's wake up and end all furloughs, since furloughs in the long run will cost! Penny wise and dollar foolish is not the way to run a state.

"College Degrees..."

Why is the number sought after degree form Universities called a Bachelor's Degree?

I understand why one may want to be a Master, hence 'Master Degree's.' I understand how one would like the title Dr. and go for a 'PHD,' a Doctors of philosophy Degree.

Why do people want a Bachelor Degree? I would think many bachelors would prefer being called a Playboy?

A bachelor is an unmarried man, a degree is a way we measure temperatures, therefore a bachelors degree is something for a single man with a temperature? A single man with a high temperature could be called a Playboy, so why not call it a Playboy degree?

Or it could be called a Bachelorette degree, after all women now have equal rights, or if the women has a high temperature she could also receive a Playgirl degree.

The women could receive Bachelorette degree's and the men could receive Bachelors degrees and married people could receive Tie The Not degree's, and the singles with high temperatures would receive the Playgirl or Playboy degree's.     :D)

I'm glad we have that straightened out.

"Write-in candidates..."

Hawaii does not allow for write in candidates on any political position.

Many State's have a provision to write in a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote for anyway.

Write-in candidates rarely win, and votes are often cast for ineligible people or fictional characters, such as Mickey mouse...

However in a democracy where all men and women are supposedly equated equal there is no reason to not allow for the freedom of democracy by changing the ballot to allow for write in candidates.

I would like to write in the names of the few people I know who care about the health, well being and future of our cosmic island and seem to have more passion than most of the politicians running.

Please encourage the department of elections to allow for write in candidates, it is our right as Americans.

"Vice Governors..."

Wikipedia states the following information;

"Currently, 25 states elect a lieutenant governor on a ticket with the governor, while 18 states elect a lieutenant governor separately. In West Virginia, the state Senate chooses. In Tennessee, the senators elect a Speaker of the Senate who also serves as Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. Five states have no lieutenant governor. There are currently 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans serving as lieutenant governors or serving as the first in the line of succession in the United States."

What is a Lt. governor, some are elected by separate elections and some are appointed by the governor as a president would appoint a vice president. In some instance you could actually have a Democratic governor with a Republican Lt. Governor or vice verse.

It's confusing since every state has it's own laws concerning the Lt governor, in fact six states do not even have a Lt.governor.

Those states are Arizona and Illinois where the state attorney general acts in absence of the Governor, Main and New Hampshire where the Senate president acts in absence of the Governor and Oregon and Wyoming where the Secretary of state acts as Governor in the absence.

Hawaii has a separate election for Lt. Governor, it's really quite a confusing job.

In Hawaii the Lt. Governor could be of a different party than the governor, which would make for some fun politics.

Remember though that the Lt. Governor is basically just there in case the governor dies is sick or missing in action.

I think the Lt. Governor should run on the same ticket as the governor and be appointed as a vice president is appointed by the president before a general election.

It makes no sense that the second in command could be of a different party affiliation and not even like the governors political stands.

The Lt. Governor is one position that needs to be standard in every state. I make a motion to dismantle the name Lt. Governor and start calling them vice Governors.

"Just go to the airport for your next medical checkup..."

Wikipedia states the same type of of radiation used in medical diagnostic imaging, such as CT scans, MRI's and X-Rays is used in the new state of the art full body scanners employed at many airports including Hawaii's own Lihue airport.

For those who cannot afford health insurance, buy a cheap  air-flight and go through the  airport full body scanner, ask them if they see any polyps in your colon, or ask them at security if  it's scar tissue on your lung or a cancerous tumor?

Although these full body scanners may cause some embarrassment, it sure beats the average cost of a spinal MRI at $2,500.00. So if your back is killing you and you can't afford the MRI, or your insurance won't pay for it, just thank Uncle Sam and the war on terror for providing free medical imaging for one and all.

To be on the safe side it's always best to travel with a Doctor or radiologist friend in case there's a question of your full body scan diagnosis.

No worries, let your next physical be at your local airport.