‘Morning peeps! I’m sitting here on the porch, enjoying a steaming hot cup of DD coffee while watching the sun come up over mountains as the cool trade winds blow gently through the trees. It’s the start of another absolutely gorgeous day in paradise … truly priceless! I know for a lot of my friends on the mainland and in Japan it’s been pretty hot and humid, so I hope they can make it over here soon …
Well, last week was another busy one… after performing for two private events, the week was filled with meetings and events including a performance at the annual Wildest Show at the Honolulu Zoo. We always enjoy performing at this popular summer event which was started by my good friends, Roy and Kathy Sakuma. It’s held every Wednesday and always attracts a great crowd who come to enjoy the early evening concert. Then on Tuesday, I met my pal “Q” at our favorite breakfast place on Waimanu St. (can’t remember the actual name because we always call it “Christie’s place” since that’s the name of the woman who runs it.). There are some great local “dives” and Christie’s is definitely one of them … great cheap local grinds ($.99 cent breakfast special) and one of the few places where diners sit on old vinyl padded metal kitchen chairs at formica tables. Of course, the menu is real local – fried rice (kim chee or regular) omelette with Spam or lup cheong, eggs with Portuguese sausage, chorizo, kalbi, or meat loaf (brown gravy, of course!) corned beef hash, and my favorite, grilled ahi with eggs over-easy. It’s truly a cardiologist’s nightmare but soooo ONO!! That night, the boys and I were invited by my friend Leon to dinner at Paesano’s in Manoa where we met Kuroki-san, a big concert promoter in Japan, along with several fan club organizers for a very well-know Japanese mega-group. Everyone had a great time but ate way too much …
Thursday was my golf day … and that’s all I have to say about that since my game still sucks.  That evening, we had a meeting at one of our favorite watering holes, Tsukuneya, which is located next to the UH campus. I always order the special ramen, and that evening they had a spicy kim chee one. For those of you who don’t know what kim chee is, it’s a Korean staple usually made by combining won bok or cabbage, garlic, fish & shrimp paste, chilis, and other ingredients all together and then letting it sit and ferment … and the longer the better! It’s definitely an acquired taste, but I love the stuff … especially when it’s real spicy!
My mom’s still having a hard time … she fell again and now has slight bruises around her nose, one eye, and on both knees. Although she’s in assisted care, she tried to get of bed on her own and fell before they could get to her. She looked a little better yesterday although she now spends most of her time sleeping … I’m gonna drop by later today to see how she’s doing.
Have a great mid-July week, my friends!
Aloha, “D”