Posted by WEBeditor on September 8, 2007, 7:40 pm --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
72.235.172.30
Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo to the BAGgies (Joyce Teruya Warren, Bobbie (Cuizon) & Roger Gomez, Rose Mary Lee Svenningsen, Patrick Kuhns, and Rod Padilla) for a fun packed weekend of events that they planned especially for us Kalihi Kids' big 6-0 celebration! Every one of us who signed up to join this gathering thank each of you for the years of deliberating, planning, coordinating, decision-making that turned out to be such a smashing success. You guys are our "Farrington Idols"!!!
It sounds like an old cliche - "you just had to be there!" to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate all the highlights of each day's events....and even the "down time" whether it was in the hospitality suite, or just hanging out at the cafe eating, or talking story in the casino.... But it's so true...you just had to be there....
.....to find out that rocket scientist Mark Ugale cannot pronounce simple Hawaiian phrases like "hauoli la hanau".....but he turned out to be a great MC for both evenings.... ....and, while consciously he may not be able to dance, we caught him again in the hospitality suite swaying those lovely hula hips... : )
.....to know what it was like to laugh and laugh and laugh till our tummies hurt when Dan Maetani did his "joy"-ful "Jeremiah Bullfrog" routine, or when we "shy gal" classmates (especially Jackie Howell Oliveros) caught ourselves yelling to the top of our lungs, "take it off!!!" when Cal Cummings asked whether he should dance with or without his shirt on... Aiya! ....or watch Rod Padilla get stripped of his "jewels" in a hilarious sumo match with Gwen Waiwaiole....
......to see Henrietta Ally Nobrega thoroughly enjoy herself as she sang and danced to "Raindrops Keep Falling" with her teammates... ....how about Dennis Morioka and gang's "x-rated" "Calendar Girl" performance?.... Bev Ikari Baker, was that really you?? ...and, Neal Shozuya, that was some really excellent "beer bottle" playing in lieu of singing that you did! : )
......to watch as classmates and friends tried to "concentrate" during the poker tournaments as they were distracted by Stan Olayan's constantly funny remarks... ....to find out that Roger Gomez hit two four a kinds and kept quiet about it although he had totaled over 2000 points so early on....
......to enjoy so much Willadeen Medeiros DeSilva's "Farrington Idol" performance as she so gamely and patiently waited for what seemed to be endless technical difficulties to be corrected...all the while still entertaining us with her reactions to the uncontrollable situation... She definitely deserved first prize because when everthing was finally "okay", she blew us all away with her singing!
......to hear the Farrington Idol judges criticize and praise the contestants... Mark "Simon" Svenningsen's comments about not understanding Katherine Nery's hula "without the shoes", or Cas Barruga's "who would match maroon with white??!!" fashion sense.... ....the "bribes" that the contestants offered the judges.... .....laughing so hard when CPA Larry Fujino got up to explain in detail the highly technical and complicated scoring method for the contest...
.....to laugh with abandon when da "T'ree Titas" came out to dance...or was that a dance? Who could tell - we were just so awed by their beauty and grace and gorgeous costumes and undergarments and other normally hidden areas which they coyly revealed... ....and speaking of laughing, "shy, quiet" Dorothy Kihewa held court for small audiences in the eating places...kept us in stitches with her jokes...she should have been in the talent contest!
.....to be in the hospitality suite with classmates and just sit around and chat, and listen to the kanikapila renderings of our classmates and friends... ....to enjoy and take in the moment as one by one they joined in to sing, or got up to dance.....
......to know how our hearts were touched as we saw the BAGgies dance to "Could I Have This Dance" at the end of the main banquet... A group of classmates, who may not have known each other in high school, but brought together as true ohana in an area "away from home"...with each choreographed step, you could feel the "aloha" that they had for each other with each move and gesture.... Watching them, you could not help but feel the same way about all the classmates and friends who had gathered there...
......to be able to sing our Alma Mater so loud and so proudly as we formed a large circle of friendship around the room... Were we really out of high school for 42 years now? And did you ever imagine 42 years ago, that some day in the far off future, you would be celebrating our 60th birthday in Vegas with other "Kalihi Kids" from FHS?
To all the BAGgies, their helpers, prize donors, and to each classmate who trekked to Vegas, thank you for making our "Big 6-0" truly something to remember for a long, long time.... May we continue to "dance together for the rest of our lives...."
Who said "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas"? That may be true for other people, but it's definitely untrue for da Kalihi Kids! To view some photos, click on "Photo Albums" and select "Our Big 6-0 in Vegas" or click on the following link: http://kalihikid.photoparade.com/album/6098/cover
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