Category: Life

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DINNER AT ROY’S FOR BELATED BIRTHDAY

Three months after I was hospitalized in Queen’s — admitted Aug. 10, released Aug. 19 — I celebrated my belated birthday (’twas on Aug. 13, while I was in treatment for health issues) last night at Roy’s Restaurant in Hawaii Kai.

The birthday dude, left, with Vi, John, Jack and Cha, at Roy’s.

Our Soldier Boy nephew John Rhoades is visiting from his Army chores at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, so timing was perfect and he joined Vi and me and our longtime pals, Jack and Cha Thompson, for a festive dinner with Roy’s providing sushi and braised ribs pupu, and each of us selected our own entrees.

The Roy’s outing was the first “fine dining” endeavor, as I continue my recovery process. and it was joyous treat.

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CHUNG: A PROMOTER EXTRAORDINAIRE

Yemun Chung, a talent manager and entrepreneur extraordinaire, died Monday (Sept. 11) in a Las Vegas hospital. He was 78.

A San Francisco-born talent manager and recording and show producer, Chung was a self-styled promoter who became best known locally as the manager of The Fabulous Krush (later, The Krush), who won Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in 1981 and in 1985.

Chung, celebrating his 78th birthday — his last — with a cake.

Chung died of an apparent heart attack, after complaining of chest pains, at the VA Hospital Emergency Room, according to his wife, Gloria.

Yemun was 78, celebrating in June with a birthday cake.
“Days prior to the heart attack, he was in great spirits, looking forward to seeing Carrie Underwood at the end of this month,” said Gloria. 

“Yemun’s kidneys were functioning at 6 per cent last January 2022 and that’s when he started dialysis knowing that if he did not, his time would be limited,” she said. “He was grateful every day that he was able to live more than a year and a half on borrowed time. He was very positive and knew the Lord could take him anytime and was ready.”

Chung had been having shortness of breath issues and was scheduled to visit a doctor Sept. 22 for a cardiac catheterization and to check for blockages in his heart, said Gloria.”Sadly we never had the chance to perhaps save him.,” she said.

Chung and his wife were former Honolulans who migrated to Las Vegas 13 ½ years ago, to help raise her grandchildren.

Thus, he had to abandon a legacy of celebrity management, recording production, and show production, in an era when managers often had p.r. appeal.

Chung was a reporter and producer in the 1970s at KGO Radio in San Francisco, but ventured to make his mark in Hawaii, rubbing shoulders and elbows with some of Hawaii’s celebrity managers and recording icons beginning in the 1980s and eventually evolved into one of the most active talent-touting managers  himself through the early 2000s.

He held numerous jobs in the emerging entertainment frontier in Waikiki, serving as director of marketing and promotion for the Jim Nabors show at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Dome and, befriended Kimo McVay, whosd prime celebrity client then, included Don Ho who was the main attraction at the Duke Kahanamoku’s nightclub, at the International Market Place.

But it was his managerment of The Krush act, who performed in the 1980s at the Garden Bar of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, that got him noticed. Chung produced the group’s albums that notably won Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in 1981 and in 1985.

The Fabulous Krush copped the Most Promising Artist trophy in 1981 and its “Fabulous Krush” debut was Album of the Year. In ’85, The Krush won the Hoku Contemporary Album prize for its “More and More” disc.

The wins heightened the act’s visibility and popularity, and The Krush became one of the rotating headliners, sharing time slots with the Society of Seven and The Ali‘is, at the Main Showroom of the Outrigger Waikiki resort.

With hits such as “Waialua Sky,” The Krush became nightclub favorites as well as hitmakers on the Hawaii charts, and Chung was the mover-and-shaker behind the raves.

Tom Moffatt, left, one of Chung’s mentors.


In the 1990s, Chung joined the talent team that included George Chun at Tom Moffatt’s Paradise Records and he  consequently worked with a host of local performers.
Among the other entrepreneurs Chung collaborated with was Jack Cione, who staged a couple of Waikiki nightclub attractions, and co-promoted a music club in Aiea as well.

Gloria and Yemun Chung, in white garb, with the Local Divas, from left, Nohelani Cypriano, Carole Kai, Melveen Leed and Loyal Garner.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he worked on promotion for the Local Divas, the femme foursome comprising Carole Kai, Melveen Leed, Loyal Garner and Nohelani Cypriano, popular on the concert stage.

Clearly, Chung was a major player in the Waikiki mainstream, where he made his mark rendering managing chores, music-producing skills, and — something he loved — doing hands-on publicity, whether it was writing p.r. releases or posting concert posters around town.

Chung and his wife were residing in Northwest Las Vegas; survivors also include stepchildren Yvette Brink, Beau Brinik, Darrell Kadooka (spouse Jair) and grandchildren Krissy, Ashlee and Atticus. Services are pending.

And that’s Show Biz. …

All photos courtesy Gloria Chung

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ARE YOU OLD, OR OLDER TO REMEMBER?

Received this “You Might Be Old If…” compilation that has been making the rounds on Facebook.

It’s a great reflection of things past, but clearly a list of more recent experiences.

So I put on my memory cap, and searched the cobwebs of my growing-up time, and came up with a “You Might Be Older Than Old If…” version.

Of course, there could easily be an Old-Like-God compilation, if someone is willing to share…

You might be older than old if …

  • You shopped at the five-and-dime store.
  • You had milk delivered in glass bottles to your doorstep.
  • You ordered chocolate and strawberry milk.
  • You had washing machines with wringers.
  • You remember your five-digit telephone number.
  • You bought groceries from the yasai-man (vegetable seller who also sold fish and meat from a wagon/truck).
  • You bought dim sum from the manapua man who had two tin cans hanging from a pole.
  • You pounded your own mochi at home for new year’s.
  • You owned fountain pens with a jar of ink with a well for refilling the pen, before the arrival of ball-point pens,.
  • You watched movies in the hub of downtown movie houses, including the Hawaii Theatre, Princess Theatre, Liberty Theatre, King Theatre.
  • You purchased aku bones at the market for a delish dinner.
  • You made your own tsukemono by soaking cabbage in a large pot with water and old bread, with a stone weight to keep the contents in water.
  • You wore festive kimono (girls and women) or yukata tops (boys and men) to go summertime bon dances at local Buddhist churches.
  • You slept in sleeping bags, on the floor, while in grade school.
  • You wore Buster Brown shoes.
  • Your elders watched Japanese films at Aala Park and the Kukui St. area.
  • You had manual typewriters, with black replacement ink in a spool, and red-and-black in if you were able to afford ‘em.
  • You owned a phonograph with multiple speed choices, to play 78 rpm, 45 rpm and 33 rpm discs?
  • You communicated by snail mail, not e-mail, and when needed, paid extra postage for air-mail.
  • You used bubble lights on your Christmas tree.
  • You and the family ventured to Fort Street to view Liberty House’s decorated, animate Christmas show in its storefront windows.
  • You  watched prime-TV series, like “The Ed Sullivan Show,” which were shown here a week after its mainland airing.
  • You remember when the 50th State Fair was the 49th State Fair.
  • You rode city buses, operated by Honolulu Rapid Transit, which were trolleys requiring electricity.
  • You recall when Kalanianaole Hwy. was three-lanes, one heading to the Hawaii Kai, one heading to town, and the center lane for left or right turns?
  • You took your own pot, to order take-out saimin, from a saimin stand?
  • You attended Japanese language school, which were common after-school destinations, for those of Japanese ancestry.
  • You took in first-run movies at the Waikiki #1, Waikiki #2, and Waikiki #3, plus the Kuhio, in Waikiki.  And the Royal Theatre, also in Waikiki.
  • You saw in Don Ho, at his mom’s Honey’s in Kaneohe, before he went big-time at Dulke Kahanamoku’s at the International Market Place. It’s where he first introduced Marlene Sai to local audiences.
  • You watched the original “Sunrise” live morning show on KGMB, hosted by Kini Popo  (Carl Hebenstreit) and featuring Lei Becker.
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A JARRING CARD, OF THANKS

In my life, I cannot have enough notecards to suit various needs of expression.

Lately, due to an unexpected illness, I value thank you cards (handmade by moi, whenever there’s time) to send to a colleague or even a stranger, to say thanks.

This latest creation is a variation of something I made several years ago, and for lack of a bright idea now, decided to “recycle” with a limited new version. This always gets a warm giggle from recipients.

Tells me that there’s always a need for a jar of thank-yous.

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RECOVERY LIFE INCLUDES UPS, DOWNS

You might recall that when I was in Queen’s Medical Center two weeks ago, I surmised that a hospital was like a hotel for those with broken souls.

Now at home in recovery mode, this broken soul has an updated observation: Recovery life is like a movie, or perhaps a documentary. It’s not quite a lights-camera-action motif, but there are moments that could be mildly cinematic.

First, I must share that I finally had a haircut yesterday after being tardy for more than two sweeks. You know you need a trim when there’s far too much growth above the fenders, and the body wave appointments that my hair resembled a weed patch like the overgrown grass at any city intersection.

So Lucil obliged with a trim, since my regular ‘dresser Tootsie was not available. Oh, such bliss. It was a photo op that I neglected, so did a selfie upon returning home.

This would have been ample “news” for the day, but overnight, I had another “moment.” At around 2 a.m., I was getting off the bed to go to pee (man, I go three times or so a night, with a walker to boot), when I rolled off the bed (we don’t have hospital guard rails) and landed flat on my face and shoulder, luckily not squishing a network of tubes and bags collecting drips from the abscess from my liver and my gall bladder, the reason I was hospitalized.

Ouch! In retrospect, I thought of the TV commercial where the lady fell at the foot of the stairs and could not adequately yell for help.

Luckily, my wife Vi heard the noise when I slid onto the floor in the darkness, and it did take a minute or so for me to catch my bearings and attempt to lift myself up. But I couldn’t; I had no strength to stand up, so Vi had to help lift me onto the side of the bed, so I could breathe and recover to properly head to the bathroom.

When I was done, Vi brought me an ice pack to place on my face to minimize bruising, if any.

Now, this nocturnal “action” clearly was a bigger issue than a haircut, and part of this life-as-movie anecdote. Could’ve made this a “camera” moment, but the iPhone was elsewhere recharging. It is what it is.

Recovery requires patience, since everything is in go-slow mode. Take your time on the walker, to avoid falls. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, since there’s a handful of meds to take morning, noon and night.  Boring, but again, it is what it is. Oh, there are twice-a-day draining of those unfashionable drip collectors to measure and document the oozes from my liver and gladder. Somewhat disgusting, but I’ll have these procedures till the well runs dry. Meaning pau drip, pau wearing these bags and cords.

My daily routine is, alas, routine. After I awaken, I have a cup of coffee, read the morning paper and USA Today, and watch “Today” and switch to CNN for an overview of the world. The Maui wildfires are still on the agenda, and Idalia’s wind and water fury in Florida and the East Coast grab the headlines.

Breakfast Is unexciting: English muffin, croissant, or oatmeal, with sliced bananas or cubed watermelon (a favorite, when I was in Queen’s).

Of course, news is routine, too … there’s the daily update on Trump’s litany of court cases and his customary “I am innocent” laments, between the real news, like another attack in Ukraine.

This leisurely sked enables me to resort to one of my hobbies, making hand-made notecards, to write thank-you’s for courtesies and kindnesses from friends. Plus, I try to create new versions of my aloha shirt cards.

Retirement enables time to reflect on good gestures and kind people. I spent some time yesterday writing gift donations to my favorite theater groups to mail today, since the fall season and special shows are in the offing in the days, weeks and months ahead. While Maui’s victims are needy and need kokua, global donors have responded, so we can’t forget the arts groups here that need support, too.

And have hand-written messages on self-made cards to a batch of wonderful friends who’ve offered comfort and warm support over the past weeks.

Admittedly, none of the aforementioned would be worthy of  the stuff of movies, but in my imagined reel world, this is the nature of the momentum and mundane doings during  my recovery.

I should add that I’ve had some Zoom doctor visits, with a few more forthcoming, and a few in-office doc  visits, too, along with clinic visits and in-hospital testing. The beat goes on.

And I trust I won’t fall of the bed again. That would be a nightmare…

Further, did you get the last preventive shot at CVS Longs? If and when you do, you’ll receive a $5 coupon for future use when you spend $20.  A good deal. …

So this rambling movie in my mind still is not over. Hey, films are not done in a day or two…

And that’s Show Biz. …