Category: Updates

David “Kawika” Talisman, a former Honolulu Police Department officer and a badge-carrying Private Investigator, died May 2 at his Waikiki condominium. He was 79.

Kawika, or “Kawiks,” as he often called himself, had a remarkably varied life.  He was a scriptwriter, a singer-composer, a lyricist,  a videographer,  a filmmaker, and website wizard.

Among his cherished  show biz credits was his involvement in “The Jeffersons Go to Hawaii,” a four-part CBS special filmed in Waikiki and aired in 1980, which also became a calling card for the former New Jersey native, who fell in love with Hawaii and relocated here.

“He had a strong personality, and he loved to make people laugh,” said his widow Kyoko Talisman. “He brought happiness to many people. Everywhere I go, people tell me, ‘I know your husband.’  Everybody called him Kawika; only me, I call him David.” (Kawika is the Hawaiian equivalent of David).

“He had so much pain,” said Kyoko, who  was married to Kawika for 28  years. Kawika had a multitude of health issues, including cancer.

He loved to tool around in his SUV, with its rear lift, for access to his mobile scooter, which gave him independence to drive hither and yon. Even with pain, Kawika had joy, meeting pals for breakfast or lunch.

All that changed, when his health worsened.

Kyoko was Kawika’s primary caregiver over the past few years. “Of course I had to be supportive and (caregiving) was something I had to do,” she said “But we had hospice help, too, and I also hired an aide for homecare every day. At the end, I was very, very tired.

“But he went peacefully. I played new Japanese music, and we liked to do stupid things, like dancing, if no one was there. In the end, with the music on, I realized that he was not breathing. He was gone, but he was smiling,” she said.

Ken Makuakane, a pastor at Kawaiahao Church, baptized Kawika and conducted the last rites at their home.

Kyoko said she met David through mutual friends. Dates were meaningful in their lives, so a Celebration of Life for Kawika will be held on June 30, their wedding anniversary date, at Borthwick Mortuary. A timetable is not yet set.

Kawika was adamant to create  his own video that would be shared at the Celebration of Life, but he was too ill to complete the project, but made the decision on what photographs and music would be included in the video.

“He was very good at producing video,” said comedian Frank DeLima, a longtime friend, who hired Kawika to produce “Best of DeLima,” a Betamax  release.

Kawika and DeLima customarily celebrated each other’s birthdays over dinners. “He was always fun to be with and we discussed aches and pain often. But toward the end, the pain was horrible,” said DeLima. “Now, he has no pain.”

In the mid-1990s, Kawika joined HPD and donned a police uniform to join the team of HPD Chief Michael Nakamura, headquartered at Ke Kula Makai, a HPD training facility, where Kawika spent four years producing video re-enactions of notable HPD shootings, a model still used now by HPD and also the FBI.

In 2000, Kawika was selected by the FBI Honolulu Division to help launch a chapter of InfraGard, a partnership between the FBI and the private sector including private businesses, academic institutions, and state and local law enforcement agencies, to share data and intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the U.S.

Kawika re-activated his P.I. credentials in 2009, as an adjunct to his IT operations. That’s when his buddies kidded him, being “Talisman, P.I.,” like in “Magnum, P.I.”

He designed and built complex websites that earned him awards; with more than 13 years of experience as senior engineer for NTTA/Verio Professional Service, he has worked in most web technologies.

In 2015,  Kawika received the prestigious FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award, bestowed by then FBI Director James. B. Comey in Virginia, for his contributions through services that made a lasting difference in the region.

Kawika was born on Nov. 24, 1944 in New Jersey, but was destined to settle in Hawaii, because he truly had a Hawaiian heart.

Knowing he eventually would pass, he bought an apartment for Kyoko, with no mortgage worries for her, and “large enough for a big dog,” said Kyoko, whose 75-lb. dog now has a place to romp.

The couple earlier owned a home at Hawaii Loa Ridge, relocated to a rental on the Koko Marina in Hawaii Kai, then moved to temporary quarters at a friend’s home in Manoa.

The Talismans bought a condo, where Kyoko now lives with her latest dog companion, a rescue pet from the Humane Society, because her earlier pet, a Labrador named Hanako died.. “I was so sad, I cried, cried, cried,” she revealed.

It took her eight weeks to finally decide on a replacement pet, which was a he, not a she, and he came with a peculiar name, Aladdin.
“I changed his name to Hachi, and he was born Nov. 8 and I adopted him Jan. 8,” she said. Eight is a prominent figure in her life  (it appears in some of her private codes), so Hachi — named after a famous real-life dog named Hachi, with legendary popularity — was the ideal name, since “hachi” is the number 8 in Japanese.

There’s a possibility that the Talisman name might pop up on a TV screen. Prior to his death, Kawika was co-writing, with a Los Angeles colleague, a one-hour pilot for a proposed season of shows, entitled “Cane Fire.” Their agent, Roger Strull, is shopping the show for a potential pick-up…

And that’s Show Biz…

The Honolulu Theatre for Youth, celebrating 70 years of producing shows for island youngsters and their families, will present  five world premieres and a selection of popular  HTY-commissioned Hawaii tales in its 2024-25 season starting this August.

The slate includes:

• “Winnie the Pooh and Bunraku Too,” Aug. 25, Sept. 1 and 14 — An adaptation of A.A. Milneʻs classic book performed using Bunraku, a Japanese puppet theatre that dates back to the 17th century. Original music, theatrical magic and audience interaction bring new life to the children’s classic.
• “The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac,”  Sept. 29 and Oct. 5 –A  play by Reiko Ho, celebrating Chinese New Year and the Chinese Zodiac animals, in a Great Race that explores the folklore traditions augmented by Chinese music, Jijgiu and martial arts. A Neighbor Island tour will follow the Tenney Theatre residency.
•  “Pā Ka Makani,” Oct. 13, 20 and 26 – A play by Lokomaikaʻi Lipscomb and Annie Cusick Wood, exploring what the wind means here in Hawaii and beyond. A fresh breeze in storytelling, and a fusion of hula, oli and science.

• “Forest Flutters: A Bird-Day Party,”Nov. 10 and 16 — An interactive show about native birds by Danica Rosegren and the HTY Ensemble. A glimpse of forestry resonating with  a symphony of birds who inhabit the greenery, an environment  rich with smells, touch, movement and  music. A collaboration with Capitol Modern, formerly The Hawaii State Art Museum.
• “Christmas Talk Story,”  Dec. 8, 15 and 21 – Featuring a new collection of songs and tales by local writers and the HTY Ensemble, celebrating the joys of the holiday season. HTY is accepting submissions of new material from the community; visit www.htyweb.org.
• “The Musubi Man,”  Jan. 18 and 26 –An island interpretation of the ‘Gingerbread Man,’ by Lee Cataluna, adapted from the beloved book by local author Sandi Takayama.  A popular interactive production geared to the very young (2+) audience and a wonderful introduction to literature.

•  “The Paʻakai We Bring,” Feb. 9 and 15 – A play by Moses Goods and the HTY Ensemble, which exposes young audiences to Native Hawaiian ideas of balance and healing by exploring our relationship to pa‘akai (salt). Traditionally, pa‘akai is food, medicine, and sacrament, essential to  individual, communal, and environmental well-being. Through stories, songs, laughter, and audience participation, the ensemble joyously celebrates ancient and modern ways to restore and maintain balance.
• “Too Many Mangos and OtherStories,”  March 30, April 6, 13 and 26 – A world premiere of an original musical, adapted from the book by Tammy Pail.  Kama and Nani learn valuable lessons from their grandpa about generosity and kindness, teaches what it means to bring aloha to your family and your neighbors.
• “Joseph Kekuku and the Voice of the Steel Guitar,”  May 11, 18 and 25 – A world premiere of a play by Moses Goods and Noa Gardner, in collaboration with Kealakai Center for Pacific Strings. The tale, circa 1889, focuses on a student at Kamehameha Schools who  fabricated a steel bar in the school’s machine shop, slid it across the strings of his guitar and changed the sound and shape of the instrument forever. The grandson of a royal chanter, Joseph Kekuku played his steel guitar for royalty in Hawai‘i and across Europe, inspiring musicians around the world with the new “Hawaiian Sound.”

The five HTY premieres are “Winnie the Pooh,” “Pa Ka Makani,” “Forest Flutters,” “Too Many Mangos,” and “Joseph Kekuku.” The other shows are HTY-commissioned productions.

All performances will be at Tenney Theatre, at Saint Andrews Cathedral.  Curtain time is 4 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Dates listed here are public performances; HTY also stages matinees attended by island students.

Individual tickets: $30  for adults,  $25 for seniors and military, $15 for students and children . Family and patron membership plans available, which includes multiple tickets based on monthly plans. Information: www.htyweb.org.

Rozmiarek play at TAG

“Jake: The Yellow Bench,” a funny and touching play by Joseph T. Rozmiarek, will receive its world premiere May 24 to June 9 at The Actors’ Group’s Brad Powell Theatre at Dole Cannery in Iwilei.

The play is a humorous and knotty depiction of how we navigate through the daily routines of city life, focusing on an elderly man who invites a homeless student to live in his apartment. Rozmiarek’s storytelling skills explores the layers of intrigue and dynamics of their unusual relationship, with support of mood-setting music.

Betty Burdick is directing.

Rozmiarek is a former drama critic-reviewer for the Honolulu Advertiser.

Information: www.taghawaii.net or (808) 741-4699 or (808) 722-6941.

And that’s Show Biz….

Just asking..

What’s your stance, on overhead bins in airplanes?

Do you push your roll-aboard close to your seat in the aisle, for easier access when you deplane? That makes sense.

How many carry-ons do you place in the overhead space? Should be only one.

Do you do the sideways push, with your bags perched on one side? I’ve seen four or five bags, all about the same size, stored sideways, wheels in first, to fill the otherwise open space in the bin.

Or do you favor the positioning, where your bag is on its backside and pull-out handles facing you? This has been the conventional overhead method.

For the most part, airlines don’t have fixed rules about overhead bin storage. The suggested rules deal with bag size – the limits are 22 inches long, 14 inches wide, and 9 inches high, including handles and wheels.

Also, there’s no formal weight limit; the common notion is that a bag should be liftable to the perch in the planes.

We recently discussed the protocols regarding the middle-seat issues in the aircrafts. Overhead bins also are worth discussion.

Now comes the fun stuff – about who does what, when and where.

Are flight attendants obligated to hoist your bag? One told me, a few years ago, no – because if they get injured, they’d be no use for the flight. Makes sense.

Can you ask a flight attendant for kokua, if you are struggling to get your bag in the bin? Perhaps. Or a generous passenger can  volunteer to do the lifting, if he/she sees you’re incapable, disabled, or too short. (Note:  some of the newer plans have higher bins in the center section of the aircraft).

A pertinent and valid question: Do you wait till you get to the vicinity of your seat to sequester your bag? Logically, that’s where your bag should land, not five rows before your region, and certainly, not in the first class cabin the front of the plane. (I’ve seen an attentive flight attendant pursue a dude down the aisle, to retrieve his bag to store in the compartment near his seat).

Finally, if you’re traveling with perishables, stored in a shopping bag you’ve stashed in the overhead, make certain it’s sealed, in zip-locked bags. Instead, travel with an chilled, insulated lunch bag.I was on a flight once, where frozen fish in an overhead bin started to defrost and icky fishy gook dripped on the person beneath the overhead.

Absolutely, this is a no-no.

Happy Boy’s Day, to lads and dads and males young and old.

May 5 is Boy’s Day — also now known as Children’s Day –and traditionally,, households in Japan and Hawaii fly carp over or outside their homes, in keeping with practices in Japanese culture. The carp is known for its strength and determination.

Shown here is a Boy’s Day notecard I creaeted some years back. And yes, a carp is depicted, on a mini-pole, with flying streamers.