Many years ago, I decided to throw a little dinner party for some friends on the weekend before Thanksgiving. I went out to get the groceries and returned home to be greeted by my son, then 7 years old. As with most growing boys, he had a keen interest in food. He eagerly assisted me …
Christmas Horn Cookies
The recipe came from the “old country” and according to family legend, it was top secret and to be guarded. We knew them as Christmas Horns, a confection of almonds, flour, eggs, vanilla and sugar. Right after Thanksgiving, the kitchen would turn into a factory, as the kids helped Mom crank out the dough for …
Brotherly love
I had to make a decision involving one of the most basic of human needs: use the bathroom now or chance a long ride? We -- my siblings and our respective spouses -- were on the upper northwest side of the island of Oahu, about to make our return to our vacation rental, a fair …
A Self-Made Man
He never made it to high school. At 12 years old, during the Great Depression, he lost his father. His formal education ended then as he took on any odd job he could find to help support his mother and the family. Despite that inauspicious start in life, he taught himself mechanical, civil and hydraulic …