Page 4 - MidWeek - June 8, 2022

4 MIDWEEK JUNE 8, 2022
Top Pun
What food do you never tire of eating?
On Memorial Day weekend, my family has a couple of longstanding traditions besides having a barbe- cue and going to the beach. We actually have two
that have not wavered since I can remember.
The first is to practice our version of the Japanese tradi- tion “ohakamairi,” which is to place flowers on the graves of our deceased. This was a responsibility handed down by our parents, and I remember doing this as a family when we were just kids. Since our dad was military, he placed a high importance on also observing and paying respect
KRISTINA ONO
Marketing Manager, Honolulu
“Noodles — from ramen and udon to chow fun and pasta. There are so many different kinds of noodles (and ways to prepare them) that it can never get tiring.”
TRENT NIINO
Business Owner, Downtown Honolulu
“Pizza stick from 7-Eleven. It’s so basic, but so good.”
RIZA ROALES
Business Coach, Mānoa
“Medium-rare steak with sautéed spinach and mushrooms on the side, paired with cabernet sauvignon. The steak is tender and juicy with every bite; that, to me, feels like heaven.”
DEVON NEKOBA
Radio Host, Kailua
“Corned beef hash. It’s a staple of the foods my dad used to make for us, and
I recently learned how to make it like he used to. It’s a great comfort food and very simple to cook.”
to those that have died in service to our country.
Now when we visit our parents’ graves at Punchbowl, I’m brought to a unique sense of serenity when I see all the flowers adorning each grave and watching Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops place American flags and lei upon each one. In fact, every cemetery that we visited was adorned
with beautiful flowers like a sea of colors and fragrance. We have set roles when visiting the graves. Mine is to pull up the vases from ground holes and find a spigot to fill them with water. My wife arranges the flowers, and our daughter then takes a photo and sends it to family on
Ron Nagasawa
Director of Content / Supplement Products
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What Is Perfect, Anyway?
e’ve all heard the phrase “nobody’s perfect,” and most accept it as truth. To me, however, it’s one of the most ubiquitous misconcep-
tions of our time. What is perfect, anyway? What is a perfect parent? A perfect employee? A perfect job? A perfect friend?
We are inundated by media and books with images and descriptions of “perfection” leading us to think that there is only one way to be beautiful, successful, valued or “right.” We must be happy and not sad, strong and not weak, present and not distracted, and so on. If being one-sided is perfect, how can anyone ever be perfect since we are two-sided human beings living in a world of duality. What if complete perfection is honoring both sides? After all, it’s the sun and moon that make up a “perfect” day.
alice@yourhappinessu.com
the mainland who couldn’t be there.
The other tradition is that the whole family goes out to
see the current blockbuster movie that opens on the holi- day weekend. This year, there couldn’t be a more perfect choice than the Tom Cruise movie Top Gun: Maverick. Hard to believe it’s been 36 years since the original flick came out.
I’m pretty sure I saw Top Gun with my wife, who was then my girlfriend. It was two years into my newspaper career, and I was a commercial printing sales assistant. In my mind, that established Cruise as a bona fide movie star. I really can’t think of anyone else who has his staying power.
Anyway, I bought tickets for me, my wife, my daughter and her boyfriend, and my sister and brother. I managed to get a row of great seats, and after an ungodly purchase of food and drink from the concession stand, we waited for the movie to “take off.”
Good thing I first had our daughter and her boyfriend watch the original movie, so they had a reference for the new movie we were watching. By the way, they loved the original. And while I won’t spoil this for those of you who haven’t seen it, Cruise still looks amazing. In fact, our daughter commented, “Dad, you look pretty good, but how come you’re not more like Tom Cruise?”
My answer? Two words: “Mission impossible.”
rnagasawa@midweek.com