Flat Mary Day 4

Day 4 - Monday, March 17

St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Waikiki; HPD Museum; Neal Blaisdell Center

Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Last night I was so excited about seeing the parade, I could hardly sleep. The green beads around my neck are from last year’s parade. Auntie let me wear them to watch the parade. Motorcycle Police led the parade down Kalakaua Avenue from Fort DeRussy to Kapiolani Park. People were lined up on the sidewalks on both sides of the street.

A float with men in green shirts wearing fancy top hats went by. One man made a shaka sign with his hand and waved at me. Auntie told me to stick out my thumb and pinky finger with the three middle fingers folded down. That makes a shaka sign. She said when you see a friend, you make a shaka sign and say, “Eh, howzit, brah.”

Ready for the parade

Motorcycle Police

I learned the colors of the flag of Ireland: ORANGE and WHITE and GREEN. Lots of old cars were in the parade. They were fixed up to look brand new. My favorite was the orange one.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY

2nd Grade Classroom Friends and Teachers at Kaleidoscope Charter School - Hills

from Flat Mary and Auntie Gail

When the parade ended, we went to the main Honolulu Police Department (HPD) museum. A police officer checked through Auntie’s purse before he let us in. He also kept her drivers license in exchange for a ticket to go inside the museum.

Honolulu Police Station Building Dedication plaque 1992

Inside the museum, the first thing I spotted was a roped-off area. It is a special tribute to motorcycle police officers. It would have been fun to sit on one of the motorcycles.

The museum shows the history of the police department in Hawaii back to 1932. Before that, the law was based on the traditions of the Hawaiians, the kapu system. One time King Kamehameha was attacked by enemies. They hit his with a wooden canoe paddle so hard it knocked him unconscious and the paddle broke. After the king united the Islands of Hawaii, he made a law that said to respect all men, and see to it that the aged, the women, and the keiki are safe to rest by the roadside without fear of harm. He named it “Law of the Splintered Paddle.”

All of these pictures are on the wall in the Honolulu Police Department museum. Below the pictures are glass display cases with lots of real guns and badges. There is also police equipment like hand cuffs and bullets and even a hanging noose.

Detective Chang Apana
photo on display at HPD

The picture above shows a very large police badge, almost as big as me. To the left of the badge is a picture of the retired Deputy Chief of Police Harold Kawasaki. After he retired from the Honolulu Police Department, he became Chief of Security at Ala Moana Center. He was Auntie Gail’s boss for many years when she dispatched for Security at the Center.

This is a picture of HPD Officer Kam Fong Chun. He was a decorated police officer. He also starred in the original Hawaii Five-O television show. He played Detective Chin Ho Kelly. In the new show, Daniel Dae Kim plays Chin Ho Kelly. Hawaii Five-O is a make-believe police department in Hawaii. Honolulu Police Department and the Sheriff’s Division (which includes a Department of Homeland Security type III SWAT Team) are real law enforcement agencies on Oˋahu

This picture shows the first police car used by the Honolulu Police Department.

The Neal S. Blaisdell Center (NBC) is a short walk from the police museum. Every year the holiday musical, The Nutcracker, is presented at Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall. One year Jackie Chan came to visit. He showed the people of Hawaii his new movie, Around the World in 80 Days. He also gave a preview of his movie Police Story. He was trained to sing at the Peking Opera School in Hong Kong. He entertained the audience by singing the opening song of the movie. Auntie said she clapped real loud after he sang.

Blaisdell Concert Hall Blaisdell Arena

In 1961, to raise money for the construction of the Arizona Memorial, Elvis Presley performed a concert at Pearl Harbor. In 1973 he gave the first world-televised performance at NBC (known then as Honolulu International Center Arena). The concert was beamed live to Australia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, The Philippines, South Vietnam, and other countries. The benefit concert was Aloha from Hawaii. People called in to donate money. Kui Lee was the legendary song writer who wrote the song I’ll Remember You. He died of cancer. The concert raised money for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund. The fund was started by columnist Eddie Sherman for a doctor at the University of Hawaii doing cancer research.