Getting Away to Honolulu
It started with my friend Karis Wilde and me facing severe lockdown-itis. It was so bad, we decided to go somewhere else; in fact anywhere else. First it was to join my long-time girlfriend, Kim Bowen, in Croatia where she was filming a television commercial (Kim is a noted costume designer). But gaining entry to Croatia with COVID-19 protocol was a hassle and the trip would have taken 42 hours. So, then we decided Spain or Italy, which seemed sort-of open but then not. Then, it was down to Charleston or Austin (I told you we were desperate); nope, rain forecast for months. Finally, it was Hawaii, where our numbers grew to 12, including six children and six adults. Kauai and Maui were already booked up, so I rented a house on the west side of Diamond Head (about two miles from Waikiki), where some of the best surf in the world continually rolls in.
Once when arrived, everyone went nuts trying to see/do all things within one week. George and my actor friend, Jandres Burgos, surfed about five hours a day (not an exaggeration), and they taught Kim’s daughter, 14, and her friend how to surf. Karis went hiking. Kim drove her son, 16, and his friend to the famous North Shore.
I love them all and attempted to keep up, but first: I had a rental house on Kauai for about 10 years and knew the score; and second, I ain’t as young as I used to be.
Then I had dinner with my old Citibank Mafia friend who lives there, Steve Baker. When I say Citibank Mafia, I mean the group of about 20 of us who entered the bank at the same time (back when Citi was considered the finest financial institution in the world [sigh, no more]), and were domiciled within its world headquarters on Park Avenue in New York City. Today, we all more or less keep in touch—and if one is visiting, the red carpet rolls out.
Steve transferred to Asia, where later he became President of Citibank-Asia, with a big office in Hong Kong and a coveted house on Victoria Peak. As time passed, he moved all over Asia: Singapore, Japan, and other places which required frequent long-distance travel, which meant access to the bank’s fleet of jets, which is true luxury. When he decided to leave the bank and form his own company, his wife Nan’s biggest regret was loss of that luxury.
Today, he lives on the east side of Diamond Head in a gorgeous house on the beach and travels two weeks a month for his businesses in Hong Kong, Micronesia, Singapore and Japan and other places. However, his passion is “Hawaiian Angels,” a group of successful executives who help young entrepreneurs get started. They have periodic competitions, where potential entrepreneurs present ideas, the best of which are chosen and given free office space/set-ups to germinate their ideas, then after four months are either funded by the Angels or go out on their own.
In the meantime, his closest friends are mostly ex-pats. Being international, they are intrinsically quite interesting. I thought that while comparing them to the average Newport Beach developer’s world views; at best, they are parochial.
Anyway, after a blessed week of continual sunshine, 84-degree weather, and crazed running around, we returned last Saturday. Upon arriving, I slept almost 18 hours, exhausted.
The next day in Laguna, it was the same June Gloom. Yeah, I know we’re in paradise, but come on sunshine, break on through.
Michael is co-founder of Orange County School of the Arts and The Discovery Cube.
