Readers Respond To Positive Stories
Wednesday - October 27, 2010
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Dear MidWeek Readers,
I often get e-mails from readers about columns I’ve written. Two recent columns - one about my grandfather and another about a Wahine basketball player who donated her bone marrow - elicited tremendous positive response. Here are a couple of my favorite e-mails:
Aloha Bob,
I have wonderful memories of your grandfather when my father lived next door to your grandparents on the first floor of Prospect Tower. He was such a gentleman, and whenever my father heard a certain knock on his door he knew Mr. McLachlan was there for a visit.
My father, after years of public accounting and community service in Hilo, was “stranded” on Oahu after my mother became ill in 1982 and became a resident at the Beverly Manor on Kamehameha IV Road for close to 10 years until her passing. Outside of his grandchildren, a few friends and relatives, daily visits from Mr. McLachlan were welcomed to ease the stress of concern for my mother, being uprooted after nearly 70 years in Hilo and the diminished activity of his life.
I don’t recall their conversations, but I’m certain they revolved around baseball. My father played in Hilo’s Senior League, which was a step above high school baseball for youngsters, until he worked as a bookkeeper at a nearby poi factory during the afternoons in his late teens to augment the meager income earned by his father, who was a tailor.
And I am a lifelong fan of the Giants, thanks to Willie Mays, and the Yankees, thanks to Mickey Mantle. I grew up listening on my transistor radio at night under the covers of my bed to the recreated Giants games broadcast by Carlos Rivas on KGU (do I have the correct name of the sportscaster?). A schoolmate in the Bay Area was a neighbor of Horace Stoneham, who owned the Giants in the ‘60s, so we watched Giants baseball from behind third base.
Mahalo for sharing your story of Mr. McLachlan in the Oct. 6 issue of MidWeek and bringing back happy memories that I am sharing with my wife and our daughters.
-Michael Chun,
Honolulu
Aloha Bob,
Just wanted to say I thoroughly enjoyed your story on my daughter, UH Wahine hoopster Courtney Gaddis.
It made me think how this unselfish act might get people of all ages to consider adding their name to the national bone marrow register, and to understand how important it is to add yourself as an organ donor when you renew your Hawaii driver’s license.
I was also very pleased with your interview of Courtney’s coach, Dana Dias, and how she understood the unquestionable value of being a donor and how all of this was bigger than the sport of basketball.
I also appreciate you sharing with your MidWeek readers that Courtney was truly filled with joy at being chosen as a donor. I could tell she felt like it was an honor to give. I have received e-mails from friends all over the country about your MidWeek article, and they have told me how proud they are of Courtney.
Her surgery went well, and her bone marrow was rushed off to the West Coast. We hope to hear back, if possible, about the progress of the young boy she was trying to help.
My hope is that your readers will recognize what an honor it is to give and will not hesitate to register with the National Bone Marrow Registry. Keep up the good work.
-Jim Gaddis, formerly of Kahala, now living in San Jose
Thanks, readers, for all the e-mails I receive, including suggestions for future stories. Please write me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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