Singer and Hawaiian icon Don Ho died April 14, 2007. On the fifth anniversary of his death, Jessica Campbell fondly recalled meeting the legendary entertainer.
In 2002, I visited Hawaii for the first time. My boyfriend Steve and I’d planned for months — more accurately, I was the one who had planned. I spent endless hours poring over Internet listings to find the best B&Bs and rental cottages, restaurants and markets, beaches, and hikes that would add up to the perfect vacation. And what did Steve contribute to the itinerary? Tiki bars and Don Ho.
Though I had endured Steve’s tiki-lust for years and had long since come to accept his peculiar hobby, I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to dedicate one of only two nights in Honolulu to Don Ho. I was sure that Hawaii’s largest city had more to offer than a lounge act whose popularity had peaked in 1966. There were so many museums, restaurants, and shops showcasing the diversity that is Hawaii. I wanted to eat Chinese dumplings and Portuguese doughnuts, learn about Hawaiian royalty, shop for traditional quilts…
Listening to Don Ho sing “Tiny Bubbles” and “Suck ‘Em Up” while sucking down a mediocre Mai Tai was not on my to-do list.
But Steve insisted — and I am so glad he did. On paper, it was a hotel dinner show starring a one-hit Hawaiian wonder from the ’60s. In reality, it was a family affair with our charming host (Don Ho was no diva) welcoming us as if into his home. He greeted us and posed for a picture before the show began. On stage, he sang, told stories and jokes, talked about his family — and, in so doing, painted a picture of Hawaii that we might not have seen otherwise.
In so many ways, Don Ho was Hawaii: from the cultural diversity he represented (Ho was of Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German heritage) to the laidback surfer/beach lifestyle, from beautiful music to a love of the islands (so many of the songs he recorded were love letters to his home). Don Ho encapsulated the spirit of aloha.
What I realize now is that Don Ho was America, too. The Hos are the mythical melting pot. Don Ho’s was the classic American success story. And Ho himself was the classic All-American guy: football player and Air Force veteran who married his high school sweetheart, got his college degree, and then helped his parents run the family business before finding showbiz success. (Not unlike another Hawaiian we know who’s recently achieved some success in the political arena.) Don Ho and Barack Obama may not have much more than Hawaii in common, but in their own unique ways, these Hawaiians represent America.
I’ll drink to that.
