Ben’s Book

Sorry it has been a while since my last post here at onelatte.com. Frankly, there haven’t been much positive news in the media – news about businesses closing down and mass layoffs in the mainland stream just don’t add a whole lot.

After waking up this morning and grabbing the newspaper I saw a picture of Ben Cayetano who was formerly a governor of Hawaii. He recently wrote a book titled “BEN: A MEMOIR, FROM STREET KID TO GOVERNOR”. I remember him running while attending UH Manoa. According to the political record, he ran for lieutenant governor from 1986 – 1994 and as a governor from 1994 – 2002. That is quite an accomplishment and a long time to run in the office. Ben wrote about his childhood years growing up in Kalihi with a divorced family and how he progressed in life to running for a governor.

From a hardscrabble childhood in Kalihi, Cayetano, who barely made it out of high school, bootstrapped himself through college and law school. He then returned to the Islands, where he encountered social, institutional and — he would argue — racial barriers strong enough to deter the most determined optimist. But Cayetano prevailed, winning elections he was supposed to lose and building a reputation as a blunt-spoken maverick who somehow succeeded in a political culture that values cooperation and compromise over independence.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090215/NEWS01/902150393

What interested me was his childhood years growing up in Kalihi, and how he didn’t grow up from the wealth of everything. He didn’t know what poor was, but knew he had always clean clothes and shoes to wear. He barely even made out of high school. Did you know our current governor, Mufi Hannemann, also grew up in Kalihi? We talk about some funny and rough stories about Kalihi, but I am surprised we have some great people growing up from there.

If you are interested, his book will be available at the following locations and special autograph time sessions:

• Feb. 22, 1-2 p.m. (Barnes & Noble, Ala Moana)
• March 7, 11 a.m.-noon (Borders, Pearlridge)
• March 7, 2-3 p.m. (Borders, Waikele)