Frances Kakugawa, a friend for several decades, today (Dec. 7) is launching her fifth book via Watermark Publishing, “Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii,” in which she shares recollections of life in a tiny town (now gone, swallowed by a lava flow) called Kapoho on the Big Island.
I remember her retelling some of these intimate thoughts over the past three decades, in visits to her now-gone-home and in Honolulu, where she taught in Island public schools.
She was always primarily a poet at heart but a storyteller in general, and she lived through tough times, enduring some of the fallout scars of being of Japanese ancestry, in a post World War II era when local Japanese often were maligned because of the bombs that fell at Pearl Harbor.
Over the years, she has evolved as a savvy ambassador of caregiving, conducting workshops for those burdened with the task of caring for a loved one, and writing about her use of poetry to ease the pangs of the grips of Alzheimer’s.
Now a Sacramento resident, Kakugawa was authored 10 books that serve as a legacy of her mission to share some of the memories of the past and her passion to enlighten and enhance the role of the caregiver in everyday life.
“Kapoho,” Kakugawa’s new book, tracks many remembrances of her growing up times in Kapoho including touching stories of her late mother, for whom she was a caregiver. Her other books include the award-winning children-oriented and family-friendly “Wordsworth the Poet” and “Wordsworth Dances the Waltz;” the caregivers manual, “Mosaic Moon: Caregiving Through Poetry,” and her memoirs of her education career, “Teacher, You Look Like a Horse!”
For “Kapoho,” Kakugawa will make a number of personal appearances (see below).

‘KAPOHO: MEMOIR OF A MODERN POMPEII’
BOOK SIGNINGS AND WORKSHOPS:

Today (Dec. 7), 6 – 7:30 pm
Native Books at Ward Warehouse
1050 Ala Moana Blvd.
Reading and light refreshments
596-8885

Saturday (Dec. 10), 11 am-noon
Barnes & Noble, Kahala Mall
4211 Waialae Ave.
737-3323

Dec. 17, 11 am-1 pm
Book Gallery, Hilo
259 Keawe St.
(808) 935-4943

Dec. 17, 3 – 5pm
“A Writer’s Pen” Workshop—The Writing Processs and Memoir Writing
East Hawaii Cultural Center, Hilo
141 Kalakaua St.

Dec. 18, 1– 2pm
Basically Books, Hilo
160 Kamehameha Ave.
(808) 961-0144

More information:

www.bookshawaii.net
www.francesk.org
Watermark Publishing, 587-7766 or (866) 900-BOOK, email sales@bookshawaii.net.

In a tightly-scripted Monday show (Dec. 5) that featured kids kidnapped in a school bus due to a cocaine drug deal gone awry, CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0” posted its best ratings during its sophomore season, hijacking ABC’s “Castle” in the process.
And about time. The show had been missing the bus since September.
In preliminary Nielsen ratings numbers, the “Five-0” episode dubbed “Pahele” attracted 10.756 million viewers and posted a commanding 3.0/8 rating-share in the 18-49 demographics, compared to “Castle’s” 8.046 million audience and a 2.0/5 rating-share in the desired demos.
The “Five-0” rating was up two-tenths, or 7 per cent, compared to its last original episode two weeks ago (last Monday’s was a rerun).
This is refreshing news for diehard fans, who’ve watched faithfully, only to see the numbers stall and dip and pretty much run out of gas.
Some things stood out:
• The governor (Richard T. Jones) doesn’t appear to be an appealing politico; much too stern, much too rigid; not people-friendly.
• Steve McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) is doing more take-charge posturing, commandeering the rescue of the kids with the flair of a true leader. Hey, scripters -- good job!
• Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park) finally is back on track as a valid, contributing member of “Five-0,” notably in her interrogation scene.
• Joe (Terry O’Quinn) is not the loyalist/pal we all think; something’s amiss, as you suspect in the final scene.
• Is the Shelburne issue one that is part of a future story arc?
Any thoughts?