Page 2 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - May 4, 2022

2 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK MAY 4, 2022
But before I start listing them, I have to make the dis- claimer that I do not speak for the other members of these exclusive clubs, nor do I pull them down to my level or berate them for being in the same club.
My dreams started when I was in fourth grade. My neighbor was a high school wrestling champ. Inspired by him, I wrestled in high school and college. I then coached the sport while in law school and after I started my law practice. Eventual- ly, I coached with teams that represented the United States
internationally. While I’ve made my living as a lawyer, I’ve made my life as a coach.
travelers,” he said. “You take our pasts into wrestling’s fu- ture.”
First of all, I belong to the space-in-line-holder’s club. This membership is only invoked when I go grocery shop- ping with my wife. Usually, we’ll be at Safeway during one of their busiest days and our grocery cart will be full of items —far too many for self-service checkout. So, we’ll go stand in line. With a number of people waiting behind us, the cashier will indicate that it’s OK to start unloading our cart on the conveyor belt. Just as the cashier starts to ring us up, my wife will state, “Oh, I forgot something. I’ll run and go get it.”
Everything I am as a person comes from what I learned on the mat. The rules my coaches taught me were simple: Have fun in pursuit of excellence. Work with teammates to achieve a common noble goal. Never give up. Honor the sport. Use wrestling to make
“You make us live forever. You make us immortal.”
Before I can tackle her, she’s running away while I have to sheepishly explain why I’m holding everyone else up from checking out. As I avoid making eye contact with everyone in line behind me, Einstein’s theory of relativity and time suddenly makes sense. Finally, my wife returns with the forgotten item, only to find that it needs a price check!
You can find us in our reserved seating dispersed throughout the department. For the most part, you can identify us members by our club uniform and membership requirements. We are required to be of age 45 and up, most of us in our 60s, like me. We are dressed like dads with T-shirts, shorts and athletic shoes (an oxymoron) or slippers.
Part of the uniform consists of shopping bags that we are holding for our spouses. The hardcore members may even be holding our spouse’s purse in our laps. All of us are looking down at and scrolling through our mobile phones.
And on shoe clearance sale days, it’s literally standing room only. Club members are redirected to the women’s clothing department where members can sit on the display boxes at the feet of the mannequins.
Dreaming Of Time Travel
“If my father could watch my son for a while, he might realize his own immortality.” — Lincoln Steffens
NExclusive Membership
Ilost sleep in early August watching the late-night broadcasts of the U.S. wrestling teams winning medals at the Tokyo Olym- pic Games. From my life in the sport, I knew some of the Olympic wrestlers and many of the coaches. Because I stayed up late, the next day I dozed at work, dreaming of immortality.
yourself a better person. Pass it on. You’ve got to pass it on. Several years ago, I worked with the U.S. teams at the world championships. After the tournament, I listened to the Greco-Roman coach pass
ot bragging, but I happen to belong to several very exclusive clubs on this island. These are not clubs that you can buy your way into and it’s really not
time travelers. I want them to live happy lives, fulfilled by doing something noble in concert with others. I want them to be tenacious about becoming better people. And if they do, then my wrestling coaches and I will live forev- er. We will be immortal.
John Schmidtke is an attor- ney in Honolulu. He received a master’s degree in fine arts from Goddard College.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Robin Stephens Rohr and Lynne Johnson.
who you know either. And although I agree with the old Groucho Marx statement, “I wouldn’t belong to a club that would have me as a member,” I’m in through default.
Wrestling has taught the author to have fun in pursuit of excellence.
it on.
“You wrestlers are time
The team leaned in to hear.
In August, as I dozed in my office after watching the Olympic wrestlers compete the night before, I dreamed about my life in wrestling and of my grandsons. While I don’t care if my grandsons wrestle, I want them to be
with John Schmidtke
Fill in the blank cells using numbers 1 to 9. Each number can appear only once in each row, column, and 3x3 block. Use logic and process of elimination to solve the puzzle. The difficulty level ranges from Bronze (easiest) to Silver to Gold (hardest). Answers are on page 7
RATING: GOLD
DIRECTOR OF CONTENT/ SUPPLEMENT PRODUCTS RON NAGASAWA
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
BILL MOSSMAN
MANAGING EDITOR
NICOLE MONTON
PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER
DENNIS FRANCIS
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
DAVE KENNEDY
REGIONAL SALES MANAGER
LANCE TAKAKI
hawaiiislandmidweek.com
To start/stop delivery or report a service issue, please call (808) 529-4700.
Telephone for Editorial: (808) 529-4700
Fax: (808) 585-6324
Telephone for Advertising & Administration: (808) 529-4700
Hawai‘i Island Midweek is published every Wednesday by Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500 Honolulu, HI 96813.
I’m also a member with the Macy’s Ala Moana wom- en’s shoe department gentlemen’s club. We are that group of spouses that has to wait while our significant others shop for and try on shoes.
rnagasawa@midweek.com