On Father’s Day, I am reminded of my dad, Clarence Y. Nozaki (Mongoose). Even though he passed away more than 21 years ago, it seems like only yesterday that he was still with us. He definitely filled our family and society with a lot of laughter and fun times.
When I was 15 years old, there was a contest for the Big Island Father of the Year. The news was in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald on June 22, 1959. I wrote an essay on him and he was so proud to be in the papers. Thirty years later, I asked him if he wanted to be in the papers again as I have never seen another Father of the Year in the paper. I called West Hawaii Today and they sent up Baron Sekiya and Arlene Stephen to come and share our story. That story was printed on June 20, 1993, of West Hawaii Today. My dad was thrilled to be in the papers again.
I think that having a story in the papers about a father just being a dad with kids and a wife for the long term deserves to have some recognition in our little town. There are so many absent dads and sometimes even moms. I notice that criminals always have a lot of recognition so why not the good people that make life seem like a fairy tale come true?
Thank you for letting us express ourselves through West Hawaii Today. My husband and I look forward to the paper every morning.
Carol Nozaki Zakahi is a resident of Kealekehe.