Support the Weekly

Social Lite

Marcus Luttrell, First Friday

One Evolution at a Time

by Christa Wittmier | Jun 29, 2011

Marcus Luttrell, First Friday / Last week I picked up Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 in the SFO airport after learning my flight was delayed. Nothing passes the time better than a good book. The shiny gold trident on the cover was screaming “good read” and “not embarrassing” among the other self-help books in the non-fiction section. Talk about a page turner. Man, it was good. The author, Marcus Luttrell, is one of those hyper-human types who can pretty much do anything but can relay it in such an everyday tone that he makes it seem easy. As I was flipping the pages at lightning speed, reading about the harrowing and miserable training that it takes to become a Navy SEAL to the horrific firefight on a mountain in Afghanistan that wound up being the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history, I couldn’t help but think that there is some application for my own life. As the only survivor of Operation Redwing, Luttrell made a commitment to live and relay the story of what happened up there in shocking detail. At one point he crawled for seven miles badly injured to stay alive. The best part: He made it through. Probably a combination of the “just take it one evolution at a time” advice from his training and sheer luck. Not to dumb-down a major conflict fought by some of the world’s most elite warriors, I feel like this book is what will get me through Fourth of July weekend. The moment I start thinking too far ahead, it becomes overwhelming and I want to ring out and quit. I’ve done this so many times before, usually on a Friday night when there are like seven wicked happy hour parties, a concert and four or five really good late night happenings. It starts with trying to figure out how to dress for so many different things and ends with me just going to sleep on my couch.

This weekend I’m going for it with a new determination and commitment that would make Mr. Luttrell proud. Starting with First Friday, where there is a new party starting for the summer…in Waikiki. RumFire is going for a new Friday night weekly that will feature our entire list of favorite DJs through the summer for an early set (8pm-midnight). Designed to be the pre-cursor to your night out, this is their first attempt at a club night since the Flash & Matty days. For people like me that can’t stand the nightlife witching hours between 9pm and 11pm when nobody is ready to come out, we now have a place to keep us from giving up and just staying home. They’re calling it The Boiling Point, but I’m calling it the Witching Hour. This Friday features DJ DELVE, so you can expect his usual crowd of stylish/hipster girls who epitomize the word “swag.”

Soho Mixed Media Bar is the biggest news, their staff has been working 14-16 hour days the past few weeks to re-open with major improvements. They will not only feature the Atomic Infamy CD Release from resident DJ Joel Rayne Ricker this Friday, but a special Ky-Mani Marley show Saturday night.

Then Sunday I’m up to my ears in Waikiki, as it’s the monthly First Sundays at Trump, as well as the Bacardi Pool Party. Both being my own personal contribution to an already stacked weekend, I can’t sleep. No sleep! Monday will be unforgettable as I have regained my appreciation for the United States and the people who defend its honor. Happy Birthday, America. If I had to, I would get wet and sandy for you.

COMMENTS

We often print online comments in our “Letters to the Editor” section of Honolulu Weekly. While submitted letters are often edited for length and clarity, online comments we use are printed entirely as they are written for the website. If you do not wish for your comment to be used in Honolulu Weekly print issues, please write “Don’t Print” at the end of your comment. For questions, e-mail editorial@honoluluweekly.com. Thank you!

blog comments powered by Disqus

This week

Derelict Downtown

For as long as we can remember, Chinatown has been notorious for drugs, homelessness and filthy streets. Some claim nothing has changed–and that it never will.

Sweet Ride

Bicyclists have long been overlooked by four-wheel riders on Honolulu’s congested streets. In the gleaming, armored pecking order of the road, cyclists are too often dismissed as lane hogs, hand-signaling nuisances and unfortunates who can’t afford cars.

Hoopili miss

The fate of some 1,525 acres of land at Hoopili in ‘Ewa may have been decided last Wednesday in Hawaii’s First Circuit Court. The decision might have gone differently, but the appellant attorneys’ strategy seemed to collapse as Judge Rhonda Nishimura picked it apart based on technical errors.

Housing First $

Last Thursday, May 9, the Caldwell administration revealed its action plan for solving Honolulu’s homeless problem. But at the City Council’s budget meeting the same day, Budget chair Ann Kobayashi wanted to know where the money for “Housing First” (see Cover Story, pg.

Do it Wright

The Mayor Wright Housing project has been slated for major redevelopment by the Hawaii State Housing Authority (HSHA); requests for qualifications will be going out to developers in three to six months. Nonprofit group Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE) wants to make sure the project’s tenants have a say in the redevelopment process, which could include major renovations or a total rebuild.

Street Disconnect

The Honolulu City Council held a special Committee on Transportation meeting on Tuesday, May 7, to go over its Complete Streets initiative with input from the department directors of Design and Construction (DDC), Planning and Permitting (DPP) and Transportation Services (DTS). At prior meetings, including the Moiliili workshop, community members pressed the idea of combining Complete Streets with Caldwell’s repaving projects, which Dan Burden of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute and some councilmembers have said makes sense.

Stopping Growth

Not much to agree with my friend Doc Berry (“Limits of Growth,” April 17). None of the scenarios he posits will ever materialize.

Get it together

In your Diary of May 8 (“End of the 27th)” you reported on SB 1214, passed by the Legislature. In their nimble way, the Legislature tacked the wheel boot prohibition on a bill that was intended to abolish the Commission on Transportation.

Look both ways

On Friday, May 3, at 3:45 p.m., I was driving town bound through the Wilson tunnel on the Likelike. I was parallel to another car, and there were several other cars following closely behind me.

Thank you!

Congratulations Honolulu Weekly on the recent Pai award for investigative reporting (“Boss GMO,” Jan. 4, 2012).

Truth be told

When the biofuel guys say that costs are “confidential” (“Big-foot Biofuel,” May 8), I reply that since I am the one who is going to end up paying the cost, I have a right to know. Frankly, when everybody tries to hide the costs, I smell rat …

Nature’s beauty

The Foster Botanical Garden never ceases to inspire for an urban setting it is like a step back in time (“See the Flora,” May 8). If Koko Crater Botanical Garden contains the world’s largest plumeria collection as suggested, it may be thanks in part to the Prussian born Dr.