Yeah, I thought getting a long night's rest would be enough. But apparently, all the driving I did on Saturday wore out this old body.

> Waikoloa to Hawi, round trip 68 miles. Nice drive, early evening. Had to be done so we could have a better photo of All-State outfielder Shaleese Javillo. Man, that kid sure can cover ground out there.

> Waikoloa to Kailua-Kona, round trip 52 miles. Down time, hung out with West Hawaii Today scribe Brendan Shriane. That Coconut Grove place is bumping at night with four places offering entertainment. OK, well, maybe not to you, but ... 1) Ohana Bar and Grill has decent food -- super spicy, super sweet chicken wings, so-so chicken stir fry and fresh Kona Brewing Co. beer on tap in chilled goblets; 2) Oceans and Lulu's are busy with canned music (didn't go in, probably deejays); and 3) Rio's had a live band from Hilo called Mixjam. They were actually pretty good. Reggae music in the roots way. Even with all that, though, I was in bed by 1 a.m. Early for me.

So I spent Sunday laying around the way slugs avoid the sun. Think all the fried food on the Big Island (Maui Fried Chicken was not quite as good as before, and smaller) caught up with me. Lucky for me, the stomachache I got in the afternoon went away around 6:30, so I made it to the HHSAA Hall of Honor dinner at the Sheraton.

To both the jaded (me) and fanatical (me), it's never a dull night at the Hall of Honor banquet. The kids are honored thoroughly (that's in large part due to Wes Nakama's detailed biographical summaries), and I couldn't help thinking that even with all the near-miss student-athletes who didn't make the final 12, these particular kids were superb. Period.

Funniest moment of the night was when UH football coach Greg McMackin almost forgot his UH 2007 football ring after having the 12 scholar-athletes look at it. It was in the trusty hands of Punahou swimmer Michelle Yoshida in the back row. That ring wouldn't have fit her fingers anyway.

There will come a day when Keith Amemiya moves on to larger pastures. I know it. But until then, there is nobody else I know of who can unite so many different people, varying factions, big names and no-so-big names. Stuff gets done when he's in charge. The Hall of Honor lost Nissan as a sponsor and still survives, still has a classy banquet and all the trimmings to honor these scholar-athletes. That's not luck, you know. He knows people. He knows who cares, and that's why his staff is tireless in tying up any loose ends. That's why the media at large respects his work and intentions.

I'm just glad he's still with the HHSAA. A few months ago, I had come to accept the fact that he would probably be on his way to UH in some new capacity. That never bore out.

My favorite comic-book superhero lived by a mantra: With great power comes great responsibility. I love it when we mere humans have folks like Keith who live that creed. He gets from Point A to Point B with as little residue as possible. Sure he's human, but I can't think of another human who's done what he has -- with no state funding.

That's enough about a non-kid, I suppose. I've found myself, more often than before, thinking that adults are messing it up for kids more and more. After this school year, and especially after this weekend's HIADA and Hall of Honor, I'm a little less inclined to think this.

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