Hawaii has lost one of it's most beloved.   While I was growing up,  Frank Fasi was a permanent fixture in my childhood, he and my mom had three things in common, they worked for the City & County, they spoke their mind and they were both feisty as they come.

Frank Fasi became the mayor the year I entered kindergarten, 1968,  and was mayor until the year before I graduated, 1980.  And that was only his first term.   I remember going on a field trip to the State Capital in first or second grade, and standing on the bottom of the rotunda, when our teacher pointed him out.  He was standing near the railing on the level above us, smiling and waving.

The bus system was Fasi's.  That ubiquitous shaka sign, outlined in black, was on those buses everyday that I rode them.  Fasi was a presence, and an unconventional one at times, but he was there, and he was busy doing things.  Even if you didn't agree with him,  he was keeping busy and was a city servant, and the proof in that pudding is all around us today.

Childhood has a way of just disappearing and melting away like the candles on a birthday cake.  When I heard about his passing yesterday, I was saddened and realized that my childhood is farther away than ever before, but Frank Fasi is part of the happy memories of that time.

I told my daughter that he died yesterday, and she said, "Who's that?"

My mom, as forgetful as she has become, remembered him and chatted about him for a bit.  I can't believe that my mom has outlived Frank Fasi.

With heartfelt condolences to his family for a man who will be missed.  Aloha and thank you Mr. Fasi!