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Royalists !  Often at 'Iolani  I  hear like whisperings from the Palace.  
One afternoon Coach John Madden crossed my mind.  "He has one good hit left in him."

In the studio talking with veteran football players,  Coach John Madden from the Oakland Raiders would assess the physical condition of a retired champion player as well as the spirit of the gridiron hero with "Oh yeah.  He looks like he still has one good hit left in him !"  Meaning that  if we suited up this old timer in his pads and all,  the old timer would probably be able to throw one last Super Bowl type "hit" on his man.  

Gazing on 'Iolani Palace one thinks mainly about DEFENSE.  They asked Kamehameha the Great "Offense or Defense ??"  "Defense !" was His answer.  At 'Iolani Palace the Hawaiians played mainly Defense.  At the other Palaces across the Kingdom they played mostly Defense as well.  

I  thought about Kings and Queens of Hawai'i.  I  remembered my tour of the Bishop Museum.  Their descendants today look over their genealogies from time to time.  Some descendants are born into filthy rich Hawaiian families; some in a tent in Makaha.  It's impossible to tell which keiki might be destined to the Throne at 'Iolani Palace.  That's the way the world works !  So the thought crossed my mind as  I  glanced at that Palace: "Maybe the Hawaiians still have one good King left in 'em !"  

Who can doubt that the stage is here ?  What a beautiful Palace.

The immune systems of Hawaiians seem better now.  That's for sure !  But just like an oldtimer from the gridiron,  you have to worry about that last hit being fatal.  Who would venture to say definitely "The Hawaiians still have one good King left in them."  ?  Or "There's a chance that the Hawaiians still have one good King left in 'em."  But then  I  looked at all the big buildings standing around 'Iolani Palace.  They weren't here before time.  The Kings and Queens did not see these buildings when they looked out the Palace windows.  If there is one good King still left in the Hawaiians,  it looks like He will still be playing Defense.  I  guess one would look into the eyes of a child as well as study the way he walks and try to find the signs that the kid would be good on Defense.  If the kid looks like a good quarterback,  forget it !  

John Madden chats with Oakland Raiders Defensive End Matt Shaughnessy and Line Backer Trevor Scott (right).

Photo by Tony Gonzales.