Judges panel passes trial by fire

By Creighton Goldsmith, Accidental Chief Judge

Back in 2012, our real Chief Judge, retired Marine Lt. Colonel Gary Meyers, recruited me to be a Haikufest judge in the trenches, then to be rewarded with a Japanese Teishoku dinner at Honolulu’s legendary Gyotaku Restaurant. Gary had a medical setback a few weeks ago that landed him in Honolulu’s Tripler Army Hospital where he’s doing well. Gary and I go back 30 years to when he was at Northwest Airlines at Honolulu Airport, and I was with U.S. Customs. Gary’s tough — he spent two tours in Vietnam, in the jungle rather than the Officers Club. And never one to procrastinate, Gary married Sue, his partner of 30 years, four weeks ago.

Now it turned out that I was only a provisional Haikufest judge in Gary’s mind, until 2020 when he and I and my wife, Patty, were in Tokyo at the same time! Gary said I had to visit the Basho Haiku Memorial & Museum in Koto City if I were to be a “Real Haiku Judge.” This involved an exhaustive, forced march through the streets and subways of Tokyo, at one point descending 42 meters underground at Roppongi Station, only to march to the street with no elevator. It was one of those life events I was happy to scratch off my bucket list!

We had three categories this year: Open Haiku and Longview Centennial Haiku and a last-minute Keiki (Kids’) Haiku. A huge “Thank You!” to Mike and Linda Ryan at an undisclosed location near Tokyo; Mary Cappabianca of Kailua, Hawaii, and Peter Glick, of Honolulu, for their support, guidance and votes for this 2023 contest. We’ve strived to reach the same level of excellence that Gary Meyers instilled in us as Haiku Judges! Aloha!