‘Humble, lovable Blackie’ in news again

The late Blackie Gadarian is in the news again with the sale of dozens of mementos up for auction by his wife, Sara (The Maui News, May 6).

Everyone has a story about Blackie. Among the 60 profiles of Maui people in my book “Voices of Aloha on Magical Maui” from my column in Lahaina News, two of my favorites were on Blackie.

“Why would you ever want to write a column about that guy,” my wife once said.

Blackie loved to say outrageous things to tourists and it was fun to see him in action. One day the opportunity came to push back.

Blackie did not like Barack Obama. Each evening his golf cart was parked at Leilani’s. I had a Barack Obama bumper sticker and slapped it on his cart.

After the election, I couldn’t resist. “Hey Blackie,” I said. “I see by your golf cart your man Barack won.” Blackie didn’t miss a beat. “I have guns at home,” he warned. And I was out of there.

To some, Blackie was just about the meanest man they had ever met but all was facade. His wife Sara got a huge kick out of the antics of “humble, lovable Blackie.” Sara has an most infectious laugh and a great sense of humor. She put both to good use during 53 years of marriage.

Blackie’s spirit lives on through Sara.

My Blackie column can be found at normbezane.com.

Norm Bezane Lahaina

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