Praying for Mariota’s protection

I stopped writing this column Tuesday morning to watch the arrival of Pope Francis at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on TV. I like this pope and most everything he says, although I’m not Catholic or a religious guy. When I think of godliness, the first thing that comes to my mind is how you treat your fellow man. I mentioned that to a close Catholic friend and she quickly replied, "The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." OK, I’ll go along with that.

 

If I had a chance to talk with the pope I would have asked him to please protect St. Louis High grad Marcus Mariota in Sunday’s game against Indianapolis. That’s something his Tennessee coaches should have done last week against Cleveland knowing that after such a brilliant game against Tampa Bay in the opener Sept. 13, he would be a target for a pounding that he suffered the following week …

 

By portraying a very bad man, Johnny Depp may have earned himself a best actor Oscar nomination. Depp’s performance in "Black Mass," the biopic of south Boston mobster "Whitey" Bulger, is remarkable. Depp is totally believable as the Irish-American criminal who made a deal with the FBI, brokered by an agent. For providing information on the Italian criminals trying to move in, the FBI kept him and his gang out of prison as they committed numerous crimes, including murders, for years, starting in the 1970s.

 

Depp is made up to look like Bulger in the film. The solid cast is led by Joel Edgerton, excellent as the FBI agent who stoutly defends and protects Bulger from his boss, played by Kevin Bacon. Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Bulger’s brother, a former president of the Massachusetts state Senate who was in office from 1971-1996.

 

Others in the picture are Dakota Johnson — remember her from "Fifty Shades of Grey"? — Jesse Plemons, Peter Sarsgaard, Rory Cochrane and Corey Stoll. Stoll plays a tough U.S. attorney who led the drive to take down the criminal. Bulger went on the run in 1994 and it took 16 years to find him …

 

Singer-actress Cathy Foy will join with the Diamond Head Shooting Stars and present "Broadway Rhythm," a song and tap dance step-tacular for the annual "Koa’e Kea" dinner party Nov. 14 at Ala Moana Hotel’s Garden Lanai. Doors open at 5 p.m. with island vocals, music and hula. Dinner is at 7, followed by the show at 8. Cathy & Co. will be accompanied by the veteran husband and wife team of Emmett and Judy Yoshioka. Selections from "42nd Street," "A Chorus Line," "Phantom of the Opera" and other Broadway favorites will be presented.

 

Koa’e Kea was founded by Abigail Chong and Carole Mae Vanderford in 1996 and is made up of Hawaiian Air DC3 hostesses, stewardesses and flight attendants. The cost of the sit-down dinner is $50 per person.

 

Anyone interested in attending may write a check to Koa’e Kea and mail it to Trudy de La Fontaine, 225 Kaiulani Ave., Apt. 201, Hon., HI 96815 before Oct. 22. For more information, call Chong at 262-5252 or adviser Hale Rowland at 258-8028 …