Time Flies When You're Having Fun...

... And when your not!! I just don't know where it goes...

So, this being Memorial Day Weekend, I thought it only fitting to give a nod to those who have Served in the Armed Forces, defending our FREEDOM, as well as those currently serving, which include a couple of my Nephew's, a few Cousins, and Friends of my Children. THANK YOU ALL, FOR ALL YOU DO.


And just for Kicks... this is a photo of Kris and I right after my graduation from Boot Camp in San Diego circa 1966.




It's also fitting to acknowledge my Father, Edd Wall's time in service during WWII. Dad joined the Army Corps of Engineers as a Surveyor, thinking it'd be safe to be a "Map Maker"... little did he realize that what it would really mean was making the occasional foray BEHIND ENEMY LINES to map out tank tracks and attack routes. On one such expedition in Belgium, Dad's unit found themselves in a serious skirmish for which he received the Silver Star and a Purple Heart.




Another interesting side note about Dad's perspective on life at that time was, although he and my Mom were engaged, unlike many in those days he refused to marry until he was discharged, as he didn't want to leave behind a young widow. Well he did survive the War, and they were married and for a respectable 63 years. This is Dad's Memorial Plaque.




And now for those of you who might be wondering where I've been... here's the 411. My last post was on Sunday the 17th. Tuesday I took Tom Warren to get his Driver's License renewed, and let him use the Merc for the Driving Test. Then in the afternoon I helped a Friend resolve some Computer issues... Wednesday spent the first half of the day helping another Friend to get a Koa Roll-Top Desk moved. Then in the afternoon it was time to pack up and head to Amanda's in preparation for ?Thursday.

"For what?" you say... Weeelllllllll, I had a little Out-Patient surgery at Kaiser to repair an abdominal hernia, a leftover from my January surgery in Honolulu. Just a "normal" thing so I'm told... Well, the surgery must have gone OK, as I have virtually no recollection of the whole thing at all. Recovery wasn't all that difficult as I simply laid in the reclining chair and watched TV! Between NETFLIX on the Wii and Speed Channel, well, to say the least, the week went fast. I had a few tense moments when I realized that my pain meds wouldn't last through the weekend, and there was nothing I could do until Monday. But we got that worked out.

And speaking of "pain" - for the first three days the incision only hurt when I got up or down from the chair, but from day four on (and still today) my whole stomach is tender, and around the incision VERY tender and kind of hurts all the time. Well, I am off the pain meds for now, and I'm back for a follow-up next Thursday.

Also, last Wednesday was Carl & Kelly's birthday (40 years if you can believe that...) which they celebrated at MAX'S in Haiku. Well attended by many of Kelly & Carl's former L'Luna HS classmates and Friends. Although I had to miss the party, I did get to watch the Kidz, and even had an assistant Baby Sitter, Miranda Schweiner in to help with the "heavy stuff..." (Thanks Miranda). And by Thursday I headed home and that was it.

Yesterday was an early morning visit to the Dentist for Cleaning and annual x-rays. The damage done by the radiation seems to be slow to remedy, so that's causing some problems. And for whatever reason, after my session, by the time I got home I was totally wiped out and had to lay down, and wound up napping all afternoon. Having planned to meet Friend Marcus who is here visiting from Costa Mesa at the Club for dinner I muscled up and headed on into town. We had a good, quick dinner, then headed back to my Porch to watch the Sunset, but wound up calling it an early evening as I was still kinda pooped.

This morning was up early for the NATIONWIDE race at (and had a chance to catch the start of the ALMS series at Laguna Seca (last weeks race). Tomorrow we all know, it's the INDY 500 and later in the day the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte... it should go without saying, you know where I'll be.

"Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. I think it's in my basement... let me go upstairs and check." - M.C. Escher

A SPLASH from the Past...

This is from Last Years Disneyland trip - Sister Karen, and Friends JC Agajanian about to swallow water, and Marcus De Chevrieux with Arms-Up.

Since Photos always add to the "drivel" and I've nothing noteworthy at present, I thought it wouldn't hurt to share an assortment of pics from the past. So, no telling what'll wind up here, but I'll try to keep it amusing if nothing else...

So, let's see if I can get caught up real quick... like I said, Amanda picked me up Thursday at the Airport. Friday was shopping and getting ready for Hailey's Birthday (3rd) on Saturday. Auntie Bonnie Nelson was there to again capture the event on film - CLICK HERE for Photos. Amanda decided to have a Pizza party at the house - simple. Tinker Bell and Pink Balloons were the theme and the hit of the Party had to be Cousin Madison's Princess Chest - a collection of Dresses, Tiara's & Hats, shoes, boots and jewelry!

Sunday was Mother's Day, and at Mom's request I joined her for lunch (Hawaiian Luau much to her dismay) at Roselani, which was very enjoyable. We got to visit a bit, and I got to catch up on her mail and answer her many questions about this and that... I took her an Orchid, one of her favorite things, and one should could enjoy in her room for some time, without too much trouble.

Monday I went up to see Kelly in Pukalani, as she's been flat on her back for a couple of weeks now. The poor Girl's got some serious disc problems and is having difficulty getting anyone here to see her, as she has that darned 17" rod fused to her spine from her Scoliosis issues back in the mid 80's (if she'll let me I might share that tale down the road some day...). Anyway, we had a nice visit, and I got to spend some time with Madison and Grayson which is always good.

The rest of the week was somewhat uneventful as I unpacked, settled in and tried to catch up on my mail. By the weekend it was back to Motorsports and business as usual. The following week was equally mostly no great shakes... the biggest thing wound up being a Vic-Maui Committee meeting at the Lahaina Yacht Club on Friday, where somehow it fell to me to set-up a PayPal account for our Logowear website.

Of note, Friday marked Kelly & Brooks 15th Wedding Anniversary - quite an accomplishment. Very proud of those two.

More Motorsports on the weekend and a surprise e-mail from Kelly saying she "and the whole gang" were headed down to Keiki Beach... which is my neck of the woods.


Turns out the "whole Gang" wound up being Kelly, Madison & Grayson, Nana Anne and Amanda, Kyle, Tyler & Hailey. I cruised down on my way into town and it was nice to see the Kidz, et al, frolicking in the Ocean. It was a bit more crowded than in this photo (taken when Kris was here in December) but that didn't seem to keep anyone from enjoying themselves or having a good time. And that Dear Readers darned near gets me current - for now...


Until Next Time... Adieu.


"A smile is the lighting system of the face, the cooling system of the head and the heating system of the heart." - Dan Daily

Hello Portland - Goodybe Oregon

Noooo, I didn't take a secret trip to Switzerland... this was a promo at the TGPLB and I thought I'd just fool ya'll...

So, where am I? Or more to the point, where WAS I? Oh yeah, left Vegas and flew to Portland, via SALT LAKE CITY, UT! Yep, for whatever crazy reason that's how DELTA gets you from Vegas to Portland. Well, I did manage to take advantage of the lay-over and met my Sister Karen and her Family for a brief visit which was fun. Not quite enough time get out of the A/P for dinner, but we did have a good chat, and it was good to see Hubby JC (Jim Clark) and the Boyz, Johnathan and Benjamin.

Even though I got into Portland at almost 11:00pm, my Cousin Sherry (Ralston) Simpson and her Husband Joe were kind enough to pick me up and put me up for the night. Loved the bed and woke to a great breakfast of scrambled eggs & fresh fruit. We spend a lazy day inside while it drizzled outside pretty much the whole time.

We had planned to have dinner that evening at Jake's Famous Crawfish at 6:00pm and I was caught a bit off-guard when Joe said at 4:00pm "We've gotta leave in20 minutes!" Well, figuring he had an errand or two to run I hopped too to shower and shave with Sherry chiding me to "Hurry up!" Well as it turned out, Kris had arranged a surprise stay at a swank hotel in the heart of Portland, THE HOTEL DELUXE, which as it turns out is on the Cond'e Nastes "Best 100 Hotels in America" list, and had elicited Joe's help in pulling it off.

Which they did, and we met Kris at the Hotel for an Adult beverage before we headed out to dinner which wound up being yet another sumptuous meal for all. Excellent Clam Chowder by the way. Then it was down the street and around the corner to Jimmy Mak's for a little live music. After the first set, and having given dinner time to settle we all agreed to call it a night with Joe and Sherry dropping us back at the Deluxe.

After a VERY SLOW morning (had to make the most of the luxurious accommodations) we headed out into town - Kris wanted to go to POWELL'S BOOK STORE. Now let me tell you, I was inclined to say "Pawshaw" at going to a "book-store" but was I in for an eye-opener! This place was HUGE... it covers a whole city block, is at least 4 stories tall and boasts the only 3 SIDED elevator West of the Mississippi River! Well that worked up an appetite so I said "Let's stop at the first place we can find a parking spot!" Lo and behold, that turned out to be at SERRATO'S, where Kris and I had met her Friends Joel & Diane Brauer for Dinner when I was had just started this trip. Kris had pizza and I had pasta (shrimp) - WOW, another great meal.

So since it happened to be Cinco d Mayo we'd thought about going out for Mexican Dinner that night. Turns out that's all we did... was think about it. I'd booked us at the La Quinta next to the Airport and we picked up a couple cans of TECATE and that was it. Cervasa & a Movie! The next morning it was Adios m'Love and back to Maui... Whew, what a trip. I'll close this chapter by saying that Dear Daughter Amanda was there to pick me up at the Airport and once again I'd come full circle having had a wonderful time with many wonderful Friends and Family. THANK YOU ALL... more than words could ever express...

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead there there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not Everything (or Everyone) Stays in Vegas...

That's a Fact Jack! I came, I stayed, I went... DASSIT!




OK, just kidding. After an uneventful flight to Mc Carren I caught the shuttle to the LAS VEGAS HILTON where I usually stay, as they've great rates and with a Monorail Station right there, you can easily get to almost any of the other Hotels/Casinos on the Strip. (FYI - they have a great promotion now if you've got the itch to travel, Rooms start at just $45.00. call the reservations department at 800-732-7117 and ask for PETV09)




Good Friends Les & Judy Crouch (owners of MAVERICK, a retired racing Sled I've had the pleasure of working and sailing on) drove out from Henderson to meet me for Dinner, and treated me to a wonderful meal at the CASA NICOLA. A very enjoyable evening with them. They're building a home on Maui (to retire too when they no longer wish to cruise the Carribean on Maverick), and shared their plans to plant flowers on a portion of the now "Agriculture" zoned property. As they had to drive back to Henderson we called it an early night.





Friday my Son Carl drove out from North Las Vegas (the Kidz were in school and Wife Wendy was in Virginia, helping out with Brother's new Baby I think), picked me up and we headed over to the NASCAR Cafe at the Sahara. We settled in at the Bar to watch the NASCAR Nationwide night Race at Richmond (of course) which was conveniently followed by the Laker's game - which they finally won for a change! They had Guinness on tap, which I'm really getting fond of, and I'm sure I had too many - although we went ahead and had dinner there, I managed to resist going for their famous 3D 6 pound burrito, as featured on "Man vs. Food" - One poor guy did have a go at it, and they wound up sending a 3 person crew to clean-up after him... Nuff Said!



Saturday Carl was back to pick me up (this time with Youngest Son Chase in tow), and we went back to their home for the afternoon. Had a nice visit with all three, Chase, Brittany & Cody and got the 411 on them. Then, just about when the NASCAR Sprint Cup was about to start and we'd finished the Pizza we'd had delivered, they each managed to slide off in different directions. Carl & I watched the Race and a movie after before Carl ran be back out to the Hotel.



Sunday morning I had an early massage - deep tissue, 90 minutes - and it was GREAT. We had planned for the Kidz to come out and spend some time at the Pool, and then I was going to go watch Carl Skate at one of his Buddies (the guy actually has two huge NOT FOR SWIMMING "pools" in his back-yard, with "stadium" lighting too boot) home. But that was not to be... it turned out to be windy and cold with only about a dozen hardy souls at the pool so that was a bust. Then, when I called Carl early in the afternoon he reported that he'd pulled a muscle while at the gymn earlier that morning and would not be skating. So we agreed he really didn't need to drive all the way out again and should just rest... I did the same.



OK, I know, you're all wondering... "Where's the Gambling report?" Well, I can honestly say I was VERY consertive this time, and actually came away with just about everything I came with, except the room charges. I had a couple rewarding sessions on the WHEEL OF FORTUNE Slots and resisted hoping on one of the Roulette Tables, and so faired well by resisting temptation!

And decided to cap off the evening by watching AVATAR in my room and calling it an early night, as I was off to fly again the next day.


"Why is it that the People who take the greatest offense at 'I told you so...', are the same one's who listen the least to 'I'm telling you NOW' "? - Ron Wall, 1993