ON TOP OF THE WORLD

No, not me, although I kind of feel that way having ALL MY CHILDREN here together again. Yes, Carl and his wife Wendy along with Cody (19), Brittany (17) & Chase (15). As you can see, it's the KIDZ that were all up on Haleakala (10,000 feet) yesterday.

From L to R: Wendy, Madison (10), Brittany, Chase, Grayson (7), Hailey (3), Carl, Kelly, Tyler (5), Amanda & Cody. Absent are Kyle who was diving Cathedrals over at Lanai, and Brooks who had to work, oh, and Nana Anne who was home cooking Spaghetti for the Gang.

Today's a beach day with the crew heading over to descend on Kaanapali, where I'll be joining them after the finish of the final NASCAR race of the season... Com'on Jimmy Johnson - Championship #5! Then we'll probably take over Lulu's for Dinner as the Yacht Club Galley is closed on Sunday's and Ruby's is way back on the other side.

We're all looking forward to a fabulous feast with Family and Friends for Thanksgiving this year, as we'll be joining the Azevedo's up at the Ulapalkua Ranch. That should make for a good report by the end of the week. Until then I hope each of YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES have a safe and enjoyable Holiday. Life is short - live ever minute to it's fullest and do not hesitate to tell those you care about, that you do. Cheers, and I love each and every one of you!

"If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough." - Mario Andretti

IT'S NOT ABOUT ME...

With things being kind of "quiet" and all, it occurred to me to make mention of something I've been wanting to get to for a long time now... Something I enjoy doing almost more than anything else in the World is "HELPING" others... True, they don't always want or appreciate it, but that's one of the things I do best.

I realize that many of you are well aware of this website THE HUNGER SITE, but for those of you who aren't - it's a great way to do a lot of good for several worthwhile causes with very little effort.

In LESS THAN ONE MINUTE you can:

Feed the Hungry with 1.1 cup of food.

Help provide a Free Mammogram.

Provide Health Care to a needy Child.

Fight Illiteracy by giving a youngster a Book.

Preserve 11.4 square feet of Rain forest.

Give 6 bowls of food to hungry Animals.

Now, think if you did that EVERY DAY. What if we all did?!! Well, that's the idea anyway. And all it takes is a minute or two out of your Computer Time. You can bookmark the link, or even better, like I've done, paste it onto your Browser Status Bar and it'll be right there, handy to use whenever it's most convenient.

All you do is visit the Hunger Website, no Log-In or Registration is necessary. You click on the CLICK HERE button, the page cycles, you click on the next TAB [Breast Cancer], then click on that BUTTON, and so on... it really only takes about a minute once you become familiar with the site. And yes, they have lots of little "things" you can by and plenty of additional information sources for anyone interested, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BOTHER with any of it unless you want to.

And this is not a "paid political announcement." It's just something that seems worthwhile to me, it's painless, doesn't cost anything and can only do good. And if you have questions or would like additional explanation of any of the steps, just let me know and I'll be happy to go over it with you. Hope you didn't mind this little deviation from the norm... I promise not to do it often.

"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." - Robert Frost

HEY THERE MOUSEKETEERS...!

Do you know what time it is? That's Right!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICKEY MOUSE. On this day in 1928 Uncle Walt brought his world famous creation to life, and the Magic began.

If nothing else, think of Mickey today and SMILE. How can you not admire the happy at heart little guy with virtuous values, who has such cute ears?!

OK now, everyone, "NEAT & PRETTY" Have a good day and may all your Dreams come true.

"There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." - Bertrand Russell

YES, THAT'S THE NEW MOON OVER MAUI...

Well, it was a week or so ago... just thought I'd change the photo.

Hope a good week was had by everyone. It was an interesting one here... There was a Monk Seal down at Launiopoko Beach, as seen by Amanda and the Kidz. I saw a couple of Nene's (Hawaii's endangered species Geese) over fly the Kaiser estate one morning, and that evening an Pueo (Hawaiian Owl) flew by on the same route - the sighting of which is considered good luck. Then there have been several sightings of Whales, which is a bit early but not un-heard of, so that's a good thing. And of course my Turtles are as active as ever, and always a treat.

So, life is good here in Paradise, and I hope it is as well for you, wherever you are.

"You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it." - Charles Bryton

AN OCASSION WORTH REMEMBERING

Yes, today is Veteran's Day, and although you can't exactly say, "Happy Veteran's Day" it is perhaps one of the most important days we observe here in the United States. I'm not gonna get all philosophical or melancholy, but I can't just let it pass without making some mention of it's importance, at least to me.

Yes, I'm a Vet, and proud of it, but sure no "hero" or anything very special, compared to the countless others, including my Dad, who served under fire and or gave their lives in defense of their Country and in the pursuit of Freedom for all of us fortunate enough to live here in the Good old USofA.

But it does put me in mind of my "Heros" as I was growing up, in the pre-High School days, as things began rapidly changing then. And I realize now, which I didn't so much at the time, that my Dad was one of the most important ones. I think the thing I admired most about him was his ability to please the Ladies. Now, don't get me wrong, he was anything but a "Lady's Man." He loved my Mom and they spent a terrific 63 years as Husband & Wife. No, he was a Gentleman, and always left the Lady feeling special. He had a sense of humor they loved, and was a gentle soul. I still aspire to acquire his grace and aplomb.

So, to put things in perspective a bit, I thought I might share just who my most memorable Hero's were from my early formative years. Probably one of my first was Johnny Weissmuller, famous for his portrayal as Tarzan. But for me it was also the fact that he was an Olympic Swimmer - and he along with Buster Crabbe both inspired me as a youngster, both of whom I saw swim at the Los Angeles Swim Stadium next to the Coliseum.

Then there was of course Walt Disney - from the very first World of Color presentation on TV I was hooked and VERY impressed with all his accomplishments both in film and with the advent of Disneyland. We had a lot of the animators and Studio employees living in the neighborhood I grew up in and I couldn't help but be influenced by them all. Elvis Presley was up there too. I always wanted to be able to "sing" and it was just never meant to be. His magnetism was pretty amazing which can be attested to by the fact that my Grandmother Estel Ralston just "loved him!" And they didn't come much more conservative or stoic than she.

Another one I remember well was actually J.C. Agajanian, Sr., and believe it or not this was years before I came to meet JC Jr., in High School. The Indy 500 captured my interest way early, and I can even remember listening to it on the radio. But Aggie's swagger through Gasoline Alley, with his big ol' Cowboy hat and ear to ear grin with just everybody saying "HI" - he was very impressive. And last, I'll mention one whom I miss about the most, and that was John F. Kennedy. I'm by no means much on politics and never was but even then, I was impressed with his Naval career (I wanted to pilot PT-109) and totally saw him as a great leader of the Country.

Well, it's harder to find "Hero's" these days... and even when you do, they tend to fall from grace sooner rather than later. I miss you Dad, they just don't make 'em like they used too.

A boy doesn't have to go to war to be a hero; he can say he doesn't like pie when he sees there isn't enough to go around. - Edgar Watson Howe

YES, HALLOWEEN'S OVER

OK - Before ya'll started pestering me - that Halloween's over, I figured I'd getter get something going here... so here's a little tropical rainbow for every one's enjoyment.

Next, and I'll apologize first if there's nothing here very exciting... but it's just back to the normal hum-drum life that is mine... no current trips planned for at least the rest of this year.

Let's see - to back-up a little to Halloween, I'd gone over and stayed at Amanda's to watch little Miss Hailey for the week, as Kyle was supervising a job at the Grand Wailea (he and his crew re-did the walkway & entrance to the Wedding Chapel, which was no small project - "after" photos to follow in a couple of days. Tyler's in his new Kindergarten class, and Hailey started pre-school this week so all's fairly well on that front, with Amanda studying her little heart out and coping with the realities of receiving her first "B" on an exam!

WRONG - I MUST APOLOGIZE FOR MY INACCURATE POST HERE - SHE DID NOT GET A "b" - After the scores were in and the Teacher adjusted the curve, she of course had an "A".

Kelly and Family have settled back into their quiet routine... NOT! Madison & Grayson are now going to Doris Todd over in Paia, as St. Joseph's in Makawao has closed there classroom doors, so with Kelly working at the Humane Society, plus doing her Notary's and Brooks doing Max's World Bistro Tuesday/Wednesdays & Cheeseburger's on Friday/Saturdays they never seem to have a dull moment either.

Carl & his Clan are due here for Thanksgiving... with Brittany coming a week early, as she has to get back for work AND school... anyway, it'll be good to see them here. One of the highlights should be getting everyone out on Tom Warren's KAMEHAMEHA for a Family day sail, and hopefully sighting a whale or two in the process.

So then on Halloween night I had the dubious honor (?) of serving as the doorman at the Yacht Club... and as it turned out Lahaina was kind of quiet and subsequently so was the Club, making door duty fairly easy, and leaving plenty of time for girl - no wait, I mean GHOUL watching!

Now this week I'm up watching Ben and Leighann Kaiser (along with Uncle Dan Snyder) while Momma Jill & Daddy-O Jeff are off-Island. Jeff sailing to Cabo in a Yacht Race and Jill visiting Family and Friends (Hi Roger & Jon!) in San Francisco, while trying to avoid the mobs of Giant revelers (and I mean the Fans, not "big" people), before joining Jeff down South. The Kids have been great, so this has been easy duty... or so I thought until I took the two "Girls" (that'd be Lucky & Uila - there two cute little orphaned Pit Bulls) down to Laniopoko Park for a run this morning... OMG, have those two got energy. So - big baby that I am, that's my excuse to take the rest of the day off... and so I'm gonna. Which means - I'm done here for now. Cheers!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain