Guilty as Charged!

Yes, I've been negligent. Yes, I've been lazy. Yes, I'm in good health.

No, I haven't any reasonable excuses. No, it's not any one's "fault." What can I say? To those of you who have followed faithfully, waited patiently and been encouraging all along the way, I can only say, first - THANK YOU, and second, I am sorry if I've let you down. Again, I've no real excuse other than just not checking in and bothering with an up-date. Certainly much has been going on, though little of any significant importance.

LIFE IS GOOD, and I'm fortunate to be able to witness that every day, as you can see by this picture taken Tuesday Morning. One of my favorite expressions is, "After the Rain comes the Rainbow." Or to put it another way, you can't have Rain, without a Rainbow. In other words, with the bad comes the good, we just have to look for it.

So, no matter how down I may get, or whenever anything "bad" happens, I can always find something good to focus on, and hope that you can as well. Unfortunately, that's not always a cure all or enough to raise ones spirits, although it does tend to keep one from complaining.

And so, another Halloween and Thanksgiving have come and gone, and Christmas is on the horizon. On the "Good News" side of things, Mom has settled into her new home at Roselani Place and is just loving it. She has many new Friends, an endless list of activities and adventures to keep her occupied, and both Kelly and Amanda have been generous with their visits with the Great Grand Children. Additionally, Marcia Seabern (my Dear Landlady and Friend) visits most every Sunday and this past week took Mom to see a local production of ANNIE at the Iao Theater (which featured Artist Friend Ronaldo Macedo's Daughter Summer as "Molly") which they both thoroughly enjoyed.

OK - so I'm alive and well, and hoping you are too, and will be back with more... Tomorrow.

"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad." - Miles Kington

Aloha Dad! Edd Wall 11/22/1922 - 10/11/2009

It is with great sadness that I must report that my Father, Edward Gustav Wall, passed away in his sleep early last Sunday morning. With him were my Mom, who was by his side for over 65 years, and my Daughter Amanda.



Anyone who ever knew Dad or had even met him for the briefest of moments, knew him as a kind and gentle soul, always with a ready smile and a quick wit. He taught me more than I could ever pass on in two lifetimes, and always set a high level of achievement to strive for.

We had only a short time before completed the Folks move from their home of over 63 years, in North Hollywood, California to the Island of Maui, in Hawaii where I live, along with two of their Granddaughters and 4 of their Great Grand Children. Dad along with Mom had the opportunity to tour around and see parts of the Island, and visit with Family and meet many new Friends.

Unfortunately Dad brought along with him some health issues from California, which ultimately compounded and were just too much for him to cope with. We all know that Dad is in a better place now, and joins many of our Family and his Friends who have gone before him.

We ask that your Prayers be for Mom, Dorothy May Wall, and that any Donations (please no Flowers) or bequests be made to the Braille Institute, where Dad served as a Volunteer for over 30 years.

Office of Development & Planned Giving Braille Institute of America, Inc.741 North Vermont Avenue Los Angeles, California 90029Phone: 1-800-BRAILLE (272-4553), Ext. 1238FAX: (323) 663-1428E-mail

Mom & Dad Move to Maui

Yes Sir, it sure has been a long time since my last update. But for good reason I think... First of all, healthwise I'm doing just fine. Clean bills of health from all the Doctors, and I've even managed to start flirting with real food for the past couple weeks. Secondly, as most of you know, I've been pretty busy moving my Parents to Maui. The hardest part has been trying to convince them for the past two years that it was a good idea. But once they finally accepted the concept though, I couldn't move fast enough.

To back track a bit, after spending a week this last trip, packing up everything they'd decided they needed to have in Hawaii, we had a 5'x7'x8' crate to ship to Maui. With that gone, we had a "going away" party put on by the Braille Institute, where Mom & Dad were recognized for their almost 60 years of combined service. It was a Luau theme, and even had a traditional Hawaiian meal. A beautiful cake and three kinds of ice cream (of which Dad had seconds on all three) topped off the party.

We then packed up the car and left for San Diego, where we spent a couple days with Friends Peggy Johnson, and her Father Doug Williams, whose 95th Birthday we were there to Celebrate. Then it was off to Las Vegas for a stop over on our way to Utah for Mom's bi-annual Family Reunion. We stayed at the Hilton, and had a chance to visit with my Son Carl, and his wife Wendy, and their Children, Chase and Brittany. Their oldest Son Cody was off in Wyoming, working for the Summer. We did some serious damage at the Buffet, and then after a great massage at the spa, and BURNING THE SH*T out of my feet at the pool, we were off again.

Next stop was Orem, Utah where we joined about 80 Family Members for 4 days of Feasting and Reminiscing. They had a special Luau luncheon and Hula show for the Folks, as a send off and was a good chance for everyone to say Goodbye. To be sure there were plenty of tears to go around. We then spend a couple days at my Sister Karen's home, in Lindon so she could have a chance to spend time with her Mom & Dad before the big move. The icing on the Cake for Mom, was Karen's two older Children (Joshua & Ashlee) were both there also, with their Children, so Great Grandma was even higher in "heaven!"

I managed to slip away for a couple days and had a good visit with High School buddy Rick Ortenburger and his wife Elfie, and a terriffic massage from Friend Nichole Anderson. And live was good. Then it was time to gather up the Folks and board our Delta Airlines flight to Maui via Seattle, Washington. The flights were actually pretty uneventful, although Mom & Dad would tell you otherwise (I don't think they'll be doing any flying any time soon...). But we made it to Maui just fine, to be greeted by faithful Daughter Amanda, and news that Hurricane Felicia was headed toward the Islands! (The hurricane fizzled and we only wound up with minor showers.) I'll follow up with the next installment about their move-in to their new home.

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.” Audrey Hepburn

It's About Time

About the photo above... It's from my last visit to Disneyland, and it's a photo of good Friend Marcus DeChevrieux, Marine Art Historian extraordinaire, and Carol Ruby a former Lutheran High School graduate and fellow GLASS Fan! Also with us at Club 33 were JC & Franci Agajanian. But that's another story...

Today is all about July 8th, and TIME. Terry "Ike" Clanton, host of THE HAUNTED SALOON shared this tid-bit, "... at five minutes and six seconds after 4:00 am on the eighth of July, the time and date will be 04:05:06 07/08/09." Just now in reading today's SCUTTLEBUT, the Curmudgeon provided this observation: "Shortly after noon on July 8, comes the moment that can be called 12:34:56 7/8/9." Now I found both those items rather interesting, and just had to share them with Ya'll.

And speaking of "Ya'll" - I would like to acknowledge everyone who's taken the t me to let me know you do follow along, and check out these post's every now and then. It's appreciated, and the only real reason to continue on. There just always seems to be so much going on in life and this just seems like a pretty darned good way to share it, at least from my POV.

Along with Michael Jackson's Memorial Service today, the 4th of July has come and gone. I spent the better part of the day watching the Coke Zero 400 NASCAR race at Daytona, with young and wild Kyle Bush providing more than his share of FIREWORKS and giving Tony Stewart the Win. Man that Kid can sure drive, but he's gotta loose the "ATTITUDE" and smarten up. When he does, he'll wind up winning a Championship or two for sure.

Right after the race Kyle & Amanda showed up with Tyler & Hailey and their Friends Steve & Laura (? hope I got that right Amanda...) after a day at the beach. They only made a brief stay, just long enough to hose off the Kids an say Hello & Goodbye, as they were headed home to BBQ and enjoy the Neighborhood fireworks, which in their neighborhood is quite the show. but Amanda clued me in that Kelly and her two, Madison & Grayson and Nana (Anne) were still there (Keiki Beach) and were planning on staying for the Lahaina Fireworks. Well, I grabbed a spare bottle of water and walked right on down. had a nice visit with them, watched a GREAT fireworks show thanks to the Merchants of Lahaina. It was quite the show with a full moon coming up over the West Maui Mountains and the fireworks reflecting off the water. Pretty darned good for a free show.

Tree trimmers were here all day, and that's about it for now. I didn't get my nap today, so it's early to bed for me tonight. Aloha and God Bless.

"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please." Mark Twain

Don't Forget Victor - Vote, Vote, Vote

Please vote for Baseball's All Star Game Player Shane Victorino. Shane's a Maui Boy, and plays for the Philadelphia Phillie's. If you follow Baseball at all, you know he gets better every game. Anyway, we can vote him onto the team, it's not too late, and your vote (or 20) can make the difference. Click on the Link below, and after you complete the short form, you can vote as many times as you want. THANKS.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2009/fv/ballot.html

It's Not ALL About the View... Well Maybe just a Little

Yep, I've fallen victim to Polynesian Paralysis... I seem to be particularly vulnerable after long durations away from Home. Part of the problem has to do with having my wonderful Ocean View obstructed with the occasional HUGE, Sleek, Luxury Sailing Yachts that seem to show up from time to time. This particular one happens to be a beautiful 130' Dubois gem named SY JANICE of WYOMING. She's of New Zealand Registry, has a mostly Australian Crew, and boasts a 175' Mast! OMG is all I can say. And no, I didn't manage to get aboard, although the Captain and Crew did spend a considerable amount of time in the Lahaina Yacht Club, and a good time was had by all.

But that's been far from all that's been distracting me... I've actually been plugging away on a few of my Web projects, which I seemed to neglect whist on the Mainland... (yes, I've got excuses for both sides of the Water). Did a little polishing and fine tuning on www.kamehamehasails.com, a site for good Friend Captain Tom Warren, aboard whose fine vessel KAMEHAMEHA we'll be having a little Holo Holo sail tomorrow with several Lady Friends...

I'm just getting a new one started for the LAHAINA SWIM CLUB, which I'm thinking could be fun, and they meet at the Community Pool where I do all my "training" (OK, we'll call that occasional therapeutic exercise.

And now (drum roll please) here's my BIG NEWS! I had my Blood Tests and CAT Scan last week, and on Monday had my final follow-ups with Doctors Newman (ENT) & Coty (Oncologist), and have come away with rave reviews. In fact, all "A's"!!! Here's the scoop for those of you who care about the details:

There’s no sign of Cancer or any tumors. My lungs are clearer than they were 2 months ago, and they’ve no concerns about them. My heart sounds good, steady & strong, and breathing is clear. My blood pressure is GREAT - 100/50. My weight has been stable at 195 for 3 months (what I weighed as a Sophomore in High School), and my cholesterol is well BELOW average, which is good. My blood work is good, and no serious concerns there. I’m a LITTLE bit anemic (no red meat/Iron) and a LITTLE bit high with glucose (sugar in Ensure) but otherwise, AOK.

As for the “saliva” and my eating issues… Now it’s a bit more clear why everyone was so non-committal and vague about it in the early days. What they’re saying now is, this is pretty “normal” and it could be years before I see much change, and most likely it will never be back to completely where it was originally.

Dr. Coty did say I needed to be more aggressive in my approach to “eating” and encouraged using the blender, etc. He also was pretty adamant that the way I’ve done so far, I could live the rest of my life with my current kind of diet. So, I guess it’s up to me. I’m having soup with boiled vegetables at this very moment. I'll have more on Diet next time.

Whew, I've worked up an appetite... it's time for a drink! Wishing you all good health, fair weather, and fun times!

I’ve heard it said, “There are 3 kinds of people: Those who can count and those who can't.” However I prefer, “"There are only 10 kinds of people: Those who understand binary and those who don't!"

Back Home in Lahaina

OK, so this time I probably do deserve all the "bad things" you've all been thinking, and YES, I've been a lazy, no account, bum. Guilty as charged. So, let's see what I can do to make up for it. First, I hope everyone entitled had a GOOD FATHER'S DAY! I did, heard from all three Kids who each have their own Father issues to contend with, and I think everyone managed nicely. I talked to Mom today and I know she and Dad had a very enjoyable visit from Claudia and Aunt Elaine. Nice quiet dinner, then home for Apple pie and Vanilla Ice Cream!

So, I think this photo kind of speaks for itself, I did make it home to Lahaina.

Actually I arrived back on Maui Tuesday night, after a little delay getting out of LAX and without my Carry-on (Gate checked it) which had my trusty Igloo and my medications. Wasn't the end of the world and good ol' Hawaiian Airlines had it for me first thing the next morning.

I spent a couple days at Amanda's relaxing and enjoying the little cherubs Tyler & Hailey before heading over to Lahaina.

You can see it this photo, the two water lily blossoms were here to greet me, along with Marcia and Steve, a pile of mail, and needing to tweak Marcia's computer. "Welcome home, Ron!" I was happy to find that none of my plants or pets had died... which is one great advantage of not having any plants or pets, which keeps things simple. Pearl started right up, and my current registration was here waiting for me, along with the bill to renew the insurance. Ahhh, life is good.

Well, I have a feeling the next couple weeks will fly by and before I know it, I'll be hopping back on the plane to fly back to LA. I've got a busy schedule already with Blood Tests, 2 CAT scans, and appointments with Doctor's Gilbert, Newman and Coty, and then I also need to see my ol' Friend (and Dentist) Dwight Mounts - as I had a crown come loose in LA, and all this medication leaves my mouth feeling funky, so I want to get the ol' Chomper's cleaned and checked over.

Seems like I should have a go at backtracking and covering all the adventures and experiences I had these past two months, but then, I'm not sure I can keep up with what's going on here now, much lest what's already "old news..." So, I guess we'll see... Thanks to everyone who's been following, and for those of you who've made me feel worthwhile, and let me know you care. It means the world, and I'm humbled to have so many good Friends and such a wonderful Family. I love you all, you are truly my most valuable "possessions."

"Never mistake motion for action." Ernest Hemingway