Familiar sight...

Alas - Dear Friends anywhere but HERE... I want to share this weeks AWESOME SUNSET with you... And also to be able to see it after I take off this Thursday for my 6 week Mainland visit (yes I know, I'm just a selfish old Codger at heart...)

And yo! Didja know that yesterday was Albert Einstein's Birthday? Coincidentally it's also my Nephew Joshua's DOB as well, HPY B-Day Josh!

"Imagination is more important than Knowledge." - Albert Einstein

Another overdue up-date

Well, with the "Travel Bug" rapidly approaching, I thought I owed ya'll an update about my little "venture" to Oahu at the end of January. As my luck would have it, after getting through all the Cancer stuff with a clean bill of health, those pesky Doctors just wouldn't leave well enough alone until I'd had a Sigoidoscapy followed by and especially lovely Colonascopy (the spelling is intentionally wrong, and reflects my attitude about the whole thing). God Bless her, that's what I have Amanda for!


Oh, and I must make one little Public Service announcement here... For those of you OVER 50 - do not, I repeat, DO NOT put off having the little scope episode with your Colon and Intestines. While it may be a bit uncomfortable or distasteful, EARLY DETECTION is what it's all about, and there's no other way to tell, and the alternatives are 100 times worse, I kid you not. Trust me on this one Folks, there's simply no way around it.


And sure enough, after the Colonoscopy there was "one little Polyop" that they just couldn't get to come away... And so, off to Oahu. Although ably attended by Dr. Janet Abidar and Dr. Eric Matayoshi (Head of the Department at Kaiser on Oahu) my little four day stint for the Laproscopy turned into eight! The photo above was at about Day five, when I was blessed by an overnight visit from Amanda (with Kelly closely monitoring things by phone), as I was at about my worst. Note the cot on the right hand side... they brought in a roll-a-way for her to sleep on... she has a knack for charming everyone on the Staff, and getting whatever she wants.

We had some "issues" over Meds, but once that was straightened out, and they re-opened the incision to let it drain (Oh that was Fun!), things started getting better.

Amanda flew back to Oahu to collect and return with me to Maui, and we were blessed to make that trip in the pouring rain! But it was great just to get out of the Hospital and back to Maui. As with during the Cancer treatments, I opted to just stay at Amanda's (Parents - treat your Children well - they can make all the difference in the rest of your life!)

Oh, and in case you might be wondering, the "tab" for that little visit came to almost $32,000. Thanks to my (albeit pricey) Kaiser coverage it was only several hundred dollars out of pocket to me. Amen.

And here I am, on her couch, two weeks later, and the smile can best be attributed to the handful of Popcorn I'm enjoying, as that's the first I'd had in over a year! It was good - however, note the two bottles of water close at hand, and the gum... Guilty pleasures do come with a price.

The upshot of the whole thing is, "they came, they saw, they took, and they left!" Everything checked out OK, and seems that although the little bugger was NOT Evil just yet, had they done nothing it was sure to turn sour in another 6~8 months, and then it would have been UGLY.

So - head my advice and stay on top of things... not for my sake but yours and your Loved ones.

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." - Robert F. Kennedy

Need to back up just a bit...

Yes indeedie, as any of you regular followers are aware... I did a miserable job of updating this blog after mid-December of last year. so, in all fairness on several counts - please let me digress a bit, and set the record straight.

For the past two years "we" (that would be Amanda, her Family and those of us who've been able to make it) have been extremely fortunate to have been blessed with a visit from SANTA CLAUS (aka Uncle Dan Snyder) - obviously for the primary benefit of Tyler and Hailey.

Santa manages to show up on the roof, with toy filled bags for the Children, and surprises for everyone else. This year was a special treat, to have Great-Grandma Wall with us.

Another very special part about Santa's visit, is that it also seems to coincide with Aunty Bonnie Nelson's visit, and photography, thus the photos shown here, and the bonus of a video slide show adeptly compiled as well. This link: JONES CHRISTMAS VIDEO 2009 will take you there.

And more currently, for those of you who might be interested, Bonnie has put together a rather colorful video of our Non-Tsunami titled: TSUNAMI PUAMANA STYLE.

Back to Christmas... as you can readily see by the picture on the left, Mom's smile says it all. She was a real trooper, and never tired of all the activity, which between Hailey running in incessant circles and Tyler dancing in his Spiderman slippers... well, let's just say the action was non stop.

Another very pleasant part of this Christmas, especially for yours truly, was having a visit from my beautiful High School Sweetheart, and the First Mrs. Wall, Kris, who was visiting from Salem, Oregon where she lives with her Son Jonathan. I'd had the opportunity (and pleasure) of a short visit there last October on my way back from Southern California. Kris works for the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The photo below was taken at Yacht Club Friends Kent & Jannette Knowley, while we were relaxing at their Christmas Party. This photo was taken by another LYC Member and Friend, Bonnie West, the American Savings Bank Manager in Lahaina.

Change is what happens when the pain of holding on becomes greater than the fear of letting go. - Anon

Time MARCH'S on...

That's a fact Jack. So, here it is March already. Our Tsunami-NOT on Saturday was overshadowed by a much needed Rain squall yesterday, accompanied by chilly (61 Degrees at 5:00am) North winds (in the mid-Twenty MPH) all night long.

As you can see, the "PORCH" came through just fine, and all is well on the home front. It was comforting to hear from so many Folks who were concerned for our well being here in the Islands, and a real credit to our extensive technology and early warning systems. Now, if they could just get the results more accurately predictable...

Mind you, I'm not complaining... with all the potential for a huge disaster - it's a small price to pay for a "false" alarm. I think everyone here (well maybe not a lot of the displaced Tourists) agree that our Civil Defense and Government agencies did a good job and were well prepared to look out for the Public's interests.

While up on the hill Saturday, I also got word (and noticed her little yellow Mercedes zipping around) that good Friend Bonnie Nelson was also up above Laniopoko park. Well, Ms. Bonnie has become quite the Photo Journalist these days, and has become quite adept at putting together Photo Videos. Not surprisingly She's got a pretty good one of the Tsunami Day. The beginning shows a nice tour of the area above Laniopoko (Jeff's place is higher up, all the way to the top). About in the middle there's a great panning scene of the off-shore Boats, with Lanai in the background. And at the end is back in Lahaina, on the grounds of Puamana where
Bonnie, her Cats and the Butterflies live... Puamana Tsunami Thanks Bonnie!

Monday is one heck of a way to spend 1/7 of your life!

Tsunami Tscare Endts Tsafe & Tsound

And at the end of the day, the Tsun Tset as usual and all ended Tswell...


I suspect that everyone is all too well aware… as CNN has reported so “dramatically” - Today’s Tsunami warning came, AND WENT, with little more than a “drop in the bucket!” But, it was a good exercise in “Just what do I really care about enough to pack and fit in my car; knowing that my home and any remaining possessions could be washed away by Lunchtime?” All in all I think I did pretty good, so I'm pleased about that.

Things got off to an early start, being awakened by the rattle of my Cell phone going off... with youngest Daughter Amanda sounding the Alarm at 4:00am this morning, due to an 8.3 earthquake in Chile. Amanda then promptly took herself to Walmart (who'd elected to stay open all night) to stock up on necessaries… Daughter Kelly (a Veterinary Aide at the Maui Humane Society) and had been tapped for EVACUATION SHELTER DUTY as part of her responsibilities there, and so had to leave her Family (high and dry at the 2,400 foot level on the side of Haleakala) at 6:00am to head to the Shelter, and called to check on her Dear ol' Dad on her way in. I placed a call to My own Dear Mother at 7:00am, at her new home - Roselani Place - fearing that she would be stressing, only to have her reassure me that she "WAS JUST FINE." She'd already had breakfast, and they we’re planning on having a "party" up on the Fourth Floor!

So I set about spending the next 4 or so hours searching, selecting and packing what I felt "I couldn't live without." By 5:00am I was ready with my first of well over 30 trips to load the car, and was rewarded with my first "treat" for the day, a darn near Full Moon setting over Lanai, it's albino glow reflecting off the possibly pending ominous ocean. One of my favorite sights from "The Porch."

Another of the "high points" of my day was whilst searching about collecting things I discovered $200.00 I'd tucked away who knows when, had totally forgotten about, and otherwise may have never found. As my good Friend Sherry Lynn Patterson likes to say, "Right action is happening!"

So - what did I take? Well the top priorities were my T-Shirt collection; my Disney "Cars" collection; my 1953 scale model Agajanian Special #98 Indy Car; a dozen or so "Family Photos"; my Waterford Crystal Decanter & Snifter; my 1996 LYC Commodore's Mug; 1/3 of my Art collection; my Coin collection (which took the most tine and effort to search out and pack up); 3 boxes (about 1/4 of my Collection) of my favorite DVD's and the Player; my brand new Keurig Coffee maker (which I just love) 1 File box of "important papers" and photographs; my Laptop & a bag of "wires"; both pair of my long pants and the Blue Blazer; 3 Heineken's; and a weeks supply of ENSURE!

At 9:00am I headed out of town and up to a good Friend’s house (Jeff owns Volcano Crator's a Crating company), about 1,200 feet, above Laniopoko Park. It was rather eerie with no cars around. They had announced the roads would be closed at 10:00am so I'd put it down to the last minute to "get out of town."

So, up at Jeff & Jill Kaiser's we had a great view of the “Lahaina Fleet” heading offshore (about 90+ vessels), about a third of which can be seen in the photo at the right, and that's Lanai in the background. Also easily seen, it was a typically beautiful day in Paradise. where they were treated to considerable Whale activity all afternoon. Among the Fleet was Friend Tom Warren aboard KAMEHAMEHA.

Jeff & Jill were kind enough to open their home to many Folks who wound up with no place to go... Among them a couple from Oregon who'd been staying at the Hyatt Kaanapali Beach, who'd been rousted from their room at 5:00am, and told "to leave now" and weren't even allowed to grab any of their belongings. Now that was a little rude. Anyway, Jeff has been a personal Friend since 1982, and I don't think I know a nicer guy. As you can see in the photo below, we had a great vantage point to witness the arrival of the Great Tsunami of 2010...

Then as it turned out… with Sirens blaring, Helicopters cruising low along the shoreline, and Then, with all the roads closed (that’d be the one and only Honoapiilani Hwy.) the much reported and cautioned event came and went at 11:14am! Followed by several equally un-noticeable “after-waves.” And that was that.

By 1:00pm it was quite evident that nothing much was gonna happen. I decided to head down the hill, to get in line and await the re-opening of the Highway. Well, as that turned out, I was in for another 1 hour wait, but at least I was about 7th in line. The real nice thing about that turned out to be good Friend Stephanie (known to her Peers here in Lahaina as Auntie Panty because she owns Lahaina Lingerie) showed up 2 cars behind, and we were able to share a Heineken and "chat" while waiting.

Once they finally opened up the road it was an easy drive back into town. The strangest sight was seeing a total of four cars in the Safeway parking lot, where there's never less than about 144! So now there’s a car full of “stuff” awaiting to be unloaded and trudged back into my humble domain… well, it’s just gonna have to wait, as I’m beat! Nap time, and then hopefully after a little “snack” it’ll be Bed time. Tomorrow’s another day…

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." -- Ernest Hemingway

How to put a Positive Spin on Things...

Howdy Ho Mon Amis!



Recently I had ocassion for a little HYDROTHERAPY courtesy of my Friend, Captain Tom Warren for a little excursion aboard KAMEHAMEHA. It was a day sail for some mutual Friends celebrating a Birthday. As is fairly typical the weather was great, with just a hint of the Trades teasing out in the Pai'lolo Channel (between Maui & Molokai).

After a leisure motoring through Ma'la to cruise by my Porch and visit the Turtles, we paused just of Wahikuli Beach to set the sails, and headed off past Kaanapali out to catch the wind. Just as we passed Black Rock we could see right away the signs of sea life activity ahead. As we were still in light air, it soon became aparant that the activity was moving more toward us, than we were towards it.





Within a few minuets we were surrounded by the darting dorsal fins and graceful leaps of dozens of Spinner Dolphins.





It's difficult to adequately describe the graceful elegance of these playful Seagoing Mammals as the effortlessly ride the twin bow waves of the Catamaran, endlessly spinning, jumping and splashing about in the surrounding waters. Literally hundreds of them in the Group. This first hand video clip shows a little of what we experienced:

Just a couple of weeks prior to this I had the opportunity to take along an old High School Friend, Jim Hewlett and his Wife for a day sail. It was too early still for Whales, and we only saw just a few of the Little Spinners then, but I think they enjoyed the day, it's hard not to enjoy a day on the water off-shore Lahaina. Perhaps YOU'D care to join us on YOUR next visit to Maui?

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." - William Arthur Ward

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