On the Road Again...

'Tis truly time for the Luck o' the Irish, and when Arin goes Brahless... Oh wait, I may have that wrong! Sorry about that, what I meant to say is, "I'll bet you're all GREEN with envy" - that Ron is going off traveling again. OK, enough Blarney or Irish jokes - but, it is St. Paddy's Day after all.

But TOMORROW, I'll be boarding the big ol' Hawaiian Airlines Jet and flying off to Portland, OR.

Kris will be picking me up and then we head back down to Salem, where I'll be spending the week. The good news is they're expecting it to get up into the 60's. The bad news is, they only expect it to get up into the 60's.

Oh, you say you don't know who "KRIS" is... well, the short version is we were High School sweethearts, and were married for four years. Recently we have sort of "re-discovered" each other. So far, I have to say it's been rather nice, and I think we're both hoping good things will follow.

Then next week, I hop on Amtrak's COAST STARLIGHT at the Salem station, not far from the State Capitol - where incidentally Kris works at the Oregon Department of Transportation (or ODOT as the insiders refer to it), and carries the lofty title of Program, Resource and Data Manager; whatever that means. 8~)

29 hours, 23 minutes later I'll arrive at historic Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. I'm fortunate enough to have my long time High School friend (and Brother from a different Mother) JC Agajanian, be willing enough to drive all the way from Hermosa Beach to pick me up. Not only that, but he and wife Franci have been kind enough to have me as a house guest for most of my stay in Southern California.

Among the high points JC has planned while I'm there are Easter with his Family; a visit to Parnelli Jones "Garage" for a Driver's Reunion; a night at Brixton's in Redondo Beach, to see Al Stewart (Year of the Cat); we'll do some "research" for our 45th High School Reunion next year; and one of our favorite little side trips... a day at Disneyland with Lunch at Club 33.

There's lots more to be sure, and I'll be doing my best to fill in the blanks along the way, but you'll have to check back from time to time if you want to be "in the know..."


Oh, and lest I forget (well, no, I didn't really) we'll be spending three days at the TOYOTA GRAND PRIX of LONG BEACH. Definitely a VERY HIGH POINT of the trip.

JC manages to arrange for Credentials which are totally cool and provide access to the Pits, the Track, Media locations and the Garages, as well as the Stands.

JC and a group of Friends have been playing Music as a band called GLASS, since back in the 60's (can you say Darby Park) and have won numerous contests, opened for Dick Dale and others. They're playing on Sunday night for the hospitality tent set up by SAM'S AUTO LAND, thanks to a long time Friend, Sam Kaskanian.

Interrupting my stay in Hermosa, I'll be heading further South to Corona del Mar, for a week with my old Friend, fellow Lahaina Yacht Club member and world renowned Marine Art Historian and Curator, Marcus De Chevrieux.

Another bonafied Disney Nut and Season Pass holder, we'll be making a few trips to Disneyland ourselves.

Marcus has warned that he'll be knee deep (well, he used different words OK, but I think you get what I mean) in doing his taxes, and I may find myself on suicide watch part of the time.

But Newport Beach is right around the corner, and one of my favorite places to visit when I was growing up. So lots to see, and Friends to call on. Aunt Elaine and several of her eight Daughters live not too far from Disneyland also and with luck will have time for a short visit there.

Then it's back to Jay & Franci's as Kris is coming down for a week! Hooray - now that'll be fun. We can go double dating...! (Jay - does that remind you of the old days at all? Craig Hanna, you got your ears on??) And then, after all that activity - I'll be ready for a rest, so it's off to Las Vegas for 4 nights, and a chance to visit my Son Carl, and his Family.

I'll be staying at the HILTON, which is pretty centrally located, just across from Circus Circus and near the Monorail. Vegas is definitely the Adult Disneyland... I can't wait.

Then, it's back on the plane to Portland, with a side trip to Salt Lake City and dinner with my Sister and possibly another High School pal, Rick Ortengurger and his wife Elfi.

OK - that's all ya get for now. I'll do my best to up-date AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, I promise!

May your neighbors respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you and Heaven accept you. - Irish Toast

Another Up-Date and Past Adventures

I realized that I hadn't really given a current up-date on my Cancer state of affairs. After having just now gotten around to filling you in on my "Oscopy" affairs, I thought maybe I should. This was made clear while I was having a terrific dinner at the Yacht Club last evening. On a whim I decided to have the Fillet Mignon, and not only was it "do die for" but it occurred to me that it was the first real "red meat" meal I'd had in almost a year and a half!



So - I'm more than happy to report that after several CAT scans, the same number of blood tests and several office visits to both the Oncologist and the ENT, I've no residual signs of Cancer whatsoever. Totally clean bill of health and very optimistic prognosis. I go back to the ENT in 3 months, and the Oncologist in 6. It was a long road to hoe so to speak, and I'd of NEVER made it without the love and care of my Daughter Amanda, and the support of Kelly, the rest of my Family and my very dear Friends. I hope you all know what a positive difference you made in an otherwise EXTREMELY unpleasant and un-nerving experience. Words cannot express my appreciation and gratitude. I shall be forever beholding to you all.



Which reminds me of a little side trip I treated myself to, almost two years ago when I was finalizing things to move my Parents here and sell their home in North Hollywood.

I'd originally planned to take a Train ride to the East Coast, but that sorta fell through as not only was I not up to it physically but had also discovered that I had WAY too much to do with the Folks.

So, instead I took the California Coastliner from the Burbank Airport station to Carpenteria for a brief visit with a Dear Friend from High School, Gayle (Thomsen) Clay. Her Hubby Jeff was off on a Golf excursion and we drove up the Coast to Hearst Castle for the afternoon tour. And lest I leave any doubts, Mr. Clay was home again that evening to assure the proper amount of propriety prevailed.

And, as is my focus, I'm looking forward to visiting good Friends and old acquaintances on my upcoming trip - and hope you're looking forward to hearing about it... Cheers!

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." - John Wooden

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