46 and Counting, Medical Travel, Big Whack

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

5/926

 

Aloha Gangl!

 

A fairly busy week here.  Our good weather has continued, to the delight of locals and tourists alike.  Kileaua's 46th (!) fountaining episode came and went after about 9 hours of spitting.  It was a pretty puny event compared to others, with just one of the two vents shooting up lava and only to about 800 feet.  However, the wind direction again sent tephra onto viewing areas and the park had to be temporarily closed, so the show could only be witnessed online. Two cruise ships (neither had any cases of Hantavirus, thankfully) visited besides our usual weekly ship.  They were repositioning to their northern summer bases, a common springtime sight here.  One even stayed for two nights, which was unusual.

 

On Tuesday I saw my retina doc for a shot in my right eye this time.  I also got him to refer me to a mainland clinic for a thorough neuro-opthamology workup.  My objective is to see if anyone can tell me why my vision is continuing to decline despite regular treatment.  I've chosen a place called Bascom-Springer Institute, reportedly the top-ranked center in the country for ophthalmology. The only downside is that it is in Miami -- as in Florida -- and it will probably require spending several days for all the tests and consultations.  I'm not sure yet when this will be.  I had my clinic here fax the referral to Bascom-Springer on Wednesday.  The next step is for them to contact me to set up an appointment.  It's possible this might be before our August trip, but I don't want it to interfere and I may put it off until October or November.  We'll see.  

 

The big house news this week was that the tree service we contracted to trim back our neighbor's

Before

trees to the property line and to clean up branches from the big storm in February came yesterday and did a major whack-back.  I really admire their skill and strength in doing what they did.  The trees aren't easily accessible and they couldn't use any fancy equipment, plus the branches had to be dragged a long distance over loose volcanic rock to where they could be dumped.  Although in the past I've done a bit of this myself, it is way beyond me now, and I'm happy to pay someone to do it.  Tree trimming here is a very good business because it is never-ending.  Like everything else, trees grow vigorously and continuously, and unless you regularly prune them, they will soon be sending branches into your living room. One of the

After

lessons I learned from managing an apple orchard is that the worst thing you can do is wait until a tree is a problem and then cut it way, way, back.  This stimulates it to send out new branches to try to balance the root system.  This "vegetative" growth is weak and prone to disease and insect damage.  Regular light pruning doesn't do this -- the tree puts its energy into flower, seed, and fruit production instead.

 

Ok friends.  Be good, be wise, behave.  Carpe Vitam. 

Backflips, Geezer-Aids, Keurig for Lungs

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

5/2/26

 

Aloha All!

 

I mentioned last week that we had tickets to a Sunday afternoon performce in Waimea by an acrobat

Huh?!

troupe from Australia named Humans 2.0. It was absolutely terrific. It was sort of like Circue du Soleil, but without as much hardware. Instead, it was a combination of modern dance and choreography with the human body doing incredible things.  Strength, agility, balance, grace, and artistic sensibility were on full display.  The staging was simple lighting, costumes, and music used to great effect.  Bottom line:  if you ever have a chance to see them perform, do it.

 

Weather here has been sunnier and drier than for the last month or so.  Pool is up to 88d even without covering it at night.  We've enjoyed doing our daily pool workouts most days this week.  This is usually right before lunch, followed by a nap.  Speaking of workouts, we finally managed to get back to Planet Fitness this week for the first time in almost two months. It was a pretty puny session, but we figured it was a good idea to ease back into it.  Our muscles agreed, judging from the soreness the next couple of days.

 

There's a fair amount of Geezer Gazette news this week, much of it good for a change.  First, a couple of "geezer-aids" that I ordered online were delivered, and both have helped me cope with my vision problems.  The first was a pair of magnifying glasses that are often used in craft projects.  The frames have interchangeable lenses that go all the way up the 5x.  They also have a built-in light that has helped greatly with my dimming problem.  They only cost about $25, a real bargain considering how much easier they have made my daily activities.  The second aid was a pair of sunglasses that fit over my regular glasses and have a yellow/brown tint rather than the grey tint I've been using.  The problem with the old ones was that that they cut out so much light that I lost the edges of things. I was to the point of not using them even in bright light because they made things worse, not better.  The new ones do dim things somewhat, but they also sharpen the contrast so I can see the edges of objects much more clearly.  Again, an inexpensive simple chabge that has made things "way mo' betta'." Altogether both geezer-aids cost less than 50 bucks and didn't require any physicians or medical appointments. The other bit of geezer news comes from my routine visit on Tuesday with my internist. I asked if I could switch to a different blood thinner to see if it would lessen my side-effects of bruising and bleeding.  At first he agreed, but then showed his worth by recalling that the new blood thinner medication could interact with the residual heart-rhythm control drug still in my system.  The interaction in this case leads to even greater bruising and bleeding, possibly a serious problem.  Whew! No thanks.  The other outcome from the visit is that I'm trying an inhaler to see if it might help with my emphysema.  The interesting (to me, anyway) aspect of this is that the inhaler is like a Keurig for the lungs.  Each dose is in a pill-like capsule that you insert and then pierce.  The drug is in the form of very fine powder instead of a mist.  Cool, eh?

 

Ok, that's enough for this week.  I hope you all are doing well and having a good Spring. Don't let you-know-who puree your brain. Carpe vitam! 

Plethora of Plumeria, Piano Magic, Travel Plans

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

3/25/26

 

Aloha Ohana!

 

We don't have big changes of seasons in Hawai'i.  Some people who move here from the mainland 

Gotta Love It

miss this.  Not me. That's not to say everything is perfectly constant.  For example, there are several signs that it's time to say it's "Spring."  One sign is that the Plumeria trees, which lose their leaves during the "Winter," begin to bloom again while the branches are still bare. This produces what I call "snowball bloom," though some of the trees have blossoms that are shades of red and yellow. It is a spectacular, fragrant treat when we do our morning walks in the neighborhood.  Branches that overhang the street are fair game for collecting blossoms for small flower arrangements that we deploy in our house.

 

Another sign is the exodus of our winter visitors from the North West -- Humpback Whales and Snowbirds.  The whales go back to their summer home waters off Alaska, and the snowbirds migrate back to various home destinations along the west coast, with a few returning to the Midwest and East. This makes the next few months a sweet spot for living in Hawai'i -- the lull between summer and winter tourist seasons, when we enjoy less traffic and better stocked shelves in the grocery stores.

 

Besides enjoying "Spring" this week, we also went to a performance by Jim Brickman, a fabulous piantist/vocalist who is one of our favorites. He was touring the islands and our theater in Waimea booked him for a couple of shows last Sunday.  A real treat.  Tomorrow the same theater is presenting a traveling circus troupe from Australia called Human 2.0 that is kind of like a mini-Cirque du Soleil.  Waimea is a 40-mile drive from home, and normally we don't like to do that at night.  However. both of these are/were during the afternoon, so we jumped at the chance to attend.

We are now returning to our travel plans for late summer.  You may recall that we booked an Alaskan cruise in August on a small ship (80 passenger) operated by the same company that does the Mississippi River cruise that we enjoyed last year.  Now we're booking airline tickets, hotels, etc. We've decided to extend this trip by flying to Denver at the end of the cruise and taking the scenic train from there to Glenwood Springs, about a 5-hour trip through the Rockies.  Glenwood Springs is an historic hot springs resort town that should be fun to visit.  And of course, I'm a real train fan, particularly one that goes through mountains.  We'll spend some time before and after the train trip in Denver to see friends and relatives. 

 

Not much to report in Geezer Gazette news.  I saw my retina doc on Tuesday -- same old same old.  Yesterday I saw my cardiologist for the first time since he referred me for an ablation.  All good at the moment.  My ECG was, in his words, "about as normal as it gets." The plan is to wait until June, 5 months out from the ablation, and then do a 2-week monitoring session with a paste-on device that measures heart activity 24/7 and produces a very detailed report, much more thorough than my FitBit can do.  If that looks good, then I might be able to stop my blood-thinner medication.  That would be very welcome.  Even though I'm on a very low dose, my forearms look like the hide of a pinto horse and I bleed if I touch my skin with a feather. 

 

Ok folks.  It seems like we're living at a time when insanity, narcissism  and sociopathy are running amok, but surely there will be a day of reckoning, right?  Take care.  Carpe Vitam.

Return Home, Good Trip

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

3/14/26

 

Aloha Everybody!

 

We got home last Sunday after a lonnggg journey from Colombia of about 26 hours.  We left Cartegena about 8:30 p.m., so add another 10-12 hours to the total hours of being awake (ish). We flew first to Bogata, then to Houston, then Denver, then non-stop to Kona. Not exactly carbon-frugal routing, but we were at the mercy of airline scheduling. We had a fairly tight connection in Houston.  This was a concern because that is where we had to deal with Immigration and TSA screening. Zipped right through, thankfully. No delays at all.

 

It was a good trip, despite some geezer challenges.  Panama was a very interesting place.  Every major imperialist country in the 16th - 18th centuries wanted control of the shortcut between the

Quetzal

Atantic and Pacific that the isthmus provided.  Spain was most successful at this, but not without being repeatedly attacked by other powers, mainly the British.  British pirates and privateers often attacked Spanish coastal cities, particularly those that were staging points for shipping exploited loot back to Spain and therefore offered a rich prize to any successful attacker.  We spent several days in three different locations, including a town in the highlands of western Panama called Boquete.  It was here that we did some outstanding bird watching, thanks in large part to our private guide.  She was an excellent bird-spotter, very knowledgeable and was very facile at quickly setting up a spotting scope and attaching her cell-phone to the eyepiece so that on the screen we could see the target clearly, despite visual challenges.

 

The river cruise in Colombia was enjoyable, but not as much as our Mississippi trip last year.  The Colombia operation is just a year-old, and still has some kinks in the itinerary and activities that need to be worked out.  One of the best parts was interacting with local people, for whom our visits were as interesting to them as they were to us.  The ship was small, holding just 60 passengers max.  The

Cruise Booze

majority of our cruise mates were Canadian, and there were  a few Australians and Europeans as well.  They were all very congenial and had interesting histories, including one Canadian man who was an expat Indian whose family had been living for years in Uganda before Idi Amin expelled them. They arrived in Canada penniless with only the clothes on their backs.  Despite the setback and immense challenges, he eventually founded a very successful computer company that was recently bought out for megabucks.  Literally rags to riches.

 

While we were gone the abundant rain produced a garden jungle that we have been whacking back this week, but it will take some time. I've also have to do some cleanup from the big storm that we had right before we left. This will involve hiring someone to cut up some fallen tree limbs and haul them away. There just wasn't time to do this properly, plus tree trimmers were overwhelmed.  It should be easier now. 

 

In Geezer Gazette news, I had my 2-month video consultation with my ablation surgeon (actually, her PA).  So far so good.  The side effects from my anti-arrhythmic drug have abated somewhat, and I feel much more energetic and I have more stamina.  My Fitbit has recorded only a couple of brief Afib episodes.  The video conference confirmed, though, that it is ambiguous as to whether this is due to the ablation or to the residual effect of the drug, which I stopped taking just a month ago.  The next few months will tell -- I just have to wait and see.  The PA repeated what my surgeon told me before the procedure, that an ablation isn't a cure for Afib, despite what most people believe.  Rather, the goal is to reduce the "load" or frequency and duration of episodes without the use of drugs.  I'll take it.

 

Coming up next week will be a round of encounters with the medical establishment -- appointments with my dentist, retina specialist, internist, and cardiologist.  Maybe I should have scheduled a visit to my dermatologist just to do a complete round. Sheesh!

 

Ok, that's enough for now.  Take care and enjoy your Spring.  Carpe Vitam!  

Ash Fall, A Kona Low, Med Woes, On The Road Again

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

3/14/26

 

Aloha Everyone!

 

Petulant Pele reminded us this week that she has the power to mess things up for us.  Episode 43

Note Tephra Cloud

occurred on Tuesday, starting at about 9:30 and ending early evening after about 9 hours. This wasn't the biggest eruption but it was one of the most problematic. Would-be viewers were stymied because the park was closed for much of the time due to tephra fall (volcanic ash and rocks) at the observation sites and even in nearby communities.  This dangerous situation was caused by something called a "Kona Low" (see below) that made the winds blow the ash and hunks of lava in an unusual direction.  Here's the official description by the volcanologists:  "This eruption was comparable in size to episodes 41 and 42, but due to light winds produced tephra fallout similar to but not as great as episode 41.  The plume sent tephra falling within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park along the north rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) and into adjacent communities.  The heaviest tephra fall was recorded at Uēkahuna overlook (about 4-7 inches of accumulation) where 2-inch tephra began falling at around 10:20 a.m. HST and Kīlauea Military Camp (about 2 inches of accumulation) where 4-5 inch tephra fell starting at about 10:20 a.m. HST.  The Volcano Golf Course community was hardest hit with a blanket of tephra with pieces up to several inches in diameter." 

Start Shoveling

Imagine what this would due to your car -- or your head, for that matter. Of course the visuals of this made for great spots in the national news, giving the false impression that the whole island was blowing up. All this activity occurred over 90 miles from our house and posed no danger to us. Still, it made things difficult for people trying to reach the other side of our island because he tephra fall even closed the  highway near the volcano for a time.  This was very problematic, because there is only one road that circles the island so that the closest spot to get from one side to the other from the closed section was over 100 miles away.  The whole thing illustrates human vulnerability to nature's whims.

 

Sticking with the nature theme. this week I also learned and new meteorological term -- "Kona Low."  This is a condition in which a a low pressure area occurs on the leeward side  (i.e., Kona) of the islands either to the northwest (this one) or southwest, bringing winds along our coast.  The more normal pattern is for trade winds from the northeast to hit the windward side.  The positive effect for us is that leeward winds clear out our vog and keep it from accumulating along our coast.  However, this Kona Low was accompanied by a humongous rain system that has resulted in several days of cloudy and rainy weather, including some serious flooding on the northern islands.  We didn't have it as bad as other places, bu we've had an unprecedented string of cloudy days with near constant light rain and some very strong blustery winds that so far haven't done serious damage but have deposited a lot of junk in our pool.  This is expected to continue today, tomorrow, and even into Monday.  Sheesh!   Again, nature is ultimately in control, a lesson that is commonly driven home on the mainland, but holds here as well.

 

A couple of items in the Geezer Gazette are worth mentioning.  Late last week the side effects of the temporary anti-arrhythmic medication I've been taking got very severe.  My heart rate dropped into the 30's and low 40's and I felt like warmed over death: fatigue, muscle weakness, dizzy. I made a unilateral decision to cut way back on my routine heart rate medication and to stop the anti-arrhythmic stuff altogether (about a week early from the surgeon's prescription).  I contacted the surgeon's office and gave them my self-monitoring data and described my subjective symptoms.  A couple of days later I got a call from the surgeon's assistant with the recommendation that I cut way back on my routine heart rate medication and to stop the anti-arrhythmic stuff altogether -- in other words, my unilateral decision was vindicated.  It's now been about a week since these adjustments and I feel a tense better, but the anti-arrhythmic medication is very long lasting, so it will take more time before the side effects lift significantly.  I'm hoping that I can still do some of the more strenuous things we had planned for the trip, but I may have to tone them down.  We leave mid-week so feeling great may be a bit of a stretch.  I think I can still do the trip, though, and I'm really looking forward to being on the road again....

 

Ok, that's it for the week.  This will be my last missive until we return in April, so I leave you with this thought:  when the kernel of truth is removed from propaganda, only lies are left.

 

Carpe Vitam! 

Coqui Hormones, 3-Weeks Post Zap

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.

3/7/26

 

Aloha Fellow Time Travelers!

 

Time to update you on my battle with one of my primo critter adversaries.

 

The Target

I've now caught 895 Coqui frogs. Nearly all of them were on our property, but I've also captured some from other house lots and gardens in the neighborhood.  Unfortunately they are prolific breeders and have no natural predators in Hawai'i (except humans like me), so they defy total eradication.  Ill probably hit 1000 sometime this year. I'm currently battling several that have moved into our front garden, so I'm likely to hit 900 soon.

 

Coquis are beloved in their home territory of Puerto Rico, where they're considered an informal mascot.  Here they are considered an invasive species and they do significant damage to our ecology, besides being loud and obnoxious (the call of just one Coqui can reach 95 decibels.).  One problem is that the lack of predators in Hawai'i has created densities that are 2-3 times greater than in Puerto Rico.  I wonder if Coquis would be so fondly regarded there if the numbers were as great as ours. 

 

Female on Left

Anyway, over the years I've become something of a "Coqui Whisperer," so I know their strengths and weaknesses.  One weakness is that they are ruled by their hormones, much like many humans. This leads them to behave in risky and self-defeating ways that allow "the Hand of Doom" to descend fatally upon them.  If conditions are right (a bit of rain and warm temperatures at night) the males' hormones kick in and theyMUST repeatedly call out their location to attract females.  That sound helps me to locate them as well, and that is a large part of catching them.  The males establish a broadcasting station early in the evening and they stick to it all night, even returning if they're disturbed by a marauding human.  Catching them while they're "singing" isn't a slam-dunk, however. Their call is so loud and narrowly focused that sound bounces off the nearby foliage and can seem like it's coming from one spot when it's really not.  Knowing their preferred types of locations for calling stations makes my job of grabbing them much easier.  I wear a headlight while hunting, and if I spot one I try to blind it and grab from behind. This must be quick, however, because they are very fast. There are other tricks that I've learned over the years, but I won't bore you with them.

 

So my battle goes on in this endless war.  The reward is a quieter evening and less ecological damage.  Plus a macho feeling of a successful hunt -- another example of being ruled by hormones I suppose.....

 

In Geezer Gazette news, Thursday marked my 3-week ablation anniversary.  I wish I could report that I feel great, much better than before.  But I can't because although I've only had a few short Abib episodes, I'm having some hefty side effects from the anti-arrhythmia drug that my surgeon prescribed.  Ironically, the effects are almost the same as I felt when I was in constant Afib.  In short, at the moment I've just exchanged one cause of feeling whacked for another.  The hopeful thing is that I only have to take this medication for another five days, and after that maybe I'll improve.

 

We've begun our prep for our trip despite the health issues.  Of course, another concern is that our "Peace" President will decide to take over either Panama, Colombia, or both.  Killed by friendly fire is not the way I want to die.....

 

That's it for this week.  Carpe Vitam! 

A Quiet Week of Healing

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.]

2/28/26

 

Aloha Guys! 

 

I know February is a short month with only 28 days, but this one seemed to disappear in an eye blink. However, for some of you on the mainland it must have seemed to take forever as you coped with a very severe winter.  I'm sure Spring will come eventually, and not a minute too soon.  We've finally been getting some sunny days, so my pv system is doing well at the moment, and the pool temp is up to 84d, just in time for me to be able to go in after my two-week restriction.  It felt very nice.  

 

I won't burden you with much Geezer Gazette news this week -- I suspect you will appreciate that after last time's oversharing.  It was a very quiet week here, which I spent mostly recovering from my heart's shock therapy two-plus weeks ago.  I'm pleased to say it's going much better.  Hopefully I'll be in decent shape by the time we leave on our trip in a few weeks.. On Monday I saw my regular doctor to have my ER stitch removed.  That went very smoothly.  I then asked him about my breathing issue and he surprised me by diagnosing it as a problem of fluid buildup after the procedure.  I took a heavy-duty diuretic that day and I quickly began breathing much more easily.  Who'd have thought! Yesterday I saw my retina doctor and it went ok, except that I had to report that my ablation hasn't improved my eyesight so far.  I've only been in normal rhythm for 10 days, so there's still a chance it will help.  With luck that will be my last interaction with the medical establishment until we return in April.  I'm definitely ready for a break.

 

We're into cruise ship repositioning time, and this week there were ships in our harbor almost every

day. This makes the merchants along the waterfront in town very happy, I'm sure.  These are ships returning from southern waters to start their Northwest itineraries in the spring and summer. Of course, we still have our weekly visit by the Hawai'i boat, Pride of America. It does a 7-day cruise that starts and ends in Honolulu.  It's a good way to get acquainted with the major islands, but you really need longer on at least one of them to appreciate the culture, history, and geology of this unique place.

 

Pele is taking a snooze until mid-March. The current projection is for another session of spouting between March 6-16. This will be the 43rd episode since December of '24.  A truly remarkable phenomenon.   

 

Ok, that's enough for this week.  Stay well and happy. Carpe Vitam.