Earthquake, World in Kona, Miami "Veyes," Car Mini-Woe

[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.

5/23/26

 

Aloha Everybody! 

 

Wow!  Karen and I were watching t.v. last night when about 9:30 the house started to shake violently.  I've felt earthquakes here before, and at first this one seemed about the same intensity, but then it got really honking.  Something in the kitchen crashed and the wall-mounted t.v. was flapping. It wasn't long objectively, but it seemed to go on and on.  Bottom line: a 6.0 earthquake happened, centered about 25 miles south of us.  We checked all around the house and are relieved to say that we could find very little damage.  The crash I heard was one small bowl that had fallen from an open shelf.  I think we were very fortunate -- I don't know yet about damage closer to the epicenter. We have quite a few earthquakes in Hawai'i, none of the them caused by the action of tectonic plates, like in the northwest U.S..  Ours result from either magma moving around below us, or from a sudden settling of the island under its own weight.  This was the second type.   Since it just happened last night we'll get more information in the next few days.  I'll let you know next week what the reports are.

 

This week the world came to Kona.  The World cruise ship, that is.  This is no ordinary ship.  For one thing it wasn't repositioning to its summer commercial routes like other ships I've mentioned lately.  Rather, the World follows a year-long itinerary that takes it...well, all over the world.  We've seen in Bordeaux, France, and it has visited Kona once before. The route varies from year to year and is

Ultimate Cruising

determined by the passengers themselves, who own their cabins and the ship itself.  It was built in 2002 with space and luxury in mind.  There are only about 160 "cabins' (apartments or condos, really). They range in price from $2-15 million, with a yearly additional fee in the 6 figures.  In short, the owners have mega-bucks. The concept is apparently catching on because there are five more ships planned, and one other ship started cruising in 2025.  The owners can live permanently on board, of course, or they can come and go depending on the ship's location and the desirability of the destinations.  They aren't allowed to rent their units, and only family and vetted friends can stay when the owners are absent.  This cuts down on unwanted riffraff. The World stayed here for three days, an unprecedented length of time for a large ship. Strangely, I never got an invitation from one of the residents to go on board.........

 

Last week I forgot to mention a car problem that I triumphantly solved. When Karen was leaving for a meeting and tried to start her Miata she got the dreaded sound of the engine not quite turning over.  Fortunately this happened while she and the car were still in the garage so the inconvenience was minimal.  She took our other car to the meeting while I valiantly drew on my vast store of machine knowledge and diagnosed the problem as a nearly dead battery.  A look at the install date etched on the battery confirmed my suspicion -- just a few days short of four years -- about all you can expect from car batteries these days.  Over the Miata's 23 year life it has gone through about 5 or 6 batteries-- I'm not real sure of the exact number.  This usually happens, as in this case, with no warning, which makes a good argument for preemptive maintenance.  Anyway, I called around to see if any parts stores had a replacement -- not a slam dunk for a car that is 23 years old in a small, isolated island community..  The first place had just run out of that particular model and it would be 2 weeks before more arrived.  Fortunately I found one at NAPA.  I took the old battery with me when I picked up the new one to avoid the "core deposit" and I had the new one installed before the end of the day.  Yup, that solved the problem! As with a lot of my projects, I could have hired someone to do it.  But I still like the mental and physical challenge of solving problems if I can.  Of course, the scale and scope of those problems is getting smaller and smaller.......

 

There are a couple of quick Geezer Gazette items this week.  First, I managed to get an appointment with the eye clinic in Miami for an evaluation and consultation, but not without a frustrating amount of hassle.  The forms that I faxed apparently disappeared into cyberspace. No one I spoke to on the phone had any record of them.  Even getting through to someone on the phone was a hassle, Each time I called the number listed for the eye clinic I was transferred to a general scheduling number and someone who had no idea about eye problems.  Anyway, I made an appointment for the first available slot -- October 26th (!).  I may cancel this if I can find someplace more agreeable.  I'm now thinking of the Stein Eye Institute at UCLA.  I quickly got through on the phone to a compassionate and competent person in the Institute itself.  The first step is to fax a letter of referral directly to the clinic requesting a neuro-ophthalmology consultation, then they should contact me to schedule something. Hopefully this will go better but I'm not holding my breath.  The other piece of geezer news is that I will begin treatments with the newly approved Valeda procedure on June 1st. This is a bit of a "Hail Mary" play for me.  The procedure uses repeated exposure of the retina to certain wavelengths of light (3 treatments per week for 3 weeks). It is non-invasive and only takes about 10 minutes per session.  My eye clinic obtained one of the machines and is beginning to offer treatments. The reason it is a bit of a long shot for me is that so far it has only been shown to be effective for people with dry macular degeneration. I don't have have that problem, but the underlying logic of the treatment seems plausibly beneficial in my case.  Since there are no known bad effects, I figure why not?  I'm desperate enough to give it a try. I'll keep you posted.

Ok, that's it for now. Oh by the way, I've come across a way to reduce your angst in these troubled political times.  Keep repeating the following mantra over and over until your brain is fully anesthetized:  "Oligarchy is Good, Facism is Fine, Oligarchy is Good, Facism is Fine, Oligarchy is Good, Facism is Fine, Oligarchy is Good, Facism is Fi........."   And as always, Carpe Vitam.

Birthday "Bash," Silver Screen Prada, Easy Breathimg

[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.

5/16/26

 

Aloha Everyone! 

 

Life lurches on here.  On Monday we celebrated Karen's **nd [censored] birthday with dinner at the Fairmont

Birthday Bonus

Orchid Resort up north.  The restaurant was an upscale place with the disarming name "Brown's Beach House." This was hardly a taco shack on the shore.  It's open air, of course, and beautifully situated on the bay that fronts the hotel.  We timed our arrival so that we could enjoy the sunset over the ocean framed by palm trees and tiki torches.  The weather was ideal.  The meal was top notch.  We shared two appetizers and a main dish, all fish oriented, and all delicious and well-presented. I had advised the restaurant that it was Karen's birthday, so we also got a complimentary dessert.  Great evening!

 

Karen wanted to see a movie as part of her Birthday celebration, so on Tuesday we went to a matinee screening of The Devil Wears Prada 2.  I was a bit skeptical of this, both because of the subject matter (high fashion) and because followup films with big stars tend to be disappointments in my opinion.  We both wound up enjoying it very much.  One of the stars is Meryl Streep, whose performance is one of many in her career that establish her as one of the best actors of our generation.  She's a chameleon who can play any character with ease and naturalness to the point that it is hard to imagine anyone else in the same role.  Wow!  I recommend the movie highly.

 

In addition to the dinner and movie, I gave Karen a very romantic gift --- a hand vacuum cleaner to replace one that crapped out.  What a guy, right?!

 

Not much Geezer Gazette news this week. I haven't heard from the eye clinic in Miami yet.  I''ll give them until Monday and then call to see what's up.  I've now been using my Keurig inhaler for about 2 weeks. and I think it may be helping a bit with my emphysema issues.  The effect is subtle, though, and my blood oxygen level, which was pretty high to begin with hasn't increased noticeably.  I do, however, think I breath easier and with less effort than before, which should be putting less pressure on my heart.  So far I don't notice any significant side effects, which is definitely a good thing.  The drug info says that it can take 4 weeks or more to reach maximum effectiveness, so I'll keep going as long as there aren't any problems.

 

Ok.  That's it for now.  As always, aloha and Carpe Vitam. 

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!