Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]
5/25/24
Aloha Family --
This week's mainland weather headlines brought back memories of living in Ohio (aka "Tornado Alley." Every spring we had some severe weather in the form of tornadoes, violent thunderstorms, hail, damaging winds, etc. Some scary stuff, and it seems like it has gotten much worse in the last 25 years, predicted to continue that trend. The weather here has also changed but we just don't have the same mechanisms to create conditions that are as extreme as on the mainland. As we locals say, "Lucky we live Hawai'i."
Several outstanding issues were finally resolved this week. First, on Monday Karen received her permanent Driver's License, so we were able to complete her passport application and turn it in on Tuesday at the post office. Also on Monday I got my new passport! It took only about 21/2 weeks, which hopefully means Karen will get hers fairly quickly also --- that will end the saga of replacing the lost passports! Needless to say we were relieved to get her application in the works and for mine to come so fast.
On Tuesday I received a package with several accessory parts for my new car. The reason this was a big deal was because I had ordered them nearly a month ago! Clearly the shipping got messed up somehow, and the tracking information wasn't being updated. I had gone back and forth with the company's customer service deparment, who at one point tried to argue that the shipping was taking a long time because it was international! I pointed out that Hawai'i is, in fact, a state of the U.S. and that usually shipping here is delayed only a day or two (assuming the vendor does indeed ship to Hawai'i and Alaska, which quite a few don't). Anyway, they finally agreed to refund my money and were preparing to do that when suddenly the tracking info updated to indicate the package would be delivered the next day! The parts are now on the car -- molding strips on the doors to protect from other car doors, door edge guards, and a protective mat on the bumper to guard against scratches when loading and unloading cargo. Earlier I installed splash guards on the front and rear wheel wells to keep the car cleaner. I could have had the dealer install all of these things, but (a) it would have cost about twice as much and (b) I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of doing it myself.
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| Way Mo' Betta! |
As frequent air travelers we attended closely to the news this week about the Singapore Airlines flight that ran into "clear air turbulence," resulting in injuries to about 40% of the passengers, some quite serious. One death was attributed to a heart attack, a 70-womething man and his wife of 50 years on their way to Australia and SE Asia for a special 6-week tour. Sounds way too similar to Karen and me. Nearly all of those injured didn't have their seat belts fastened and were thrown to the ceiling and then slammed down again. Pictures from inside the plane showed a real mess of oxygen masks, hand luggage, food items, etc. We're usually pretty good about keeping our belts fastened -- we'll be extra careful from now on. I've heard of this kind of unexpected turbulence but this incident seemed particularly bad. The lesson here is pretty clear -- buckle up and pee fast.
That's it for now. Off to market and our usual beach breakfast picnic. Take care and stay as safe as you can.
4 comments:
In December 1999 a flight that Stan & I and my mother were on from London to Nairobi had a similar drop is altitude but for a different reason. Not wind sheer but an insane passenger storming the cockpit and turning off the automatic pilot (somewhere over The Sudan). On this 747, passengers in first class managed to wrestle the culprit to the floor with tennis rackets and a cricket bat, while crew all ran uphill to the front of the plane to help. Many people not fastened in were injured. Stanley, mom and I were wearing our seatbelts so were uninjured. But our meals and beverages as well as everyone else’s were scattered everywhere. Since then I’ve always fastened my seat belt while flying. And in turbulence those feelings of terror come back to me even after so many years.
Wow, Simone, quite an experience. I am not surprised how fresh in your mind it is.
Regarding mainland weather, Buffalo has been designated a “climate refuge” area. We aren’t exactly prepared for the potential refugees.
Gee, I never thought of Buffalo as a climate refuge!
I've been hearing a lot of horror stories about rough air, near misses, etc. but I think Simone's experience is the award-winner. Do you think it makes a difference knowing that a crazy human caused the mayhem rather than just capricious nature? Both are unpredictable but one has an extra element of maliciousness that seems worse to me.....
A topic that hasn't been given much attention is the plane itself -- even in mild turbulence I've watched those wings flapping around like flimsy appendages. Yet despite what must have been terrific physical stresses the plane held together and stayed airworthy. Amazing.
From Spectrum News 1, December 12, 2023:
“In his 2019 State of the City address, Buffalo mayor Byron Brown acknowledged the city’s unique position.
“We know that Buffalo will be a climate refuge city for centuries to come,” he said.
The announcement came after a Harvard study identified Buffalo and Duluth, Minnesota as the two places in the U.S. best suited to become receiver cities — that is, places receiving people fleeing from extreme weather elsewhere.”
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