Car Surgery, Eyes On Hold, Golfishness

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.]

7/26/25

 

Aloha Folks!

 

In earlier missives I've noted that it takes patience to live in paradise.  Everything takes longer and is more difficult to accomplish than on the mainland.  This is partly due to the mellow, laid-back attitude of those of us who live here. Another is that there is a shortage of goods and service providers compared to the mainland, leading to delays in obtaining everything from root canals to auto parts.  My wife's 2003 Mazda

Yikes!

Miata developed a transmission problem that required parts that had to be ordered because they weren't available here. We patiently awaited their arrival for weeks because they had to be shipped (literally "shipped") from foreign suppliers. My guess is that a mechanic on the mainland could have obtained them in just days.  Anyway, they finally arrived and the car went in for surgery early Wednesday morning.  This is a major repair that requires removing the transmission and disassembling it to get to the problem. It took 1 1/2 days and a bank loan to finally retrieve the car on Thursday.  Despite its age, Karen loves the car and won't part with it, no matter what the cost, so it was definitely worth it.

 

In other news, I saw my retina doctor on Tuesday and there was no sign of significant edema in either  eye. Good report, except for the possibility that it might flare up soon -- scheduling a follow-up too far out might miss nipping the problem in the bud.  Treating either eye now isn't advisable, because administering the shots too close together can actually cause worse problems.  So I'll return in two weeks for another exam. As you might guess, I have just about memorized the eye chart, making assessments of my acuity pretty much worthless for deciding when an injection is called for.  The only test that is really informative is a laser scan of my retina called an OTC (Optical Coherence Tomography). It produces a detailed image of the retina that can be viewed in layers and on edge, like a CT scan. In my case it shows precisely how much edema there is and where it is.  Since it is objective rather that subjective like the eye chart test, it is much more diagnostic for the need for an injection.  And it is quick, painless, and has no ill effects. The eye chart test is painless, but it is slow and frustrating.

 

Yesterday Karen and I got back to Makalei, after a couple of weeks off.  We were joined this time by our frequent golf buddy, who just returned from a family reunion on the mainland.  The weather was very

good, with several periods of sunshine and no rain.  We even saw some mother peacocks with babies in

Peacock Paradise

tow, 4 in all.  I again did mostly chip shots and putting, but upped the number of them and even tried a couple of more distant shots.  It went pretty well.  I'm trying to gently exercise my abdominal muscles since they  haven't been used much for almost 6 weeks.  On the last hole of the day I decided to go all out, including a tee shot that was surprisingly and pleasingly very good -- in fact, I wound up getting a PAR for the hole!! Next week I may try to play at least some of the holes for real (well, Kona-a-Lago real).

 

Ok, that's about it for this week.  Off to farmers' market and then a beach breakfast.  Stay cool if you can, and consider that showing compassion and kindness doesn't necessarily mean that you condone someone's behavior.  Carpe Vitam!

Mo' Betta Birthday!

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.]

7/19/25

 

Aloha Everybody!

 

The biggest news of the week here is that Tuesday was my xx-st [content censored] birthday.  I am pleased to report that it was, as we say here,"way mo' betta" than a year ago.  On my last birthday you may recall that I was rudely reminded that the human body has an expiration date, and that Nature doesn't really care what your plans may be. We were in Canada at the beginning of a bucket-list trip to spend time in the beautiful Canadian Rockies.  The plan was to fly to Vancouver for a few days, then take the overnight train to Jasper and from there make our way to Banff, enjoying the dramatic scenery and idyllic countryside as we traveled by car. From Banff we were going to fly to the contrasting Arches National Park in Utah, a starkly different area of natural wonders.  However, my birthday celebration was quickly muted by (a) getting Covid, (b) having a sudden downturn in my vision, (c) experiencing an allergic reaction to something unknown that made my tongue swell up and my feet and hands itch like crazy, (d) becoming dehydrated to the point of passing out at the beginning of our first hike, (e) winding up in the Jasper ER and being diagnosed with persistent Atrial Fibrillation, (f) arriving in the Canadian Rockies during an episode of wildfires that filled the air with smoke, closed off some scenic areas, and destroyed a big part of Jasper the day after we left.  We shortened our trip and flew home, where I quickly became involved with more physicians and medical tests in a couple of months that I had encountered in my entire life to that point.

 

This year was far more pleasant.  Most of my medical issues have either stabilized (heart, eyes), or are moving in a positive direction (hernia surgery).  Last week I was treated to two early and unplanned birthday presents -- shows featuring lava fountains and Formula 1 cars.  On Tuesday I wanted to keep things simple and low-key, and it worked out great.  The birthday card Karen gave me captured my goals

Birthday Dreaming

beautifully -- the cover featured a bear snoozing contentedly in a tree, the epitome of taking it easy. For my lunch restaurant I chose one of my favorite guilty-pleasure places -- Taco Bell (!).  The rest of the day featured a dip in the pool and a couple of naps.  Dinner was at home because I really didn't want the hassle of going to one of our several high-end places in Kona.  The menu was a combo of my favorites:  a rare steak that I cooked to perfection on my grill, al dente angel hair pasta with truffle oil (purchaaed during our last trip to Europe) topped with lots of freshly ground Parmesan cheese, a side of buttered peas, and a mixed salad that included greens from our garden sprinkled with bits of Gorgonzola cheese.  No fancy wine, but instead one of my favorite beers, an Imperial Pale Ale that paired perfectly with the pasta.  I was a very happy birthday boy!  On Wednesday evening our neighbors treated us to dinner at Ola Brew Pub here in town, which has another of my favorite beers, a hazy Ipa called "Mo' Hazy."  This is a low-key, informal place that fit my birthday preferences perfectly.

 

To top things off, Karen gave me the perfect geezer birthday present -- a FitBit Charge 6 wrist band. This high-tech marvel monitors my heart rate, heart rhythm including Afib, exercise level, stress level, sleep quality, temperature variation, breathing rate, toenail growth, halitosis level, hair loss, dental hygiene, etc, etc., etc.  Now I can really be obsessed with health issues! Think of the ammunition I'll have during those geezer-guy get-togethers.....

 

In other news, our crappy weather has continued for yet another week.  We're on track to have a fourth consecutive month in which our p.v. system doesn't cover our usage.  This is unprecedented and getting really, really, old.  Despite the cloudiness, our pool temperature has stayed in the acceptable range, though some days we have to go in during the rain.  I've not read any clear explanation of what might be causing this pattern, nor how much longer it might last.  I just hope it's not the new normal. And of course I can still console myself with the fact that the weather in many other parts of the world is much worse right now.

 

Carpe Vitam. Enjoy your summer.  As things heat up, I find myself yearning for the good old days when "ICE" was just something we put in drinks to make them cold... 

Lava Geyser, Fast Cars, Back in The Pool!

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.]

7/12/25

 

Aloha Everyone! 

 

Well, this week was very enjoyable.  One reason is that I got to see Kilauea Volcano spewing lava 1500

Got Any Marshmallows?

feet in the air. Over the  past 35+ years we've seen it oozing like molten brownie batter, flowing like a waterfall over a cliff, and shooting like a fire hose into the sea, but we've never had the chance to see it fountaining.  Usually this behavior occurs at the beginning of an eruption, then quickly transitions to a longer gushing phase.  But this eruption, which began December 23, has acted almost like Old Faithful Geyser, waking up about once per week and shooting lava 1k feet high or more for about 8-10 hours, then going quiet again. On Wednesday morning we learned the latest episode, #28, had begun just a couple of  hours earlier, at about 4:30 a.m. By 7:30 we were on the road and reached Volcanoes National Park about 10:30. It's about 90 miles south on a two-lane road that is curvy more than half of the way, and we stopped for a bathroom break and a malasada at Punalu'u Bakery.. Despite all the cars flooding into the area we managed to find a place to park not far from the summit crater rim and we quickly hiked to the first overlook point.  Yup, it was still going strong and shooting up as high as 1500 feet.  AWESOME!! We kept walking along the rim until we got to the closest point allowed -- about 1 mile away from the plume. The sound was incredible, like a dozen freight trains.  The weather was perfect for viewing this natural wonder -- clear and fairly warm as opposed to the more usual misty and cold conditions at the summit.  Also, the wind was carrying the noxious SO2 fumes away from the viewing area, as well as the fine strands of volcanic glass called Pele's Hair.  These strands are very light, and when airborne can be a real breathing hazard. On the ground all around we could see strands that had been deposited from earlier episodes. Some of these were quite long, 6-8 inches, because they had not yet been broken by the elements into smaller pieces.  We stayed for a couple of hours, then had a picnic lunch and drove back home.  We learned later that the fountaining abruptly shut off shortly after we left, about 1:20 p.m.  Our timing was perfect!

 

The other fun thing this week was that on Monday we went to a matinee showing of F1, about Formula 1 racing. As you know, one of my many quirks is my fascination with fast cars.  These are the fastest in the world, and the movie depicted what it would be like to race them with heart-pumping realism.  You may recall that several years ago Karen gave me a birthday present that was the best I could have ever asked for -- driving a Ferrari and a Lamborghini around a special track in Las Vegas.  I described this experience in a blog,  How 600 Horsepower Helped Me Try For A Darwin Award .  The cars I drove are actually for sale, and could be driven on the street, if you're rich enough.  On the other hand, Formula 1 cars are very special, and could never be driven anywhere except a race course.  The "formula" refers to a set of restrictions and regulations that forces the designers and engineers to be innovative and creative in how they coax maximum performance from the cars.  The restrictions also place great importance on skills of the drivers and their support teams, which was the focus of the film.  The filming of the racing scenes was first rate, and I needed several tissues to catch the drool the photography and editing produced.  Needless to say, I was very glad to have seen this on a big theater screen with full bone-rattling sound.

 

In more mundane news, I resumed a couple of activities I had paused because of my surgery.  I got back to our pool this week, and I even went to the gym for a very light workout. On Thursday I again accompanied Karen for a round of golf at Makalei.  No tee shots or long approach shots, but I did a few more chip shots and putts than last time.  Karen did very well, getting a par and a bogey. The weather was better this time, and we even had some periods of sun.  I'm now about 3 1/2 weeks out from my surgery and although I feel really pretty good, I'm trying not to overdo it.  At 4 weeks my surgeon says the inner tissue strength is about 70%, increasing to 90% by 6 weeks.  So far, so good.

 

OK, that's enough for now. Stay cool, enjoy your summer.  Carpe Vitam. 

Tummy Tacks, Dirty Cello, Super Caddy, Boom!

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.]

7/5/25

 

Aloha Everybody!  Happy Fourth of July!

 

This was a pretty good week. We attended a fun concert, saw some fireworks, got to the golf course, had a couple of good solar production days, and I had only one medical appointment. 

 

The medical event was my 2-week post-op follow-up with my surgeon on Tuesday.  All good news. I seem to be healing nicely, both inside and outside, and my pain has all but disappeared. In fact, my surgeon cautioned me that with laparoscopic surgery the lack of pain can tempt me to do too much too soon.  The inner tissue strength doesn't get back to near 100% until after about 6-weeks.  However,  I'm cleared to get back in our pool as soon as one incision heals over a bit more -- maybe another week -- and most other low-exertion activities are ok.  I got some interesting information during the surgeon's recounting of the procedure. In particular, he said that to hold the reinforcing mesh patches in place and to close the internal incisions, he used....tacks. It turns out I have very few internal stitches

Tacks Enlarged in Photo

, but I do have about 15 tacks!  Well, this really fascinated me, and I had a lot of questions, including how did he hammer them in?  I learned that these are not like household tacks, but more like short, squat, screws. They're put in place using a nifty tool that shoots them like a staple gun with a long tube, spinning them as they go.  They burrow in, anchoring themselves and securing the target tissues (or mesh).  Mine are absorbed over about 6 months, by which time the tissues will have bonded to each other or to the implanted mesh.  Pretty cool, right?  So the parts list for my surgery included 3 pieces of plastic mesh, a small amount of thread, 15 tacks, and 5 globs of glue.  Naturally, I asked for a souvenir tack to go with my souvenir photo, a request the surgeon admitted no one had ever asked before.

 

The concert in Waimea that we went to last Saturday was very good.  The name of the band is Dirty Cello. They are a small group from northern California that plays a range of styles but mostly a kind of rock blue grass.  The founders and permanent members are a husband-wife team with her as lead vocalist and cello player, and him on backup guitar.  They were accompanied by two other musicians, a drummer and a bass player. For such a small group they really put out the sound.  The cello-playing was first rate and quite interesting to watch.  The cello was raised and secured to a stand that let her play and move around rather than sitting.  She was classically trained but this was far from classical cello! Her singing was terrific. Bottom line -- a very fun evening.

 

On Thursday we went to Makalei.  Karen played and I drove the cart. I also gave her sagely caddy advice about which club to use and where to aim, which she promptly and wisely ignored.  I did drop a ball on several of the greens and practiced putting, but I didn't do any approach shots. Karen had to load and unload the bag of clubs because it was well beyond the limit of my lifting restriction.  We didn't have any rain for the first few holes, but then we had off-and-on showers and drizzle.  We kept going, though, and finished our usual 16 holes.  The course is very green and gorgeous, but the ground is saturated, making cart-driving a bit of a challenge on the steeper portions.

 

Last night we drove down to watch the community fireworks over Kailua Bay. It was a tasty treat for a fireworks junkie like me, though it only lasted about 10 minutes. It's a small community, after all.  

 

Ok, that's it for this week.  Hope you are staying cool. Try to stay focused on what you know is real and what is good. And as always, Carpe Vitam!