[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.
5/30/26
Aloha Guys!
A nice, quiet week here. However, I know it won't last -- the volcano is predicted to erupt any moment, and next week I will spend 4 out of 7 days in a doctor's office (my regular visit to my retina guy plus three Valeda treatments at the same eye clinic -- the staff and I are getting to be close buddies. Fortunately the clinic is just a few blocks from our house. The Valeda treatments won't be given by my retina doctor but by two optometrists in the same clinic, which I think is reasonable considering the simplicity of the procedure.
The damage assessments from last week's 6.0 earthquake are in -- 5 houses down south near the
epicenter were declared destroyed and some structural damage was reported to about 140 other structures. The houses that were destroyed were all built using the "post and pier" method and were on a hillside. A vulnerable combination, obviously. Elsewhere, including in our area, there was very minor damage, mostly stuff falling off shelves and out of cabinets -- more of a mess than true damage. By the way, I was partially wrong last week in describing the nature of earthquakes here. I was correct in saying that ours aren't caused by tectonic plates colliding or moving apart, but I was incorrect in attributing this particular quake to the island settling under its own weight. The geologists' assessment was that this one was due to the tectonic plate under the island bending suddenly under the island's weight -- sort of like a floor board creaking under a heavy footstep. Interesting, eh?
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epicenter were declared destroyed and some structural damage was reported to about 140 other structures. The houses that were destroyed were all built using the "post and pier" method and were on a hillside. A vulnerable combination, obviously. Elsewhere, including in our area, there was very minor damage, mostly stuff falling off shelves and out of cabinets -- more of a mess than true damage. By the way, I was partially wrong last week in describing the nature of earthquakes here. I was correct in saying that ours aren't caused by tectonic plates colliding or moving apart, but I was incorrect in attributing this particular quake to the island settling under its own weight. The geologists' assessment was that this one was due to the tectonic plate under the island bending suddenly under the island's weight -- sort of like a floor board creaking under a heavy footstep. Interesting, eh?
In keeping with the geological theme, an interesting article appeared in our local paper this week about the history of Kilauea's eruptions. There have been several recent instances of recurring fountaining -- 1959, 1969-'70, and 1983-'86. The current one, which began in December of 2024, just broke the record for the most episodes, 48 with the 49th imminent. The previous record was 47 during the 1983-'86 eruption at a side vent named Pu'u O'o (pronounceable with lots of practice). Compared to Pu'u O'o, the current pace of the episodes has been much quicker, with an average pause between events of just 10 days compared to nearly a month for Pu'u O'o. The real speed demon, however, was a brief eruption in 1959 in the summit crater of Kileaua Iki, with 17 spurts in just two days. As spectacular and accessible as this was, not many people got to see it because it was over so fast. Likewise, not many people saw the fountaining at Pu'u O'o -- the vent was remote and difficult to reach. Our current eruption is by far the biggest crowd-pleaser because its frequent, regular and predictable episodes have been very easy for visitors to view. Keep it up. Pele!!
My final news of the week is a Geezer Gazette item that I think reflects badly on U.S. healthcare. I called the Stein Eye Institute yesterday just to check if they had received my doctor's referral. The very cordial and competent person I spoke with found some of the documents we faxed, but not the letter yet. In passing, the representative asked if my insurance was Aetna Medicare. Affirmative. He then informed me that as of May 28 the institute is no longer a provider covered by Aetna! WTF! Apparently Stein and Aetna couldn't reach an agreement regarding reimbursement levels. The represeentative said that this has left a lot of their regular patients in the lurch, and they have to now find another provider. For me, this means the only way I could get my neuro-opthamolgy evaluation at Stein is by paying for it myself. I can't just fall back on Medicare itself because Medicare has transferred all processing to Aetna. By the way, the Aetna Medicare coverage is provided (at a premium) by my teachers' retirement system -- switching to any other insurance would be way more expensive. So there it is. In the U.S. healthcare is available to those who can afford it and only in limited ways, if at all, to others. Bottom line: I'm now searching for another neuo-opthamology clinic, and this time I have to make sure they take my insurance.
I'll close on that happy note. Enjoy what's left of Spring. Now more than ever, Carpe Vitam!
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