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.

Heart Still Ticking Kinda Sorta

[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.]

2/21/26

 

Aloha Ohana! 

 

[Warning:  Oversharing Ahead] 

 

I told Karen that my Valentine's Day gift this year would be getting home alive after my 2/12 heart ablation

Not Yet

procedure on Oahu.  I delivered on my promise, though not in the most romantic way.  The procedure was Thursday morning a week ago and technically went very well.  According to the procedure notes that I received online, my "shock doc" successfully ablated several areas in the upper two chambers of my heart.  I learned several things from the surgeon's notes that surprised me.  First, I was out for a little over an hour, but the procedure itself took only 40 minutes.  In past years when this was a new treatment an ablation used to take two hours or even more.  Second, this wasn't just a few zaps with the ablator (aka "pulsed field catheter") -- she used a total of 66!  My poor ticker must have looked like a smoldering cinder.  Third, the ablation doesn't just involve one catheter and one vein -- it took several catheters and both femoral veins in my legs.  Despite the mistreatment, my heart came out of the procedure not only still ticking, but also in normal rhythm, something I hadn't seen since early December.  Unfortunately this only lasted a couple of days and was probably due to the fact that as soon as they put me to sleep, they used the paddles to shock my heart into normal rhythm. I guess this was to make guiding the catheters easier and more accurate, or maybe to give my heart a rest after the procedure. As I've mentioned before, ablations are effective because they create scar tissue that doesn't conduct the chaotic electrical signals very well.  It takes a month or two for the scar tissue to develop fully, and during this time afib often recurs, though hopefully less and less often and for shorter periods. I just have to wait and see if this is true in my case.

 

There were a couple of complications that made this more difficult and definitely less romantic.  The first required returning to the hospital's ER Thursday night.  After an ablation the usual process is to lie flat on your back for several hours to make sure the small incisions where the catheters were inserted into your left and right leg veins start to heal. The nurses in the recovery area were very nice, even bringing me my cell phone and providing a tuna salad sandwich while I waited, At last they pronounced me ready to roll and I was discharged late afternoon (total time in the hospital = 9 hours).  So far so good.  When we got back to our hotel room, however, one of the incisions started to bleed and wouldn't stop, even after following the instructions of the surgeon when I called her.  After a few hours of this, we finally decided I needed professional help and we went to the ER about 9 pm.  The ER doc tried a fancy solution involving glue, mesh, and foam.  Didn't work. He finally solved the problem the good old fashioned way -- a stitch, some clotting salve, and a compression bandage.  We got back to our room about 2:30 am, after about 4.5 hours in the ER. 

 

The second problem wasn't as acute but still very problematic.  The next day I had a lot of difficulty breathing, and this got steadily worse on Saturday (the day we got home) and Sunday.  Something must have really irritated my lungs during my marathon in the hospital and the ER.  It might have been the anesthesia intubation, but I didn't have any problem last summer when I was knocked out the same way and same length of time for my hernia surgery.  Whatever it was, the symptoms for several days were akin to having a cracked rib and at the same time having a reaction to a vaccination -- out of breath. achy joints and muscles, and a little feverish. Thankfully this started to go away by Monday, but it has taken most of the week to get back to almost normal breathing.  Also encouraging is that since Thursday (one full week out from Zap Day) I've been having episodes of normal sinus rhythm. So overall, I guess I'm moving in the right direction.  I'll keep you posted.

 

There isn't much non-Geezer Gazette news this week because I've been following my shock doc's instructions to "take it easy."  I've been following the Olympics, of course, including the riveting Curling controversy.  Also, Pele gave everybody a Sunday Valentine's present of episode 42

Coffee Blooms

fountaining, which lasted about 10 hours and shot lava as high as 1300 feet. Oh yes, and this week many of our Kona Coffee trees have been blooming -- an impressive sight in a large orchard.  Coffee is related to the gardenia, and the flowers of both are white.  Unlike the gardenia, however, coffee flowers don't have much fragrance.  We make due, however, with the many other fragrant bushes and trees that are always in bloom.

 

Ok, that's it for now.  Stay warm and stay the moral course. Some of us still know what that is.

Thrombus? Fish in the Pool, Bird Meds

[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.]

2/7/26

 

Aloha Guys! 

 

Our guests from Ohio left on Tuesday to spend a week on Oahu before returning home.  We had a good time, did some local sight-seeing, and had lots of good conversation.  They had mostly dry weather for the couple of days they spent on the Hilo side of the island.  This was fortunate, because the windward side of Hawai'i averages 130 inches of rain per year, whereas our side averages about 40 or less, depending on your exact location. The overall trip for them was well-timed to escape the cold and snowy mainland conditions.  They won't return to weather as bad as when they left, but they'll likely encounter a 40-degree drop in daytime highs.  As you know, this is well below my wimp threshold.

 

There's some important Geezer Gazette news this week. On Monday I had blood drawn to look for problems that might complicate next week's ablation procedure.  A few things were slightly out of normal range, but my kidney function was ok, an important indicator of whether my system can clear the medications and drugs that will be administered.  Of course, the test of how long it takes for my blood to clot was higher than the normal range, which shows my blood thinner is definitely working. My interpretation of the actual value was that it wasn't something that was a major problem for the ablation, but the surgeon would certainly want to know about it.  On Wednesday we drove up to the hospital in Waimea for my special heart CT.  We went up there because the scan required specific readings that the CT services in Kona can't do. The focus was on the dimensions and conditions of the chambers, veins, arteries, and valves, all of which were ok.  The very important part of the scan is looking for the presence of any blood clots (fancy word = "thrombus") that might be jarred loose during the ablation, leading to a stroke. If there were any clots, I suspect this would have stopped everything in its tracks until they could be dissolved by medications.  Anyway, I got a clean result so everything is on track for next Thursday at 7 am on Oahu. A positive feature of the trip to Waimea was that we had lunch with more Ohio friends -- the couple who visit their daughter each winter, who teaches at a private school in Waimea.

 

Speaking of Oahu and heart ablations (!), my neighbor was there this week for his second zap (not that uncommon) and I took care of his parrots while he and his wife were gone.  He makes this pretty easy by preparing their special diet foods in advance, so it's mainly a matter of changing their cage liners and giving them fresh food and water.  However, one of the birds needs special medication which makes it a bit more challenging. I mixed the liquid medication with a special fruit puree which the bird really likes, then spoon fed it to her.  Fortunately she falls for it every time and seems to enjoy the attention.  Good thing, because this is an African Grey Parrot with a beak that could easily take off my finger if it had cause to do so.  

 

The ablationist for my neighbor's procedure is the same one I will have.  This is good, except that both of his ablations had some complications, which I sure hope I can avoid,  I really don't want to come out of this worse than when I went in, which so far is what has happened in his case. I'm eager to get it done but a teense anxious. Wish me luck.  By the way, next week's blog may be delayed until after I return.

 

Finally, in the "these-people-are-definitely-losing-it" department, my wife and I have discovered a

Swim Buddy

new use for our swimming pool -- food defroster.  The other night we decided to have salmon for dinner, which we had previously frozen.  This decision came pretty close to dinner time, so we wanted to defrost the package quickly.  Microwave ovens can do this, of course, but if you're not careful you can easily overdo it and start cooking the fish.  My wife came up with the brilliant idea of tossing the (sealed) package into the pool for a while.  Worked like a charm!

 

Ok, that's it for this week.  As I mentioned above, I may skip next week's missive or possibly make it a day late.  I'll see.  In the meantime, here's a homework assignment. Identify the author of the following quote. Hint: although it sounds recent, it isn't: “Propaganda must not investigate the truth objectively... it must present only that aspect of the truth which is favorable to its own side.”

 

Carpe Vitam. 

Raining Lava, Whale Watching, Hosting Guests

[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.]

1/31/26

 

Aloha Folks! 

 

Well, Pele really popped off last Saturday after I posted Snow Crash.  Starting a little past 11 a.m. and lasting until about 7:30 p.m., lava fountains shot up to almost 1600 feet from two close vents.  Just

Asbestos Umbrella?

before dark this was very spectacular.  At 7:30 the show ended abruptly, as usual.  The height of the fountains, coupled with fairly calm winds, created a unique situation for the area around the volcano.  Tephra (small rocks) and even a few globs of football-size cooled lava rained down on the viewing areas and even as far as nearby Volcano Village.  They had to evacuate some areas inside the park because it was getting a bit dangerous (fortunately there are several live-stream web cams positioned around the volcano rim so the action was still available to watch). Along our coast the vog has been pretty bad for the past few days, and it is particularly high right now at the summit of Kilauea, so getting close might be still be hazardous.  The current analysis from the volcanologists is that the lava reservoir below the caldera is recharging rapidly, suggesting another episode is very likely in the next couple of weeks.  Pretty neat, eh?

 

Our guests from Ohio arrived Tuesday evening, just missing the show.  They managed to escape the mainland despite the travel snafus caused by mountains of snow and bitterly cold temperatures.  Needless to say, they aren't minding our somewhat cloudy and voggy 80 degree weather!  They have been here before, though it has been quite a few years ago.  We've kept it low-key, enjoying a couple of picnics and some general site-seeing.  One picnic was down south at the very picturesque "Place of Refuge," an important historic Hawai'ian religious center.  This is very near Kealakekua Bay, where Captain Cook wore out his welcome and was fatally whacked by warriors protecting the king when Cook tried to take the king hostage.  Another picnic was north, at a beach park where we were treated to the antics of some whales as we watched from the picnic area. This coastline is where we usually see humpbacks who have migrated down from Alaska and Canada for the winter (don't tell ICE, but I don't think they're documented).  Our friends are currently on the Hilo side of the island for a few days.  They'll then spend some time on Oahu before returning the to the Ohio deep freeze.

No news for the Geezer Gazette this week (!), but next time I'll regale you with an account of my heart CT scan and the results.

 

Take care.  Don't strain too much on clearing that snow! 

Miata Mystery, CT Snafu, North to Alaska

[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.]

1/24/26

 

Aloha Friends! 

 

Just like humans, as cars get older they become less reliable and prone to mysterious ailments.  Karen's Miata, which is 23 years old, is becoming a good example of this. Recently we needed to run a bunch of errands and decided to take the Miata, which is a lot of fun to drive and is more gas efficient for short trips.  The engine started just fine and then promptly died.  And refused to start again.  The symptom was straightforward -- the engine would crank but not fire at all. We were thankful that we hadn't yet backed out of the garage, rather than have this happen in the middle of an intersection somewhere, so all we had to do at that moment was switch to our other car.  Later in the day I did what any red-blooded know-nothing mechanic would do -- I opened the hood and looked in, then tried to start it again. Same problem.  I called our mechanic and made a service appointment,  the soonest available being a week away, this past Tuesday.  I then arranged for a tow truck to come early that morning.  On Tuesday, as I was preparing for the tow truck to arrive I tried to start the car one more time -- vrooommmm!!! WTH?!  I did this several more times, and it started fine every time.  I quickly canceled the tow truck and drove the car to our mechanic, who understandably said that unless the car had "thrown a code" (i.e. its computer detected a problem and displayed it on the instrument panel as well as storing it in its memory) there wasn't much he could do since it was running fine at the moment.  Note, this is the worst kind of problem to work on, because there's no clue to follow and no defect to detect.  Bottom line -- the car has worked fine since this episode, but just like my geezer body, you know it's going to give out on you sometime, probably when it is least convenient and most unwanted......

 

Speaking of geezers, there are just a couple of quick items in the Geezer Gazette this week.  I got my pre-op heart ct scan scheduled, but only after I called twice.  The first time I got a phone message saying to leave your information and they we would get back to you in 3-5 days.  A week later I still hadn't heard anything, so I called again. This time I got a live human who quickly got things set up.  I have a feeling I would still be waiting if I hadn't taken the initiative.  The second item is that I visited my retina doctor yesterday and, as expected, had another shot. Yawn........I told him about my upcoming ablation and he was very confident it would help with my dimming and indistinct image problem. I just hope the benefits of this procedure aren't being over-hyped.

 

Where's the Gold?

We have now made plans for our fall travel.  This should be easy and cushy, with only an hour time change -- an Alaskan Cruise.  It will also coincide with our 59th (!) wedding anniversary. We've wanted to visit Alaska for years but something always prevented us from doing so. In the early days had considered either a road trip or traveling by ferry or freighter.  The large cruise ship experience that is so popular really didn't interest us, and it still doesn't.  We've booked an 11-night cruise on a small ship (170 passengers) operated by the same company that runs the Mississippi cruise we did last year and liked so well.  We're now looking into ways to extend this, since it is too short by our standards. I'll let you know what we come up with.  Any suggestions?

 

Ok, that's it.  We're looking forward to a visit next week by a couple of friends from Ohio who are escaping from the rather brisk and bleak weather there right now.  They have been here several times before, but it's always fun to share our island life.  Take care, stay warm, don't slip on the ICE.

Heart Ablation, A Pele New Year, Travel Insurance

[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.]

1/17/26

 

Aloha Everyone!

 

This week Pele awoke to 2026 and had either an angry fit or a joyous celebration, depending on what you want to project.  On Monday morning around 8:30 am fountaining began and continued for nearly 10 hours.  This was following several days of gurgling, sputtering, and squirting.  Once again the volcanologists correctly predicted the beginning of the episode, which they had set as between 1/10 and 1/17.  Current information from the monitoring devices suggests another episode in a couple of weeks, near the end of January.  The air quality monitors along our coast showed a strong increase in pollution after winds carried the SO2 from the eruption around the tip of the island and up to our region. This dropped fairly quickly though, after Pele went back to sleep.

 

The Geezer Gazette news this week is all about heart issues.  My results of last Friday's echo cardiogram came back very quickly online.  They were the same as the first time 1 1/2 years ago -- no significant "stenosis" -- narrowing of the blood vessels.  The interesting and new information is that I was in Afib during the recent exam, whereas I was in normal rhythm during the first one.  This was kind of a good thing, because it allowed a comparison of how my heart performed under both conditions.  The major difference is that the outflow of blood is 10% lower during Afib -- not due to clogged arteries but to the heart pumping less efficiently. The Afib level is below the normal range for someone my age and can produce fatigue, dizziness, light-headedness, breathlessness even in the absence of other symptoms, like heart palpitations and chest pain.  I don't feel any palpitations or pain, but I do experience the others if an Afib episode goes on for a long time, which is what is occurring these days. Although this isn't good news on the face of it, at least it provides an explanation for much of what I've been just attributing to "geezerness," and offers some hope that things can improve. On Tuesday I had my video consultation with a cardiac electrophysiologist (aka "ticker zapper") on Oahu. She seemed quite knowledgeable and competent, though like a few other of my physicians she looks like she's about 13-14 years old.  She recommended an ablation procedure, and expressed confidence it might improve my quality of life, both now and in the future.  She was careful not to promise the moon, though, only that it was likely this would reduce the number and length of Afib episodes to the point that anti-arrhythmic drugs might not be needed. I signed up, and was pleased to be able to schedule the operation fairly quickly -- February 12th.  If all goes well, this should give me time to recover before our trip in March. As I've mentioned before, this will require going to Honolulu for 2-3 days, but that's ok.  I'm looking forward to having it over with, but certainly not to having the actual experience of the procedure.

 

Speaking of travel, we've now passed the point where we could get most of our money back if we canceled.  Our usual strategy these days is to only get insurance when the cost of the premium is less than the refunds.  As you might imagine, when you get older the cost of travel insurance gets extremely high because insurance companies know that cancellations increase with age.  We've stopped getting

policies that completely cover the cost of the trip because it seems more reasonable to "self insure" for the portion of the total amount of a tour or cruise that you feel you can afford to lose. The health insurance part of the policies, however, is essential because health care or evacuation costs can be quite high if you have a problem while traveling in another country -- keep in mind, for example, that Medicare doesn't cover you during foreign travel. But you can get the full travel health coverage in the policy even if it doesn't cover the entire trip cost.  We determine what the total premium we are willing to pay is, and then use the insurance companies' online calculators to see what refund coverage that provides.  It turns out that no matter what the refund coverage is, these policies still give give you full medical coverage (including evacuation and the ghoulish "repatriation of remains." Keep in mind that almost all of these policies operate on the "reimbursement" model -- in other words, be prepared to pay upfront and then try to get your money back from a company that is motivated to deny your claims.  We tend to be frugal about the premium because it isn't refundable at all. Also note that a shortcoming of our strategy is that the medical insurance doesn't cover problems arising from pre-existing conditions unless you buy the policy right when you put a deposit down on your trip, and cover its entire cost.  That would be very expensive insurance and if you need it you probably shouldn't have signed up in the first place.  But at least we're covered if we're bitten by a cobra, fall off a camel. or get attacked by piranhas.  

 

Ok, that's about it. I would be remiss, though, if I didn't acknowledge that a very momentous national anniversary will happen next week -- January 20th.This was the day a year ago that our American Democratic Republic died, along with truth, decency, civility, dignity, reason. and the rule of domestic and international law. In its place we are moving toward a fascist oligarchy headed by an autocratic leader who is a convicted felon, a proven prolific liar, a man who is without moral scruples, and who will never give up power peacefully, no matter how badly he loses a fair election.  In my view one of the most disturbing parts of this situation is that a dishearteningly large portion of our population regards these changes as positive.  Welcome to 2026......

 

On that happy note, I hope you have a warm and healthy week. Take care.

Volcano Snow Cones, Heart Echoes, Christmas Pau

[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.]

1/10/26

 

Aloha Everybody!

 

This week some of you got a good taste of coping with the white stuff that is a common part of the mainland winter wonderland.  Early in the week even we had snow, when a storm moved in and coated both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, our 13k+ volcanoes.  The happens a few times each

Which Way To The Lift?

year, though it most often is confined to the slightly taller Mauna Kea on the northern part of the island.  Our other two volcanoes, Kileaua (the one currently erupting) and Hualalai  (the one we live on), are much too low to get significant amounts of frozen precipitation,(4k and 8k, respectively), though snow has been recorded on Hualalai occasionally.  By the way, the storm this week brought a day of cloudiness that made for a record low 24-hour pv production at our house of just 5.8 kwh -- rock bottom for the 13 years we've had the system.  That's only about 1/4 of our daily usage, Sheesh.

 

Now for a bit of Geezer Gazette news.  Yesterday I had my second echo cardiogram. This was in preparation for my video consultation with an electrocardiologist next week.  There are two types of this test -- the one I had is fairly quick and non-invasive. A technician rubs an ultrasound device on your chest to examine blood flow and structural abnormalities in your heart's chambers, valves, and arteries.  It's one way of assessing the chances you'll drop dead from clogged arteries. I had one of these a year ago September when I finally got an appointment with a cardiologist after being referred by my regular doctor.  It showed some enlargement of one chamber and slightly reduced flow but the overall conclusion was that clogging isn't my problem -- the odds of dropping dead from that cause are very low.  Hopefully the exam I had yesterday will show the same thing. I should get the results in a couple of days. The other form of this test is more sensitive but much more invasive -- the ultrasound device is shoved down your throat. Fortunately they sedate you while this is going on so the experience isn't as bad as it sounds.  Mine was the first type, and I'm glad. I don't want the second kind because (a) I'm a wimp and (b) it means there's some dire reason the cardiologist needs a closer and more detailed look at your heart before the ablation procedure. Next week the Geezer Gazette will include my reports of the test and the consultation.  Stay tuned -- after all, if it hasn't already, this could happen to you some day.

 

By Thursday Christmas at our house was pau (done, finished).  All the decorations inside and outside were back in their storage places until next year.  We managed to wrestle the artificial tree back into its box that we keep in the garage.  This was the hardest task physically.  We learned the first year we had the tree that the three pieces had to go back into the carton in a certain order and a specific orientation.  Plus, each layer of branches had to be flattened and then tied tightly against the trunk or the pieces wouldn't fit into the box.  The second time we put it up I learned that the strings of lights plugged together in a very non-obvious way -- detailed in the instructions which I had thrown away, of course.  Figuring out how to get the whole tree lit again turned out to be a major hassle.  I solved this by labeling each plug and its proper receptacle before I took them apart again.  Karen made a diagram of how the pieces fit into the box, and now it's just a matter of squishing everything tightly enough.  The tree is still in pretty good shape for its age, and hopefully it will last several more years.

Ok, that's it for now. Stay warm, keep shoveling. Another couple of months ought to do it... 

Muted Fireworks, Locksmithing, Yearning for Photons

[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.]

1/3/26

 

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou (Happy New Year)!

 

Except for the order of the words, the Hawaiian phrase for Happy New Year is a word-by-word translation:  hau'oli (happy) makahiki (year, or season), hou (new).  However, "makahiki" has a deeper and more philosophical meaning than just a 365-day unit of time  First, it actually refers to a social/religious season that emphasizes peace, rest, and renewal.  Further, it is tied to ideas of reflection, balance, and welcoming what’s next (see Word Spotlight). Sounds like we could all use some makahiki right now.........

 

The usual firework mayhem here in Hawai'i was somewhat muted this year.  Even Pele decided to sleep through New Year's Eve and didn't participate in the festivities. Part of the reason for humans to be subdued is

that there has been a statewide crackdown on illegal fireworks after a tragic explosion last year on Oahu killed 6 people and wiped out a good chunk of a Honolulu neighborhood.  On our island another reason was the seizure of 18 TONS of illegal fireworks last August in Hilo.  The Hilo operation had been going on for years, headed by a couple of guys who were smuggling them in from outlets in Wisconsin.  We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars each year and a very organized setup. Eighteen tons of fireworks is a lot of noise that didn't occur!  There were, of course, a fair number of legal displays and the resorts along the coast had big aerial shows, so it wasn't totally quiet.  Karen and I set off a bunch of leftover sparklers from previous years, but other than that I restrained my usual pyromania.

 

My big house maintenance project this week was replacing a couple of our electronic door locks.  These are battery operated deadbolts with keypads that you enter a code instead of using a physical key (each comes with a key as a backup, though).  I really like not having to carry keys or retrieve them from hiding places that most burglars would locate in minutes.  I installed my first ones about 20 years ago and they have been surprisingly durable, except of course for the batteries which last about a year in the locks we use the most.  Finally, though, two crapped out at the same time.  I ordered replacements online because I couldn't find what I wanted locally.  The first two were inoperable and I had to order again.  The two bad locks were ones I found on Ebay that were supposed to be new but were in open boxes --- one had missing parts and the other was defective.  I ordered again, this time from the manufacturer through Amazon.  After a bit of fiddling I have them working well for now. Except for being shinier, this is the kind of project that requires effort and is a definite improvement, but isn't noticeable on the surface.  I have to be content with self-praise for a job well done.

 

I've complained a fair amount about the unusual cloudy weather we had in 2025, though our weather woes hardly compare in seriousness to the weather upheavals on the mainland.  Still, for us it is a big deal, since it really contrasts to the conditions we've experienced during most of the 25 years we've lived in Hawai'i.  The recording system of my solar pv system gives clear and objective evidence of how weird 2025was.  The data indicate there were only 4 months when we generated more power than we used.  In the roughly 15 years we've had the system, all of them showed the reverse pattern -- at most there were only 4 months each year when we didn't generate a surplus.  I'm not sure what has caused this, probably it is a complex combination of climate change factors, volcanic activity, temporary shifts in the jet stream, cosmic rays from black hole collisions, alien spacecraft contrails, etc., etc.  No matter what, though, we could really use some photons!  Our mornings almost always start off clear and promising, but by noon the sun takes a nap.  We're getting enough sun to heat our hot water supply, but the pool heating system is struggling to keep the temperature up to geezer and geezerette acceptability levels.  I know none of you are feeling much sympathy, but it's all relative, right?  

 

Absolutely no Geezer Gazette news this week. A welcome break for you and for me both.

 

Ok, that's it.  Remember, Spring is just around the corner....Maybe. It might be canceled or renamed by the next Executive Order.  

Pele Pops a Present, Pigging Out With Santa

[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.]

12/27/25

Ho, Ho, Holoha!

 

I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas!  Ours was livened up by a present from Pele -- at about 8:30

p.m.Tuesday night the 39th episode of fountaining began, a real treat for any visitors staying near the volcano.  It lasted only about 6 hours, but it was quite vigorous, shooting lava as high as 1400 feet from one vent and shorter distances from two others that are close by. This happened on December 23, exactly one year from the first episode.  The volcanologists' prediction was for the episode to begin sometime from the 23rd to the 27th, and they clearly nailed it. All indications are that

the episodic pattern will continue, with #40 coming in a couple of weeks.  It would be a great way to end this year if #40 occurred a bit early and joined the fireworks on New Year's Eve!  I find the whole thing fascinating.

 

Our Christmas was very nice, centering more around food than gifts.  Early in the week we shared a prime rib dinner at our house with some very close friends.  They used to live in Ohio but now are in Wisconsin.  They wisely escape the winters there and spend a few months here each year visiting their daughter, who is a teacher at a highly regarded private school in Waimea. By the way, we cooked the prime rib using a somewhat unusual method that we've employed several times with great success.  We baked it in a hot oven for just 25 minutes, then turned off the oven and left it for exactly 2 hours.  Perfect!  On Christmas Day we went to a pot-luck dinner at a neighbor's house, getting together with about 20 other people.  We've done this the last few years, and we really enjoy the congenial atmosphere and good food. Her house has a beautiful open lanai that overlooks the bay, a perfect setting for a Kona Christmas dinner.

 

As I said, gifts weren't the focus this year, but I was pleased with mine from Karen -- a couple of

gift cards for Taco Bell (!), a new shop vacuum cleaner, and a sweatshirt with a personally very appropriate logo on the front that says, "Yes, I'm Cold!"  As I've mentioned before, I've become so acclimated to our warm weather here that anything less than 70d is chilly for me -- my eyes start to water and my nose drips constantly.  This sweatshirt will come in handy on our frosty 64d mornings and when we travel to destinations with less agreeable climates in their cooler seasons.

 

I have just one bit of Geezer Gazette news this week.  Yesterday I saw my retina specialist. My right eye didn't need a shot, and my left has improved a couple of lines in acuity.  The improvement was largely due to the injection last time, and maybe just a smidge from the YAG procedure that punched a hole in the capsule holding my new lens. Yesterday the doctor did the YAG laser treatment on my right eye, so now I've been completely YAGed.  I wish I could say it made a miraculous difference, but there has been barely a discernible improvement in either eye.  However, I can now rule out cloudiness of the tissue over my new lenses as a cause of my continuing downturn.  I guess that's good news?

 

Ok, that's it.  The season of brotherly love and good will toward all is now over, and we can get back to the vitriol, incivility, and exploitation that seem to be the main qualities of the U.S. under our current "leadership."  I'd love to be more positive about the coming year, but I'm having a tough time finding a reason for optimism. The best approach is perhaps to stay committed to your own values, and don't fall into the trap of extremism.

 

Keep warm and fuzzy.  Don't forget to feed the reindeer!

Travel to Panombia, Healing a Heart

[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.]

12/20/25

Aloha All!

 

Well, I see that you mainlanders may be getting a break from your deep-freeze weather, a nice warmup for Christmas.  We're pretty much the same for the rest of the month -- highs around 80 at our house, lows in the upper sixties, sunny mornings with a chance of afternoon showers.  The current volcano forecast is for the next fountaining episode to occur between December 22nd and 27th so there's still a chance for a lava Christmas present from Pele.

 

This week we finalized our plans for our trip to Panama and Colombia ("Panombia") next spring.  The Panama portion will be a custom tour we put together with a local company, and we will make a deposit soon.  This took some back-and-forth to tune the itinerary to our liking, and we're pretty happy with it.  It will be a total of 12 days in Panama, spread between Panama City, the Caribbean Coast, and the mountain area in the northwest.  Our activities will include touring the canal, guided wildlife walks (particularly birding), exploring historical sites, and perhaps doing some snorkeling.  To the extent we could arrange it, the itinerary will provide for the things we like when traveling -- nature, architecture, history, culture, interactions with locals, food.  Following the Panama portion we'll fly to Colombia for our cruise on the Magdelana River, starting in a coastal city named Baranquilla and ending in Cartegena. At the beginning and end of the cruise we'll spend time on our own to flesh out the itinerary a little.  We spent a good deal of time in Colombia on a previous trip several years ago, visiting a fairly large portion of the country, so we don't feel the need to make this an extensive trip.  Anyway, we made the final payment for the river cruise and all we have left is to make some hotel reservations and book the international flights.  We're getting pretty excited about this trip, our first foreign excursion since last year.

 

 In Geezer Gazette news, I'm progressing on my ablation consultation.  I have a virtual session scheduled for January with a cardiac electrophysiologist on Oahu.  If I have the ablation procedure it will be at Queen's Hospital in Honolulu as an outpatient.  Prior to the consultation, I have a second echo-cardiogram scheduled also in January.  This should provide an up-to-date assessment of how my heart is functioning, along with the data from my recent heart monitor.  Should be a fun month. 

 

What a Float!

Finally, we had our annual Kona Christmas Parade this week.  This has a uniquely local quality, as the photo here shows. I've got all the house decorations up that I'm going to this year, and the place looks quite festive.  Karen finished decorating our living room tree, and we have been enjoying the lights during dinner and then as we watch t.v.. We are behind on mailing Christmas cards, but this seems to be a disappearing tradition.  We're very likely to send our yearly letter by email rather than by snail-mail the way we have in the past.

 

Ok, that's it for the week.  Have a great Christmas, and treat Santa with extra kindness. He deserves it more than ever......... 

36-Foot Noodle, Laser Eye Hole, Ablation Blues

[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.]

12/13/25

Aloha Folks!

 

Life lurches on here. My big house project this week was getting our new pool cover installed.  It wasn't particularly hard, but it was awkward trying to wrestle the thing into place, like dealing with a 36-foot piece of giant linguini (or a 600 square foot piece of bubble wrap). The pool measures 36 x 16, but the cover is pre-made as 36x18.   I laid it out in our driveway and carefully cut off the excess 2 feet on the side.  Then, with Karen's help,

Santa on R&R

we folded it into a more manageable size and carried it to the back of the house where the pool is, negotiating tight corners and some stairs to do so.  We stretched it over the pool in the late afternoon and I attached it to the cover reel with less difficulty than I had expected. Earlier I had cut off the old cover from the reel in easy to manage strips, and my neighbor helped me transport them to the dump in his pickup truck.  Job done!! As I was cutting off the old cover, I got a close look at how much it had deteriorated. It was definitely time to replace it, making the project even more satisfying.

 

There are three big items in the Geezer Gazette this week.  I'll start with the most angst-producing and move to the neutral and then to the downright positive news.  My appointment with my cardiologist on Wednesday went very badly because the results of my 2-week heart monitor showed a new problem that will likely lead to an ablation -- the treatment where some of your heart tissue is destroyed in order to get the rest of it to function properly.  Maybe.  The overall success rate of the procedure is only about 60%, but increases to 80% for patients in my particular situation.  My cardiologist is strongly recommending I have it done.  I have a referral now to consult with an Electrophysiologist to get an assessment. Isn't this fun!!??

 

In more neutral news, I had my YAG laser procedure yesterday on my left eye (not to be confused with the new experimental light treatment, which is still iffy as to when it will be available).  Absolutely painless, even without any numbing drops.  It took a total of maybe one minute. I'm still assessing if it did any good, but even if it didn't, this was certainly worth a try.  I have another appointment at the end of the month for a shot in the right eye, then we'll do the YAG procedure on it, too.  Needless to say, I'm getting very familiar to the eye clinic staff......

 

Finally, some good news. The results of my bone density scan showed very little change from 2 years ago, meaning I'm still mildly osteopenic but not getting worse. In fact, the risk assessments for breaking something got a teense better -- 10-year risk of %7.6 overall, and 3.3% specifically for a hip fracture.  Whoopee!

 

Ok, that's it.  Watch out for frostbite.  Oh, and let's all hope that Santa doesn't get shot down by some authoritarian country's demented and deranged supreme leader. I wonder who that could be......

Surf Santa, Bones & Eyes, Big Chill

[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.]

12/6/25

Aloha Fellow Elves!

 

December arrived this week and so did a post-Thanksgiving pulse of snow birds and tourists.  The town is looking very Christmasy, with colored lights in the palm trees and bell-ringing Santa's helpers in board-shorts and Aloha shirts outside Walmart. The weather has turned seasonally cool, too -- I recorded an overnight low this week of a mere 63 degrees!  I even had to use my heating pad and extra blanket to stay warm (remember, we have no central heating).  Also seasonal is the high surf we've had a couple of times on our side of the island this week, to the dislike of tourists but to the delight of the local surfers.  Even with the frigid nighttime temps our new pool system has kept the water temp tolerable.  I didn't install my new pool cover yet, but I hope to get to it this weekend.  That should help even more, because the old one is pretty shot and probably has lost a significant amount of its insulating ability.  I also got more decorations up outside, including some strings of lights and a cute new pair of snowmen that were a Black Friday special at Lowe's (I was vetoed on the 8-foot tall Grinch that was available, too). 

 

We managed to get our nearly 20-year old artificial tree up, though it still needs to be decorated.  It's

Driveway Greeters

pre-lit, so at least it adds to the seasonal house-vibes at night.  We opted not to expend the considerable effort of assembling the tree last year, because as I've mentioned before, we were in Cambodia until the second week of December.  It is a fair amount of work to extract the heavy box from its storage spot in the garage, carry the 4 tree sections into the house, then join them together.  In our youth we used to carry the whole box into the house, but those days are gone.  Real trees are available here at the big box stores, shipped in refrigerated containers from the mainland. I love the pine smell from the unboxed trees as I drive by.

 

In Geezer Mortality news this week, I had three encounters with the medical establishment. On Wednesday I had a bone density scan to check on the progression of my osteopenia.  One of the many clues that your body has an expiration date is that your bones get brittle at the same time that your sense of balance goes kerflooey, making a fall in which you break something more and more likely. I'll get the results of the scan next week and go over them with my internist.

 

I also had an appointment this week with my optometrist. The exam verified my current prescription is the best I can do, and also revealed significant edema buildup in both eyes.  I saw my retina doctor yesterday and got an injection in my left eye, and Ill return in a couple of weeks for my right. 

 

My ophthalmologist also confirmed an issue with my eyes that may be contributing to the dimness/brightness problem (separate from the edema build-up).  My cataract surgery earlier this year has led to a slight haze in my eye tissue where the lenses were implanted.  This is  something that occurs in about 50% of cataract patients  It isn't the new lens that gets hazy, but the eye capsule that holds it in place.  It can be easily fixed with a quick laser procedure in which a small hole is punched in the capsule allowing light to pass directly through the lens into the eyeball.  I'm scheduled for this treatment next Friday on my left eye. I'll keep you posted. By the way. a hopeful a new treatment that might also help my non-edema dimness/brightness condition has recently received FDA approval.  It's a non-invasive procedure called photomodulatiom retina therapy. It was developed to treat dry macular degeneration. I don't have that problem, but the underlying mechanism of my non-edema vision loss (dimness, lack of edge distinction, sensitivity to bright light) might be similar.  The new treatment definitely seems worth a try if it becomes available here, though it probably won't be covered by insurance.  I'm desperate for any improvement I can get, so I don't care -- I'll pay for it myself if I have to....

 

Ok,  that's my news for the week.  Hope you are surviving your early winter weather ok.  And despite the ugliness all around, try to tap into the holiday spirit.....

Flood Recovery, Big Bird, Big Burp

[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.]

11/29/25

Aloha Folks!

 

My pool man and I spent last weekend euthanizing my old pool pump and installing the new replacement unit.  We ran into a few unanticipated problems, as happens with all home repair projects, including a stuck fitting that called for some specialized tools -- "hammer," "drill," "saw", and "chisel." Another issue was that the 30-something year-old valves that were part of the overall system wouldn't shut off completely, leading to dripping pipe ends where we needed to glue new fittings.  This was a problem because pvc cement doesn't work well on wet surfaces.  A highly pressurized system like this one would likely cause leaky joints or even joints that would fail completely.  After considering several ways to keep the pipe ends dry enough, we finally settled on one that used the theory of hydraulic homeostasis equalatum -- i.e., we lowered the water level in the pool to a point just lower than the pipe ends. Voila! No more drips.  Lowering the water level isn't just a matter of pulling the plug at the bottom of the pool, however.  It is usually done by using a pump that sucks out the water and dumps it outside.  We didn't have a pump handy, so we resorted to a method that took me back to my teenage delinquency skill set -- we siphoned it out with a hose. (Back in my wild youth we used this technique to steal gasoline from other people's cars.)  After that problem was solved things went pretty smoothly, though I still had to make about 4 trips to the hardware store for various pieces and parts. We finished on Sunday afternoon but waited until Monday to turn on the system  This was to give the new joints time to set completely before we put them under pressure.  Also, I needed time to refill the pool. On Monday the moment of truth came and -- IT WORKED!  No drips, pump jumped into life and did its job perfectly for the rest of the day.  The only problem I've encountered since then was in programming the pump start and stop time -- something that was solved by re-reading the manual and this time paying attention.

 

To This

From This 

Our Thanksgiving was very pleasant.  We invited some close friends to share a turkey dinner.  It's been years since we cooked a turkey, but it turned out great, thanks in part to a lot of garlic, garlic salt, and butter.  We also had a tasty carrot curry soup that Karen made, plus a balsamic kale salad with purple sweet potatoes, green beans in cream sauce, and of course fresh cranberry relish.  Our friends brought a dessert that was a perfect ending, an apple tart. The weather cooperated, and we were able to have appetizers out by the pool.  All in all, it brought home how fortunate we are and how much we have to be thankful for.....

 

Pele decided to join the holiday festivities with a nine-hour fountain of lava earlier in the week.  The timing of this episode (#37) means that the next one will likely be very close to the date a year ago when the first fountaining episode occurred.  Maybe we can re-write the classic Bing Crosby song to: "I'm dreaming of a red hot Christmas, with lots of lava fountains all-a-glow...."

 

Just a few more tidbits.  My new eyeglasses finally arrived after a total of  12 days in transit. They help a nano-smidge.  Also delivered was a new solar pool cover that I ordered, which I'll try to wrestle into place this coming week.  I got my first Christmas decorations up yesterday, with more to come as I have time.  This is much earlier than last year, because we were traveling in Cambodia until early December.  I'm determined to enjoy the holiday season this year, partly as an act of defiance of the current dark times and our amoral autocratic leaders.....

 

Ok, enough,  Take care and keep watching for those reindeer. 

A Flood

[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.]

11/22/25

Aloha All!

 

One of my past blogs was about "Whack-A-Mole Maintenance," the experience of having just taken care of one house maintenance issue when another immediately crops up to take its place. That's what happened here this week, and the new problem turned out to be a dandy.  On Tuesday my handyman and I replaced the ventilation motor I wrote about last week and got the fan back on the roof and working perfectly.  The warm glow of accomplishment lasted about two hours, until I went to check on a small leak in our pool pump that I had discovered a day before.  Water was shooting out of the pump housing with such force that it went all the way across the room and hit the opposite wall.  It looked much like one the lava geysers our volcano has been belching lately.  The pool equipment is housed in a little room that connects with a room that we use mainly as a quiet retreat. It is open on two sides and it connects with our pool deck.  We have a small couch and a couple of chairs there, and it's where I do my morning laptop computer surfing, meditating, and occasional napping.  Anyway, the indoor/outdoor carpeting was soaked, as well as the couch cushions and all the objects we had on display along the wall.  I managed to get the pump turned off pretty fast, but I think it had been going for awhile, judging from the puddles on the floor.

 

We spent the rest of the day dealing with all the water.  I went over the carpet several times with my shop-vac while Karen dried everything else off and moved the cushions out into the sun to drip and dry.  I was relieved to find that my laptop computer, which had gotten pretty wet, seems ok. One upside to this near disaster was that the carpet needed cleaning anyway, and the other things in the room needed cleaning too.  This could have been so much worse if we had not been home to deal with it.  If we were traveling several days could have gone by until my handyman discovered the problem on his next weekly visit.

 

I called my pool man and he came the next morning to take a look.  The initial diagnosis is that the pump housing suddenly developed a hairline crack and water was being forced through it when the pump was running.  The pump itself is separate from the motor that turns it, and even though the motor is fairly new, the pump is probably 30 years old.  Like the rest of us geezers, it now has developed cracks and leaks.  Also, being old, the pump is now no longer being made and repair parts are hard to find.  At first we were going to try to locate a used housing but on further reflection it seemed that it would be better just to bite the (expensive) bullet and get a whole new unit.

 

If this were the mainland there would be many outlets nearby who would have a wide variety of pumps on hand that could be immediately installed.  Not here.  There are just a handful of pool supply outfits on our island, and the selection is much more limited.  I searched the internet and found a lot of options, but --- you know what I'm going to say -- it would take at least a week to get it delivered.  A week of the pool water not being filtered is not a good idea, and of course without the pump running we don't get solar heating from our roof panels.  I did the rounds to see what was available here, and yesterday I bought a fancy new unit that should work, and should be reliable enough that we don't have to worry when we travel.  My pool guy will start installing it today, and if all goes well we should be back to heating and filtering soon.

 

This pump (a Pentair WhisperFlo VST Turbocharged Jet Assist Macho Mega Machine) is supposed

to be very energy efficient because it can be programmed to run at lower speeds for some of the cycle time.  Lowering the rpms of the motor dramatically reduces the amount of electricity the unit uses.  Of course, since we have PV panels that generate most of our electricity, this isn't much of an issue for us.  The state has mandated a switch from single-speed to variable-speed pool systems, though, so we don't really have a choice.  My intent is to just program the pump to run at one speed near what it does now, and forget all the fancy stuff.

 

In other news, we got rained out on another attempt to whack a ball at Makalei, so we went to PF instead.  On Thursday I sent in my heart monitor for analysis. and I'll learn the results when I see my cardiologist in a couple of weeks.  My new eyeglasses are still inching their way through USPS.  Finally, we're making some progress in planning our spring trip to Panama and Colombia.  Once the U.S. invades Colombia it should be safe, right?

 

Take care.  Bundle up. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!  

Set Screw Snafu, Ticker Tracker, Skin Check

[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.]

11/15/25

Aloha Tout Le Monde!

 

How's that for linguistic virtuosity?!

 

Jet lag faded pretty quickly this time, and we both felt fairly good by last weekend, This week I've been almost back to normal, which includes my fondness for a couple of deep naps each day.  On Sunday we did a light workout at PF, and we were once again reminded of how quickly the geezer body can become a blob of flab if you don't keep at it.  Yesterday we tried to do some practice putting and ball-whacking at Makalei, but we were rained out before we even started. Despite this we may try to play a round sometime this coming week.  Watch out, Peacocks!

 

Shortly after we got home last week I received my replacement motor for one of our roof ventilation

All you have to do is...

fans.  You may recall that a couple of months ago I noticed it wasn't working, so I ordered a new motor. On Wednesday I sent my handyman up on the roof to bring down the fan housing so we could work on it.  Everything went very smoothly -- we easily loosened the bracket holding the old motor and it was then simply a matter of taking off the old fan blade and putting it on the new motor.  However, the project came to a screeching halt when the set screw holding the blade on the old motor shaft wouldn't budge.  We tried everything -- more torque, penetrating oil, heat, lots of swearing.  My handyman is pretty strong, and if he couldn't loosen it no one could.  We gave up and reinstalled the roof unit temporarily until I could get a new fan blade and set screw -- given shipping delays these days, I thought it would probably another couple of weeks until this "simple" repair is complete.  In other words, a typical home maintenance snafu. However, the fan blade arrived yesterday, just two days after I ordered it on Wednesday!  This is definitely as good as it gets here.  The shipping was USPS Ground Advantage, which can take anywhere from two days to two weeks, depending on variables we don't understand.  It has nothing obvious to do with the size of the package or whether it's in a box or an envelope,  or where it's coming from.  Before you brag about your wonderfully fast Amazon Prime shipping, let me report that the same thing is true for those orders. It's yet another example of how unique living in Hawai'i can be.  Anyway, hopefully we'll get the job done next week.

 

In Geezer Gazette news, last week I dropped by my cardiologist's office to have his nurse paste a

Fit Bit on Steroids

heart monitor on me.  This is the third time I've done this over the past year and I'm great with it.  This device is like a Fit Bit on steroids. It monitors your heart 24/7 for two weeks and collects very detailed data about the state of your ticker. I'm betting it will show that my afib incidents have increased in number and duration, but they have remained mild in the sense that my heart rate usually stays below 100 and I'm mostly asymptomatic.  Also, not all afib patterns are equally serious, and I think mine is pretty tame.  Anyway, I'll see my cardiologist in a few weeks to go over the results and discuss any changes to my treatment plan. BTW, I'm a little envious of my friend in Ohio who has one of these kinds of monitors permanently implanted under his chest skin.  It's very small and the battery lasts about three years. It uploads his data automatically to his cardiologist and he gets a regular report. At some point I may ask my doc if he thinks that would be a good idea for me.  

 

Turning to external geezer news, on Tuesday I had a quick follow-up exam with my dermatologist.  This was just to check a couple of areas that she noticed at my last exam.  Both have healed nicely, so far now all is good. I go back for my yearly check next spring. No news is usually good news in geezerhood. I have some new info on my eyes, but I'll wait until next time to regale you with that.

 

A couple of final tidbits.  First, the 36th episode of our volcano's eruption-on-the-installment-plan came and went last week after a mere 5 hours of high (1000 ft) fountaining.  The brevity of this meant that there were a number of people who traveled to see the eruption and either arrived just as it ended or missed it altogether.  Pele can definitely be a mischievous tease at times.  Second, we enjoyed our river cruise so much we have tentatively booked another one -- this time on the Magdalena River in Colombia.  Some of our Ohio friends are doing this right now. We were going to wait and get their assessment, but it sounds so good we decided to go ahead and reserve space before all the spots are taken. We visited Colombia previously for about a month and enjoyed it very much, but we didn't spend time in this area.  The cruise isn't really long enough for our travel style, so we're working on a 10-12 day private land tour in Panama to precede the Colombia portion.  The trip will likely be in March and April next year.  Kind of exciting.

 

Ok.  Off to market and beach breakfast.  Take care, stay warm -- both physically and psychologically. 

River Boat Cruise, Gecko Welcome Home

[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.]

11/8/25

Aloha Everyone!

 

We got back from our mainland trip on 11/3, two days before the date which I now regard as the anniversary of "Black Tuesday."  Overall it was a great trip for a number of reasons.  First, consider the source when I tell you that we actually enjoyed the river boat cruise. We're reluctant cruisers, and you may recall we had a so-so experience recently on a European trip on the Danube.  Our Mississippi cruise was much, much more to our liking.  The ship was a replica of a stern wheeler paddle boat.  Built in 2018, it was very comfortable and well-appointed. Our large stateroom had a private balcony that provided us with a beautiful view of the passing river bank.  One aspect that we appreciated was that the 8-day itinerary included periods of daytime sailing when we could actually make use of the balcony. The boat holds just 180 passengers, which made for a much more relaxed and friendly atmosphere than our European cruise. 

 

The trip started in Memphis, where we stayed downtown for four nights on our own before starting the river cruise.  We liked Memphis very much.  This is the home of famous Beale street, a mecca for Blues performers. It is also home to the fabulous Civil Rights Museum, housed in the former Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated. Memphis is also the location of Elvis' Graceland.  We spent one night at the Graceland Guest House as part of our cruise package. This allowed us to tour the mansion and the associated museum, a deep dive into Elvis' career, private life and his personality.  I came away with an appreciation for him as a much more complex person that I had previously thought. 

 

Another positive aspect of the trip is that the boat stopped at a number of places we had never visited

Old But New

before.  For example, the first stop after boarding in Memphis was a small town called Cleveland, in the Mississippi Delta. We learned several surprising things here.  First, the Mississippi Delta is far inland, not where the river dumps into the ocean.  It's considered a delta because it frequently floods along this stretch of the Mississippi, covering a very large area with floodwater.  Second, the region is home to more Grammy Award winners than anywhere else in the country, and the town hosts the National Grammy Museum for this reason.  The distinctive music of the area is called "Delta Blues," a sample of which we heard as part of the shipboard entertainment.  The third surprise was that this area has a large Chinese population, descendants of people who were recruited as sharecroppers on the plantations after the Civil War, when large numbers of former slaves migrated north.  Many Chinese immigrants rose above their sharecropper status to become successful proprietors of small general stores -- much like the Japanese did here in Hawai'i.  Though the Chinese weren't Black, they weren't considered White, either, and they faced considerable discrimination, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which prevented new immigrants and denied citizenship to those already in the country. Sound familiar?

 

Mostly Decorative

The 8-day journey to New Orleans included a number of other interesting and historic stops which we enjoyed  -- Vicksburg, Natchez, St. Francisville and Vacherie. After one night in New Orleans we were hustled off early the next day to allow the crew to get the ship ready for the return voyage scheduled to start in just a few hours.  We remained in New Orleans for another 3 nights on our own.  We have been to this unique city a couple of times before, with the last visit being just before Covid.  We had some great food, soaked up the fun-loving atmosphere, and generally had a great time. Two highlights were a visit to the terrific sculpture garden at the New Orleans Art Museum, and going through the fabulous World War II Museum.  The War Museum is a sobering, immersive experience that is an unflinching look at the early failures of the U.S. as a fighting force, the horrors of being a soldier, and the immense destruction and savagery of warfare.  It documents our successes, of course, but makes it clear these came at an enormous cost.  

 

Our trip finished with a 10-day visit to Ohio, where we got together with many dear friends, and got a reminder of what late fall weather in Ohio is like -- C-O-L-D.  The locals weren't complaining -- after all it was sunny and in the low 60's during the day, with a nice invigorating drop to the high 30's/low 40's at night.  What's wrong with that?  Well, for a wimpy Hawaiian boy like me that's downright painful!  Anyway, the warmth of hospitality from our long-time friends definitely helped counteract the chill...

 

Back home I immediately peeled off all my layers and donned my shorts and t-shirt.  Our first morning

Hangin' with ma Bud

back we reunited with our breakfast-table geckos by the pool.  It was clear they were glad to see us, with the first ones arriving within minutes. Some eagerly accepted our bits of papaya, but some also just wanted to hang out and enjoy our presence.  One of our favorites, who we have named Pom-Pom because of the shape of the dots on her back, chose to forgo eating and instead hopped into my lap and just sat there for a few minutes.  Very endearing, and a perfect welcome home greeting!

 

Take care.  I'll catch you up on Geezer Gazette news next time. Keep fighting for the middle -- it's the only place sanity can prevail.