life in the old lane

Woke up this morning and the Eurodam was anchored in the bay. By the time I finished my morning walk – the ship had decided that the ocean was too unfriendly to let the tenders deliver passengers to the pier and so, the ship left. And, took all that lovely visitor money with it. 

Weather is still chilly. But, I did take my longsleeved shirt off today. And, I have my windows open again. Our weather event was called a “cold hurricane”. The winds gusted to 191 MPH up top of our mountains. The hotel suffered from a few leaks. We got off easy here on the lee side of Big Island.

Made reservations at Greenbanks in Bermuda which is the last stop on my RTW B4 EXIT trip. The Bermuda stop is a rest and recovery stop off before returning to The Asylum. Greenbanks is where I stayed last August. Greenbanks has 10 rooms max, so I wanted to be sure I got one of them. Greenbanks has everything I need to be happy.  A warm ocean for swimming, a  bathtub for soaking, and lounge chair in the shade for reading. The Asylum has NONE of those things.  Is it time to rethink where I am living?  If it were not for friends… maybe… 

. . . 

I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.
Will Rogers.

 

Cats are always challenging for me to photograph. Especially black cats. This tiny lady is a former feral cat. And, she is about the friendliest cat on the planet. You can not see it from this shot but her left ear is snipped indicating that she has been “fixed”. She doesn’t know that she is supposed to be arrogant, aloof, and well, cat-like. 

Finished up my arrangements for the trip back east. The last piece was getting a bus ticket from LA airport to the LA train station.  If it were not for my friends back at the asylum and work, I might not go back at all. I really could just use the Old Bat Cave as a climate controlled storage unit. 

Since it is still really chilly – I have been all cozied up thinking about the RTW B4 Death Tour. Checking out what I might need to know about Singapore – I find this:

 
Fortunately, I have access to several types of N95 masks. But, really. I might have skipped Singapore if I had known about the pollution. Oh and Dubai – I was warned that the best clubs will not let me in without high heels. Pity. I was so looking forward to a night of clubbing in Dubai. But, this is why I love traveling.

. . . 

I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.
Will Rogers.

 

My favorite, best, most loved, most expensive, most treasured, the lens that Carlton called: “Your lens that cost as much as a car” got damaged on the way over last fall.

As usual, it was in my carryon. But it must have had a great bump somewhere along the way. My bad, it should have been in a hard lens case. It wasn’t.

So, today – before the promised gale – I went out and took 300 pictures. It does an acceptable but no longer a fantastic job.  Autofocus is marginal at best. So, it really needs to be retired. 

Yes, since last we the local weather has been hyping our upcoming gale/big surf. Sort of like winter snow storms back east. Everything has been tied down. Boats have been secured. Tarps have been removed. Yesterday’s cruise ship was canceled. Goodness knows where it went. The beach parks are all closed.  

It is supposed to be at its worst here this afternoon. So, I am charging up all of my toys – just in case. I have a new dead tree book to read. And, my insulated mug is full of coffee.  Good to go.  

. . . 

I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.
Will Rogers.

 

Had a fine time sitting on the dock of the bay watching dolphins this afternoon. I saw them for the lanai just before naptime. Canceled my nap. There will be plenty of time to nap after I am dead.

Now, I want my friends of a certain age to notice this man on his skateboard. Well, he is recovering for hip replacement surgery. Notice his cane. It has two handles, one at proper height when he is on his board and the lower handle is for walking. I bet damn few orthopedic surgeons on the mainland get asked: “how soon can I use my skateboard?”

Yesterday’s steak turned into tuna salad.

I ate everything except the lemon rind. There is steak back at the asylum. But nothing close to this “tuna salad”. 

. . . 

I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.
Will Rogers.

It is totally wrong to put cream and ice in good 100% Kona coffee. But, I did it anyway. Mea Culpa Mea Culpa Mea Maxima Culpa.

While I was enjoying that finest kind beverage – five people joined the man in the background. These five people had been scouting all of our local tattoo establishments of which there are many. They were looking for the cheapest one and they made an appointment for 2:30 for a “group tattoo”. That is wrong on so many levels.  Find the “cheapest” place to get a tattoo. Really? That sort of explains a lot about today’s society.

Starting to think seriously about the RTW B4 Dead trip. Think I’ll try to leave all camera and computer gear safely back in the Old Bat Cave. Cell Phone and Kindle. That could be it for technology.  Maybe.  I usually end up schlepping a whole fricking electronics store around with me. I can do this. Maybe.

Think I hear a little steak and a Guinness calling me from Quinn’s Almost By the Sea.

. . . 

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. H.L. Menchen In Defense of Women (1918)

 

 

Another winter day in Kona. Walk, swim, read, and try to remember all I forgot about fonts. Working on a little project for The Asylum which involves PhotoShop and “Thank You” in lots of languages. Languages with lots of fonts. Photoshop is pretty old school about fonts. If it doesn’t have the exactly correct font you get a nice empty rectangle where a squiggle should be. At least in my Photoshop. With my settings. Once again. not complaining. It bets doing crossword/Sudoku  puzzles to ward off dementia. 

Have I mentioned how not surprised I am that all manner of middle age white men and perhaps a younger black man seem to have behaved badly in my state of legal residence?  When Carlton talked about the lead up to the Civil War, he referred to Virginia as the Queen of the Slave States. Of course, after May 21, 1861, Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy. 

As Carlton became a civilized human person, he came to regret not the way he himself treated those who were not white but that he did nothing to stop the way a black classmate of his was treated at VPI. 50 years too late, Carlton contacted the man and tried to make amends. Irving Linwood Peddrew, III ultimately had a building named after him. A dorm. Which is appropriate. Because he was not allowed to live on campus.

Did I mention that Carlton’s class ring had a Confederate battle flag on it.  So did Irving Linwood Peddrew, III’s ring. Cadet Peddrew was not allowed to come to the oh so important “Ring Dance” with his girlfriend. Apparently, girlfriends got little miniature class rings at that event. As a result of this final insult, Irving Linwood Peddrew, III left Virginia PolyTec and did not graduate. This was where Carlton felt he totally failed as a human person. Carlton was in a position of leadership and could have potentially changed things. At the very least he could have boycotted the dance. But, Carlton did have to give his girlfriend her miniature class ring with the tiny Confederate flag. 

And this is why I am not surprised by the goings on in the Queen of the Slave States. 

But Wait, they still do this Ring Dance thing at Virginia Tech. Google turned up this for The 2019 RIng Dance.

Since the early date of 1934, Virginia Tech’s premiere tradition titled Ring Dance has embodied what it means to become an upperclassmn. Those who attend the dance are encouraged to enter the dance wearing their date’s ring around their wrist. Halfway through the night, each person is asked to exchange rings with their date, thus officially signifying the rite of passage from Junior to Senior year at Virginia Tech.

That is all completely outside of my college experience. Thank goodness.

 . . . 

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. H.L. Menchen In Defense of Women (1918)

We have lots of feral cats. It seems to me that only the black ones hang out in trees. Like miniature leopards. 

Well, I am not suffering from buyers remorse over the RTW junket. And, the ghost of Carlton did not haunt me. Yet. Actually, Carlton would like the idea of circumnavigating the planet. He just wouldn’t want to do it himself and he would want me to get it done in 3 weeks or less. 

Most of my travel will be on American Airlines and British Airways. Two of the crappiest carriers. But, as long as they don’t crash – it will be all good. American has the best routing to Hawai’i and British is the only direct flight from Great Britain to Bermuda. And I wasn’t willing to give up either of these stops. 

The RTW trip is over 3 months away. That is so not like me. I much prefer to plan today and leave tomorrow. Or later today if possible.  

Just a normal winter day here – a bit of walking, some visiting, a little swimming. Reading. And eating. 

. . . 

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. H.L. Menchen In Defense of Women (1918)

 

Well, I did it. Got my Around the World Ticket(s) to fly. Right now scheduled to leave May 24 and returning July 3 going west. These tickets are all changeable, so I may tweak it here and there a bit. 

If not now, when?  Let’s get the negatives out of the way.

Honolulu – it is too busy
Tokyo – it rains all day every day in June
Singapore – melting hot and humid
Dubai – blazing hot and arid
London – Great Britain will be in total Brexit collapse by then 
Bermuda – what could possibly go wrong here, hurricane maybe.

I wasn’t sure that I was going to actually do it.  I have wanted to do this since first found out about PanAm’s Around the World flights. And, Singapore and Dubai are long time bucket list places for me. If not now, when?  

Check out this list of “Fees”

Carrier Surcharge/Fee 279.00 USD Airline Insurance Surcharge 512.40 USD U.S. Animal and Plant Inspection Service Users Fee 3.96 USD Immigration and Naturalization Service Fee 7.00 USD U.S. Customs Fee 5.77 USD U.S. International Transportation Tax – Departure 18.60 USD International Arrival Transportation Tax (USA) 18.60 USD US Intl Transportation Tax 135.65 USD September 11th Security Fee 11.20 USD Flight Segment Tax – USA 8.40 USD Tax description unavailable (TKVC) 9.14 USD Passenger Service Facilities Charge – Japan 23.48 USD Tax description unavailable (L7DE) 8.00 USD Tax description unavailable (OPAE) 4.52 USD Passenger Service and Security Charge Singapore 24.38 USD Tax description unavailable (AEAD) 20.42 USD Tax description unavailable (F6TO) 9.53 USD Tax description unavailable (TPSE) 1.36 USD Tax description unavailable (ZRAP) 2.72 USD UK Air Passenger Duty 225.11 USD UK Passenger Service Charge 18.27 USD Bermuda International Aviation Security Fee 13.28 USD Bermuda Departure Tax 52.10 USD Tax description unavailable (E6VC) 31.05 USD Bermuda Passenger Facility Charge 6.23 USD Passenger Facility Charges 13.50 USD Total 1,463.67 x 1 = 1,463.67 USD

Currently WATCHING the State of the Union address. Operative word here is WATCHING. The sound is off. Nancy Pelosi looks like she just swallowed a live goldfish. Or two.

. . . 

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. H.L. Menchen In Defense of Women (1918)

Wildlife photography with the phone. 

Just a nice lazy winter day in Hawai’i. Still amazed at how wonderful the air is now that the volcano has stopped active eruption. It had been going on since 1983. We sort of took it for granted.  There was always “red” lava somewhere and the air was nearly always crappy. Carlton would have loved the new improved air. Everyone does. Well, except for parts of the tourism industry. 

. . . 

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. H.L. Menchen In Defense of Women (1918)

And what would an important holiday be without food? Started out my day with breakfast. I had planned on making my own breakfast – Avocado toast with eggs. Went to the store for eggs – but every box that I opened had at least one precracked egg. The eggs must have had a very rough ride. Figured that was a sign that I was supposed to support the local restaurant industry. And, I had the avocado for dinner. 

Superbowl Sunday afternoon has to be the absolutely deadest afternoon of the entire year here. The game starts at 2PM. By 1PM the village is disserted. Even the homeless people are missing. The ocean activities are locked up tight. No cars are running. But, by 6PM, everything is back to normal. I hear cars. The luau across the street is cranking up. I smell burgers grilling. 

While I watched the Superbowl and Volcom Pipe Pro surfing (surfing was better) I played around with my RTW B4 Alzheimer’s trip. I know that I could pack more into the trip, or extend it, however, I am trying to be prudent and remember that I am 75. Not 57. 

. . . 

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. H.L. Menchen In Defense of Women (1918)

Sort of a take it easy kind of a day. It was cool and cloudy most of the day and it is raining at this instant. Since this is essentially a desert – we always welcome the rain.

Who knew that one can not order a phone “power bar” from Amazon if one is in Hawai’i. Well, I am sure that if I had thought about it – I could have figured it out. I wasn’t able to order a camera battery last year either. Funny how dependent I have become on Auntie Ammie to get anything that I could possibly want to me immediately if not sooner. I’ll just wait until I get to California. Surprised to discover that Santa Barbara is not in a Same-Day delivery zone. The Asylum is. This sure is a first world problem.

I was reading the Reuters news feed while having an early supper. It went on in great detail about evacuating the Queen from London if Brexit goes down bad. Mentioned riots and shortages of food and meds. Let’s see, I plan to spend about 2 weeks in the British Isles. Plus another in Bermuda in mid-June to early July. Should I factor this into my travel planning? This is another first world problem.

Look what happened. A rainbow. Life is good as long as I don’t think about it too much!

. . . 

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. H.L. Menchen In Defense of Women (1918)

Exactly how did it get to be February already? One-twelfth of 2019, pau.  Not ready for this. Not even close. Heck, I only have 3 weeks left here in exciting downtown Kailua-Kona. I have paid this year’s bill and reserved my favorite room for same time next winter. 

Did some serious – well for me serious – fitness crap today. Brisk walking 3.8 miles. Swim 30 minutes, with 15 minutes of yoga for good measure. 

A LITTLE REFLECTION ON BEING OLD

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I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it. ― Mark Twain

This actually makes a lot of sense to me. 

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Been thinking about my RTW B4 Alzheimer’s trip. Once I buy the second ticket, I am sort of committed. The first ticket – from National Airport to Honolulu is a no brainer. I am coming to a wedding on June 1.  It’s the second ticket that’s the biggie. 

It’s a big world. I have wanted to circumnavigate the planet since the 1960’s when my fondest wish was to hop on Pan Am flight 001. According to Wired, Pan Am Flight 001 began in 1947 and originated in San Francisco, winged westward over the Pacific Ocean. A passenger boarding 001 at San Francisco Municipal Airport and making the entire journey would touch down in Honolulu, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Delhi, Beirut, Istanbul, Frankfurt, London and finally New York. Flight 002 went east from New York. Stopping in the same cities.

. . . 

Civilization, in fact, grows more and more maudlin and hysterical; especially under democracy it tends to degenerate into a mere combat of crazes; the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary. H.L. Menchen In Defense of Women (1918)