Bamboo

       More Letters From Paradise
                Bamboo

An interesting short article in our local paper told about a guy who had built a bamboo bicycle. Did I save the article? I did not, and spent a lot of time looking for it. Never did find it. Most unusual idea building the bike frame of bamboo, instead of metal. All he had to buy were the wheels,crank and chain.

This got me to thinking about bamboo, and its many uses. My first encounter with bamboo came when I was a kid living in San Marcos Texas. We cut our fishing poles from stands of green bamboo. When dry, the poles dried into the familiar yellow poles.

The cutting board in our kitchen is made of bamboo, and tag that came with it said that bamboo is twice as hard as maple. I like it.

I saw an ad for a speaker amplifier for smart phones. It consists of a section of bamboo, three inches thick, about twelve inches inches long. There is a nine inch slit in top in which to stand your phone, and amplify sound. Costs $25. a bit much, but you could always make your own, and save a lot.  

There is great interest lately in wood flooring for apartments in our building. Some people are replacing carpet for wood floors. There is a wide range of woods to choose from, and bamboo is very popular. People doing the change from carpet to wood floors have found that the wood floors cause noise,where carpet had soaked up the sound. Teena and I thought about changing from carpet to wood but rejected the wood, because of the sound problem, and carpet feels so very good on our bare feet. You never wear shoes indoors in private homes here in Hawaii.

Some other uses of bamboo came to mind. Bamboo scaffolding, used in the construction of buildings. Used in many parts of the East, but not here in Honolulu. Bridges and boats too. There is a lot of bamboo furniture sold here in the city.

There was once an Indonesian restaurant we loved to frequent,(alas no more) that served a sweet rice dessert in a section of bamboo.

I am also remained of a calypso song I knew while serving in the Navy. It was all about the "Big Bamboo." I'll let you figure out what the singer was saying. That's enough about bamboo.

     Aloha
     Grant

Let Us Spray

       More Letters From Paradise
            Let Us Spray

The use of pressurized cans to spray everything from hair products,insecticides, and cooking oils, plus many more,are widely  used and accepted. But it has not always been so. In the 1940's, before pressurized cans,it was still possible to spray. Let me illustrate.

It was sometime during my early elementary   school days, when a friend confided in me, that he knew where there was a skunk hole. This had to be investigated, and so we two skunk hunters left school, in search of our prey. We found the skunk hole as promised, and were sprayed for our effort. Punishment soon followed. Spankings by both of our mothers, and spankings at school for leaving the building.

But the most interesting story about spraying comes from our friends Gordon and Penny. These two have a goal of visiting every single National Park in America. So far they have visited some twenty-two National Parks. They have just returned from having visited Glacier,Yellowstone, and Yosemite National Parks. They are fond of hiking while in each park.

Gordon told about how while they were in Yellowstone National Park, they were about to go on a Park Ranger guided hike, and the Ranger asked, how many had brought their bear spray? Only two hands were raised, from the fifteen people present. Gordon was one of the two. The Park Ranger proceeded to lecture on the subject of what to do when confronted by a black bear. How to behave towards the bear, and if necessary, how to   use bear spray. The spray contains pepper and will cause the bear to retreat. He cautioned that the user of the spray should determine which way the wind was blowing to avoid getting any in your face. Very irritating, Gordon said that some people not reading directions, had sprayed themselves to be protected from bears. Once again, very irritating and very stupid.

It is interesting to note that bear spray is not cheap. Price paid in the park for a can of bear spray is $47.00, while at Wal-Mart outside the park it can be bought for about $30.00. Gordon said that it was also possible to rent a can of bear spray when going on a hike. Penny said that she talked to a local guy who said that he never went anywhere without his can of bear spray. So we all now what to do when confronted by a black bear.

 I should also point out that if the can doesn't do the job, you only have to  run  faster than the person behind you.

Sadly, neither Penny or Gordon had the occasion to make use of their bear spray, and had to leave the two cans behind. Airlines take a dim view of bringing bear spray home, even if we have no black bears here in Hawaii.

        Aloha
        Grant

The Owl and the Pussycat

      More Letters From Paradise      
       The Owl and the Pussycat

" The owl and the pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat. They had honey, and plenty of money, wrapped-up in a five-pound note." A rhyme by Edward Lear, I have often been fond of quoting.

The five-pound note was so very large that the bill had to be folded several times before being neatly tucked away.

This very large bill was later replaced with the smaller size bill we see today. I keep a five pound note in my wallet to divide larger bills from smaller ones. It has a picture of the young Queen on one side.

The British government has just replaced the paper five-pound note with a polymer note. This shift to polymer currency follows Canada, New Zealand,Australia, Mexico, and Singapore.

Counterfeiters will be tearing their hairs out. The new bills contain tiny letters seen only under a microscope, and see-through windows. The picture on the bill is that of former Prime Minster Winston Churchill.

The new bill is thought to last 2-1/2 times longer than paper. And it is washable. There is further good news. Small children and spies can eat the bill with no ill effects.

With all this new technology, what can a poor owl and a pussycat hope to do?

      Aloha  
      Grant