Tuesday, November 8, 2016

George's Story


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           George's Story

George is a large heavy-set man in his sixties, bald, with a fringe of gray hair. He is a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer. He and I have several things in common. We live in the same building, and we both are "Airdales," which is Navy slang for men who served in the aviation branch of the Navy. I like to kid him that for all his service, he never went to sea. We both are fond of books and reading. And there is one thing more. We are part of a loosely-held organization called ROMEO (retired old men eating out). We meet every Friday morning, and go together to a local restaurant for breakfast and conversation.

The guys had not seen him around for some time, then I learned he had at last gone to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. I had been bugging him for some time to go there for treatment. George had undergone knee replacement, and things had gone terribly wrong!! I know several people who have had this done, with somewhat satisfactory results. But this one is one for the books. Let me try and explain what had happened.

George was operated on both knees. One knee came out alright, but the second knee became infected. He underwent five operations on that knee!! He was given two bags of antibiotics six days a week, for two weeks.The wound refused to close, so a vacuum pump was attached to his knee. The wound closed at last, but then it began to drain. Is it any wonder that I urged him to go to the Mayo Clinic? Besides, I argued, he was from Minnesota and his daughter lived not far from the clinic.

And so, George had gone to the Mayo Clinic. I didn't have his cell phone number, but when I did get to speak to him, he said that his leg had been amputated!!

George had discussed with me that if it came to lose his leg he was ready, as he was miserable, and could not get around and do anything. With a new leg he would be more mobile.

I call him every so often for a progress report, so I can tell all the guys. George is in good spirits. He said that after the operation he had a phantom pain in his little toe after the leg was gone.

He is up and using a walker, and then trying the first of his new legs. But his stump had shrunken, and required shims to make a tighter fit.

His final new leg is manufactured in Austria, and contains a chip, which tells the wearer if the ground under foot is uneven or not. And he said that he has to plug the leg into an electric wall socket for charging. The cost of the leg is said to be fifty thousand dollars. Not many places are familiar with this Austrian-built leg, but George called around and found one. Guess where? On our island, at Tripler Hospital. How about that? He hopes to return sometime later this month, but he says there is a steep learning curve. I know he will master the use of his new leg. He is a tough old bird and one of the bravest men I have ever met.

      Aloha
      Grant
   
   

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Bamboo


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                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

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Let Us Spray


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            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

Thursday, September 15, 2016

The Owl and the Pussycat


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       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

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

More Than Just Feathers


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        More Than Just Feathers

Have you thought about ostrich lately? Probably not, neither had I until yesterday. My friend Gene told a story of how he had visited an ostrich farm in the western part of South Africa, and Oudtshoorn is called the "Ostrich Capital" of the world. Fairs are held with  ostrich races. Visitors are invited to race on an ostrich. Gene was selected, because he was small and light in weight. All others in his company were  bigger and heavier.

Men held the wings of the bird back, and he was lifted onto the bony back of the bird, and its wings folded around him. A leather strap was placed around the bird's stomach for the rider to hold with his left hand. Why the left hand? Because the right hand is used for steering the bird. The bird's neck is used like a joy-stick. Moving the neck forward the bird will go straight ahead. Move the neck left and the bird will go left, and to the right, and the bird will turn to the right. To stop, push neck back. And so it was. He was told that he had ridden really well. How many people can say that they have ridden an ostrich?

Gene's story caused me to do a bit if digging about ostrich farming and such. I found that the first ostrich farm was established in 1860 for harvesting ostrich feathers! The feathers could be harvested every six or eight months. The ostrich feathers were used to decorate hats for women. Long feather plumes, causing women to look more lovely. But in 1906, Queen Alexandra of England threw out all her feather decorated hats and feather boas. However, the use of feathers continued, and the boom years were the 1920's. But the decline in the use for feathers on women's hats was due to the fact that women had begun to cut their hair, and there wasn't enough hair to hold up a large hat decorated with feathers. The 1940's and 1950's saw further decline in the use of feathers. And by the 1960's most women were no longer wearing hats.

The ostrich has many more uses than feathers. The bird's meat is lean, red in color. Ostrich leather is used to make bags, belts, and shoes. And there is more.

Ostrich eggs have many uses. First, a fried ostrich egg will equal twenty-four chicken eggs, and will feed twelve people for breakfast! And ostrich eggs are decoupaged and sold around the world. The shell is also thick enough to be carved.

The ostrich is not always docile, but dangerous. A stick with natural barbs is sometimes used to get the bird's attention. They have large claw-like feet that can cause injury.

The ostrich is a bird worthy of admiration,  use, and respect.

     Aloha
     Grant  
               

Plan Bee


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              Plan Bee

A story from the Associated Press, in our local paper, caught my eye. The story was written by Vicky Ge Huang, and it was all about elephants and bees. You see, I like both elephants and bees. I was once kept bees, but I never kept an elephant.

According to the story it is estimated that there are 3,000 wild elephants roaming the   Thai countryside. The elephant's home has been the dense forests,but because of logging, leading to agriculture, the elephants are hungry.They travel in herds eating pineapples, a favorite food, and bananas. Distressed farmers planted pumpkins instead, knowing that elephants disliked them, but they ate them anyway. The farmers tried using firecrackers to scare the elephants away, and electric fences. Nothing seemed to work.

The Thai Department of National Parks found the solution to the problem. The answer was bees! Oxford University research found that elephants were afraid of bees. Bees have been used against elephants for several years in Africa.

Thai farmers would place a box of bees on stilts at an elephant's eye level,and connect the box of bees to another box of bees with a rope, and so on. The result was a rope fence connected at intervals with a box full of bees.

Once the elephants struck the rope, out flew hundreds of bees! Once stung the elephants never returned. The farmers now enjoy selling honey and beeswax.

So, now the farmers are happy, and can continue growing pineapples. Some are shipped to Hawaii. But what about those hungry roaming elephants? This reminded me of an old question. How do you get down from an elephant? Answer-You don't, you get it from ducks and geese.

     Aloha
     Grant

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Across the Wide Lake


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         Across the Wide Lake  

During the Great Depression, FDR's New Deal found jobs for many people, including writers and artists. One such artist must have painted a picture I will always remember. The painting was in the post office of Frankfort, Michigan, and depicted the the open stern of a car ferry in a wild storm with a boxcar tearing loose, and going over the side. The subject and location was just perfect, as Frankfort, Michigan, was the hub of the Ann Arbor Rail Road, carrying boxcars and autos across Lake Michigan.

The Ann Arbor Railroad was not the only car ferry service, there were others. Boxcars full of freight could avoid the rail yards of Chicago, and the endless delays.

The Ann Arbor ferries, unlike ocean vessels, were numbered one thru seven, with one exception, one named "Wabash."

These car ferries sailed the entire year. The big enemy was ice. They could carry 32 freight cars or a combination of freight cars and autos. Loading was made using a switch-engine with a spacer car between the freight car and engine, because if the engine came aboard the vessel, it would cause the ship to sink.

These car ferries also carried passengers, for the 60 mile trip across Lake Michigan. The crossing time varied according to the weather at a speed of 14 mph, four to seven hours. Trips were also made to Wisconsin, with Indian sounding names: Manitoc and Kewaunee. Also in upper Michigan: Menominee and Manistique.

The ferry "Wabash," was the most beautiful of the Ann Arbor boats. It was 366 feet long, 58 feet wide and 19 feet deep. It carried a crew of 60 men who were involved in loading and unloading. the ship had steam-driven engines, using 70 tons of coal daily.

The Wabash had 40 staterooms with wood paneling, steam heat, electric lighting, a cooler for the galley, and an ice machine. There was also room for 360 passengers on deck in good weather.

The era of car ferries came to an end due to loss of profits, and insurance costs. The Wabash was retired in 1974, and was sold to a salvage company in Ontario, Canada. It was filled with scrap steel and sent to Spain where it ended its life.

The last car ferry from Kewaunee, Wisconsin, to Ludington, Michigan, was in November 1990. Today only one ferry named "Badger," carries only passengers, during the summer, from Ludington, Michigan, to Chicago.

I remember as a young boy living in Frankfort, watching the ice climbing the sides of the lighthouse, and wondering where my father was, working on the Wabash, somewhere out on the great lake.

     Aloha
     Grant
   

 

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Homecoming 1945


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           Homecoming 1945

I awoke this morning thinking about my father's return from the war in Europe. This is how I remembered it.

The war was over at last. Mom had kept a large European map pinned to one wall of the dining room. There was a red colored pen which represented my father, and guessing where he was. All soldier's mail was censored. My father said later that mom was often right spot on as to where he was.

He had written to tell us to expect him any day soon. Our small four room, white-sided house with its tiny front porch and empty one car garage, was located not far from the brick two story school with its large windows.

My desk was located close to a window, and  I saw a yellow taxi pulling up to the front of our house! I simply couldn't contain my excitement, and waved my hand and asked to   to be excused. My teacher, understanding the importance of the moment, said that I could go! It had been a long three years since he had left us. I ran home faster than I had ever run before.

And there he was. He was in his uniform, his trousers bloused above jump boots, a chest with many colored ribbons, and corporal strips and division patch on the sleeves of his Eisenhower jacket. At his feet lay his duffel bag with dried mud on it. "That's French mud." he later said.

He had brought me a box containing plastic models of fighters and bombers. In his bag wrapped in clothing emerged three weapons. There was a German Luger, an Army 45, and a Walther PPK which was used by the German SS Divisions. The was also a German bayonet, British Commando knife, some Swastka armbands, and a handful of Iron Crosses. I  sometimes wonder how he managed to bring all of this home.

This all happened so long ago, but this is how I remember it.

      Aloha
      Grant

 

Search for a Better Baseball Bat


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   Search For A Better Baseball Bat

Most,if not all, professional baseball players are using maple wood bats. Formerly bats were made of either ash or maple birch. Why the switch to maple? It is because maple bats are lighter, a greater bat speed and great impact upon contact with the ball. But this has come at a great price too. Maple bats shatter, sending slices of wood, and causing many injuries.

A two-month survey revealed that there was an average of one multiple-piece bat failure a game. The causes were poor quality slope of grain and or splits in the bat caused by excessive bending. Officials cracked down on suppliers that produce maple bats. An agreement was signed with the Major League and the Players Association that no new players would be allowed to use low-density maple bats. Major leaguers who predated the agreement are permitted to use them. The agreement expires this December.

Three examples of injuries caused by maple bats will suffice. A catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers was hit in his mask by a broken bat, and he was lucky because it was the large end. A more serious case was when a player for the Chicago Cubs, running from third base, was impaled just inches from his heart with a slice from a broken bat. And in June 2005, a woman while leaning down to help her son with his hot dog, was clubbed by a piece of a broken bat.

But now there is some hope. Kent "Hawk" Williamson of Girard, Pennsylvania has received a patent for his new bat. It includes a special rubber handle and all-purpose natural thread inside the bat from below the label to the knob, that prevents the wood from flying apart. The grip also helps hold the bat t together. Williamson mixes tiny pieces of rubber with a high-quality epoxy resin to produce the grip.

The new bat has, and is undergoing testing in order for it to be accepted, and used by the major league. Meanwhile Williamson continues perfecting his bat and looking for investors.

All the above information came from an excellent story written by Jon Saraceno in Sports section of USA Today,Monday August 15 2016.
       Aloha
       Grant  

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Five B


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               Five B
Honolulu is located on the lee, or sheltered side of the Koolau mountains that divide the island of Oahu. The windward side of the island gets most of all the rain. So, we here are most often free of rain. There are sometimes passing trade wind showers, like a fine mist or sprinkle of rain. This results in what some locals call "pineapple juice." Tourists are sometimes surprised by the sudden sprinkle of rain when no cloud is in sight. The wind has carried it from a far away cloud.

Okay, so it doesn't rain much in Waikiki.  Except some time ago when we had more than forty straight days of rain. Why am I going on about this? It is all about not having a wet dog.

You see there are 407 apartments in our building, and each one has an assigned parking stall. Okay, all I have learned from reading this is that it doesn't rain much and that has something to do with a dog not getting wet.

Well, at last getting to the point of the story. We have six floors of parking, and we park on level 5B, under the swimming pool. Well-covered in case of rain, and there is some other covered parking on the same level. And so now about the dog. Mai Tai is built so close to the ground that even if the sidewalks are not very wet, he still manages to get his underside and paws wet. There are fewer unpleasant chores than washing a dog's feet and blowing him dry.  (Teena's note:  I can think of a few!)

So, at last we come to the title of this short letter. If it has rained over night, or if it is raining, it causes me to have to forgo a nice brisk walk outside with Mai Tai, and resort to Five B. This simply means walking under the sheltered deck of Five B, in order to keep Mai Tai dry. Walking back and forth, again and a again for at least thirty minutes. If you are one of those who find soccer or a baseball no hitter as boring, you can relate.

Anyway, it is not raining now and the forecast is for rain for later in the week. It must be exceedingly difficult to predict the weather for all eight of our major islands. My fingers are crossed that there will be no 5B in the morning.  

     Aloha
     Grant

Monday, August 1, 2016

Chewing Gum


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             Chewing Gum
" My mom gave me a nickel to buy a pickle, I didn't buy a pickle, I bought some chewing gum." "Chew, chew, chew, how I love chewing gum." That's how I remember the song. And there was another ad : "Double your pleasure, double your fun with double rich Double Mint Gum."

It seemed that almost everyone chewed gum years ago. Customers had a wide choice of flavored chewing gum. The Clark company offered the following choices: Teaberry, Blackjack, and Clove. There also was Dentine chewing gum, good for bad breath, and supposed to clean your teeth too. My favorite was Beeman's Pepsin Chewing Gum. Wonderful taste, and was said to aid indigestion. Grandpa was always good for a stick from a  pack, which he kept in a  pocket of his vest. Due to popular demand, this brand was brought back a few years ago, and then it suddenly vanished.

Chewing gum came in several shapes: Gum balls from machines, single wrapped chunks which sold for a penny. And flat sheets that came with baseball cards. Baseball players were chewing tobacco from a pouch, and kids could could buy a pouch of shredded bubble gum. There were bubble gum shaped cigars too. I  almost forgot Chicklets, candy coated gum shaken from a box. Naughty boys would sometimes substitute Feenamint laxative for Chicklets, as they were similar looking.

Did we dispose of our used gum properly? Probably not, if you looked on the underside of student desks. There were some teachers who made students wear their gum on their nose when caught chewing gum in class.

Sometimes it was not so wonderful. People chewing with their mouth open, like looking into a cement mixer. And some people who were able to create a pocket in the gum and then crush it causing a snap or a pop. Very annoying.

Dentists must have been kept busy filling cavities, and nobody knew about dental
floss.  But things are better now, you don't see many people chewing gum.

And there is one place where chewing gum is illegal, against the law, and subject to a big fine. That place is Singapore. My friend, Gene, who has lived in Singapore for thirty years, told me so.

Gene said that this all came about when a wad of chewing gum prevented an electric connection of MRT subway cars. The response was swift. The Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew, ordered that all chewing gum would become illegal by the end of the week. This event took place on Wednesday.

The Wrigley Chewing Gum people were very upset as they were trying to gain a trade deal. So Lee Kwan Yew agreed for them to sell their product. But, after signing the deal, he informed the Wrigley people that the gum could only be sold with a  prescription  at a pharmacy. The gum would cost $5.00 a pack, and there would be a $20.00 co-pay.
And, if anyone was foolish to have gum on their person, or if spitting gum on the sidewalk, the fine was $350.00.
 
Lee Kwan Yew ruled Indonesia from 1959-1990. He died in 2015 at age 91.
Thanks Gene for a great story.

      Aloha
      Grant

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Lament for a Lost Lanai


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       Lament For a Lost Lanai

It all began in the merry month of May, and it has been going on ever since. I am talking about painting our building. Sure, it is a big project, but so are other large buildings in the city being painting. Why,we ask, is it taking the painters so long? The answer is to be found with the guys supposed to be painting. Looking down from our empty lanai, I can very often see three men on a scaffold. Two of them are looking at their phones, and the other one is gazing at the palm trees and ducks, and thinking about lunch.

What painting that has been done is pretty good, but I am talking about painting our lanai. We have removed everything but a lounge (covered) and a mango wood chest (covered). Table, cushions,glass table top and chairs have inhabited our bed rooms since the merry month of May, as I have earlier indicated.

Living as we do in a sub-tropical climate, a lanai is very important. Dining on the lanai with the trade winds blowing is a delight. The view of the ocean is magnificent! That is, if you can use your lanai.

But there is some hope. Yesterday a guy swung over from the scaffold and painted our lanai! Hooray! I thought, but another coat of paint awaits. Patience hell, I want to drop water filled balloons down below, but I am a nice guy, so we will only grind our teeth and wait.

Why, you may ask, is a lanai such a big deal?  It is because it  adds another room to your apartment. I notice that when all these newer building were built, they added a suggestion of a lanai, which would accommodate two tiny chairs and a table.
So here we are, hanging on and hoping.

      Aloha
      Grant  

Friday, July 8, 2016

Page Fourteen


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           Page Fourteen
Living in Hawaii we enjoy fresh papa, mangos,bananas and other tropical fruit. And every so often, avocados. Our plumber Jim, grows avocados, and gives them to us.

When we lived in Michigan, we knew nothing about avocados. Oh, once in awhile guacamole served in a Mexican restaurant. That was about all.

Teena and I greatly enjoy Mexican food, and I make our home-made guacamole. The recipe is found on page fourteen of the 1977 edition of Betty Crocker's Cookbook. We think it is the best ever! Here is is for your enjoyment:

2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 green chili peppers, finely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 medium tomato, chopped
Mash avocados, add the rest of stuff, beat until creamy. Cover with plastic wrap and put inside plastic container. Put in fridge, will keep for another day or more.

     Aloha
     Grant

Fresh Eggs


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              Fresh Eggs
Just in case you missed it, there are a couple of people in Chicago who are renting chickens! For $100. a month. Customers are provided with a cage,feed tray, and two or three chickens. It figures out that each egg laid, costs a buck. The article I read (and lost), failed to mention feed and grit. Chickens have no teeth and so their feed is ground with their gizzard. The article also failed to mention chicken droppings. And their manure is very strong smelling. You would better understand this, if you have ever kept a flock of chickens, and scraped manure from under their roosts.

I want to wish the customers of rent-a-chicken the very best. Chickens are easy to care for,but I think it is costing them way too much money for free eggs.

There is a law here in Honolulu, that each household is allowed to have two chickens.
That would be nice, but Teena and Maitai would strongly object.

      Aloha
      Grant

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Bang, Bang Whoosh!


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         Bang Bang Whoosh!
Monday will be the 4th of July here in Hawaii, just as it is throughout all of America. The past couple of years it has been much more quiet here than in the past. We used to have to endure six-foot strings of firecrackers, loud explosions, and lots of smoke. It is still legal to purchase fireworks with a permit. There is also a huge display paid for by Ala Moana Shopping Center.

Historians tell us that the Chinese first made gunpowder. The mixture is fairly simple: sulphur,potassium nitrate, and powdered charcoal. Years ago as kids, we too used to make gunpowder. The ingredients were easily purchased. The Chinese had much better results than we did. Sometime a bang, but most often  a bright sizzle, and lots of smoke.

You see, fireworks were illegal in Michigan, and so we had to do the best we could. Before discovering gunpowder, we would cut off the end of a wood kitchen match. It would put between two bolts screwed together with one single nut. When slammed on the sidewalk, there would be a bang. Very time-consuming.

One other noise maker involved using small lumps of carbide. Carbide was used in miner's lamps. A small handful of carbide would be placed in a large tin can with a removable lid, and a hole punched in the bottom. Water would be sprinkled on the carbide, the lid put on, and the can placed on the ground and held with your foot while a lighted match would be thrust through the hole. The result was that the lid blew off , making a noise. It was acetylene gas, but we didn't know it.

And then there were smugglers of fireworks from either Canada or Ohio. Or some guy would pull his car up to the curb and say "You kids want to buy some firecrackers?" Well, of course we did, twenty-five cents a package. You carefully unbraided each cracker now you really had several bangs.

Way back then there was always an ariel fireworks display at the fairgrounds. Once a year, on the 4th of July. Living here in Waikiki, we have fireworks displays every Friday night from Hilton Hawaiian Village across from our condo. The display is easily seen from our lanai. We have come to be so used to the event, we simply try to ignore the fireworks, but it is no use. Our dog, MaiTai, as soon as the first boom goes off he becomes excited and runs out to the lanai and back again, telling us "It's fireworks time!" We think that this is pretty unusual, as most dogs fear fireworks.

And so another 4th of July is soon upon us, with hotdogs, potato salad and fireworks. Let all of us remember why the 4th of July is so important.

    Aloha
    Grant

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes


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       Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Smoke no longer gets in your eyes. It is a great song, but a bad habit. Here in Hawaii there is an on going program using nicotine patches, to help people stop smoking. Also, smoking is banned in all restaurants and public buildings. Even on our beautiful beaches. Residents in our building recently voted to ban smoking on our lanais.

But it has not always been so. Almost everyone smoked. During WWII cigarettes were included in K rations for the soldiers. Magazines had ads for Chesterfield cigarettes  with pictures of doctors proclaiming that they "satisfied." The brand  Lucky Strike had a slogan L.S.M.F.T (Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco). I remember one ad showing a girl telling a guy to "Blow some smoke my way."

People smoked everywhere, restaurants,bars, and even on airplanes. In the arm rests there were ashtrays. I remember visiting NewYork City on a senior class trip 1955,   and a sign in Times Square is worth mentioning. It was a large blue neon sign on the right side of the street with the word "Bond," and every so often a large smoke ring would come from the letter "O." I took a picture of that sign in Times Square, and years later I met a guy whose father built that sign. He wanted a picture of it, but I had lost it.

My father smoked unfiltered "Camel" cigarettes. I began smoking very early. As kids we smoked dried Tiger lily stems. Very hollow stems. There were also white candy cigarettes with red tips. As a sophomore I smoked a "Yellow Bowl" brand pipe. They came in various styles. My father discovered that I smoked a pipe and gave me one, as I recorded somewhere earlier in this blog.

In the Navy nearly everyone smoked. I did, ten cents a pack, a buck for a carton. The cartons were wax paper covered in order to keep them fresh while at sea. When I left my ship, my seabag was half full of cartons of cigarettes.

I didn't smoke so much while in college, but when I began teaching high school, I really smoked. Teachers would duck into the teacher's lounge and grab a few puffs between classes. But I should here note that kids back then were smoking too, but not a tobacco product. You could really smell pot on their clothes.

I quit smoking many years ago. Cold turkey. My buddy George, used some psychology on me, asking "Who was in control?, me or the cigarette?" Looking back I recall stained fingers and teeth. My sports jackets smelled of smoke.

Someone once said that there is nothing worse than a reformed drunk or smoker.
But I should note that I am saving a lot of money, as a pack of cigarettes here in Honolulu is over eight dollars. Do the math and see what a carton costs.

Aloha
Grant

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Skirting the Problem


      More Letters From Paradise
        Skirting the Problem

Sometimes a story is just too good not to be told again. Such is the case with Patti Smart. (no relation I think) Patti was a flight attendant for 50 years. She flew with Aloha Airlines until she retired in 2007. She said that she applied to Hawaiian Airlines too,but she wasn't hired because she had freckles. "Things were done differently back then," she said.

Her classroom was aboard a DC3, flown by WWII pilots. While on probation, she was serving pineapple juice to passengers, when a woman's elbow knocked a tray she was holding and dumped it into her lap. She was soaked and sticky. And she did not have a replacement skirt. She had to made do with striped capris pants.

She washed the skirt, but there was no way to dry it. And as the DC-3's were not pressurized, the copilot opened slightly one of the windows. But it did not speed dry the skirt. So the window was opened all the way and out flew the skirt! She thought that she would be fired.

The pilot radioed dispatch and asked that her mother bring her another skirt when they landed. All the planes in the Pacific used the same radio frequency, so the story  of the skirt was heard and enjoyed by many.

The passengers took up a collection to buy her a new skirt. Her mother was angry as she had to stop cooking, and drive to the airport. There was no freeway, and it took time.

She was not fired, and retired at the age of 69, one of the senior flight attendants in the United States.

I borrowed the story from Bob Sigall, an excellent author and  writer for our local paper.

      Aloha
      Grant


Saturday, June 4, 2016

Finding Miranda


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           Finding Miranda

It has been reported from San Franscisco that men while digging a basement, made a discovery,  a coffin containing the body of a 19th century 3-year-old girl. The body seen through two windows in the well-sealed casket, was well-preserved. The girl had been dressed in a long white embroidered dress. There was lavender in her hair, a lavender cross over her heart and eucalyptus leaves at her side. A rose was in her right hand.

The bronze and lead coffin and the preparations for her burial, indicated that she came from wealth. But who was she? What was her name? Where did she live?

Answers to these questions may someday come from strands of her blonde hair. Anthropology professor Jelmer Eerkens, of the University of California Davis,  plans to snip the hair into smaller pieces and analyze the hair for protein and other chemicals and to identify its isotope signature. It would be possible to determine the child's diet.  Also where she may have lived, and many other things.

The mystery girl has been named "Miranda Eve." The girl's coffin will be placed inside  a second larger wooden coffin with the words "Miranda," carved on the top, and with a plush purple interior. The Odd Fellows and Greenlaw Park donated $7,000 for her burial. Greenlaw undertaker Paula Meyses, said Miranda Eve's grave will be with the infants and children section of the cemetery. Elissa Davey is the director of Garden of Innocence, a charity based near San Diego that buries bodies of unidentified children.
My thanks to Steve Rubinstein, staff writer of the San Franscisco Chronicle.

     Aloha,
     Grant










Old Soldier


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            Old Soldier

Out walking this morning I saw him in the distance, slowly making his way towards me. As the distance closed between us, I called, "Good morning ,Jim." He dropped his hand from his walker, and we shook hands. The bones of his fingers were hard, but his grip was strong.

"How are you?, he asked." "Pretty good," I said."Me too," the ninety year old man replied. He is a small Japanese American with glasses and a ready smile. I have known him for more than ten years. I used to meet him at the end of  a bridge spanning the Ala Wai canal.  He was often doing a little dance for exercise. I would kid him about giving tourists some wrong directions, and mimic his dance. So now here he is, using a walker to make his way down the street for the fifty-nine cent cup of senior coffee at McDonald's.

"I lost a lot of buddies there." Recalling on this  Memorial Day weekend, his time fighting the Germans in Italy. "I remember you once told me that you were wounded in Italy." "Cassino." "There is another guy over there a block away, who was also there."

 I knew that  the struggle to capture Monte Cassino was one of the costliest battles of WWII. The Germans had blocked the Allies from liberating Rome. "Take care of yourself," he said as he pushed his walker away.

The bombing of this 1,400 year old monastery is one of the greatest aesthetic losses of WWII. And we now know that the bomber raid was due to a mistake in translation of a German radio message. A British junior officer mistook the German word for Abbot as meaning battalion. The message said "The abbot is with the monks in the monastery." The conclusion was that the Germans had a battalion of soldiers in the monastery. This was a clear violation of a an agreement with the Vatican that Monte Cassino was neutral. When a second translation was made, it was too late to call back the bombers.

The Germans took advantage of the rubble and in the fighting there were 185,000 casualties. And 250 men, women and children in the monastery itself.

Monte Cassino was restored in the 1950's and 60's. But you could never restore the building that was founded in 526 a.d. by St. Benedict. Warfare is very hard  on people and historic buildings.

       Aloha
       Grant

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Seven Dwarfs


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             Seven Dwarfs

While looking at the books on the Sale table, I came upon a copy of "Giants," by Yehudi Koren and Eilat Negev, published in 2013. It's sub-title "The Dwarfs of Auschwitz." As a history major and teacher I was very interested, and it was only eight bucks.

I had read a great deal about the slaughter of European Jews, and once visited Dachau concentration camp, and I felt that I knew a great deal about the most famous death camp Auschwitz. But I never knew about the dwarfs of Auschwitz.

Ten children were born to the Ovitz family in the tiny village of Rozalaea, Hungary. Seven of the ten children were dwarfs. This Orthodox Jewish family became known as the "Lilliput Troupe." They were actors, singers, and dancers, and they performed all over Eastern Europe in the 1930's and 40's.

Touring came from an end in 1944, when they were shipped on a transport of 3,500 Jews to the death camp Auschwitz. Upon arrival selection began. Women, children and babies to the left, and men to the right. All of those on the left were soon killed in the gas chambers. Those men on the right were again selected, weak or old men were sent to their death. The remaining ones were tattooed, shaved of all body hair, showered with cold water, issued striped clothing, and became slave labor. Fewer than 400 men were left of the original 3,500 Jews.    

The railroad platform was empty, with only the dwarf family remaining.Dr. Joseph Mengele, the "Angel of Death," obsessed with eugenics, was sent for. He was delighted, here was a whole family he could use to test test his racial theories. The family members all underwent the painful process of being tattooed on their left forearm, and were housed in a special section of a barracks.

From that time until their liberation by the Russian Army, they were daily subjected to medical tests of the most horrible kind. So much blood was so often drawn, causing the person to pass-out. Measurements were taken, photographs, X rays, bone marrow samples, boiling water poured in ears and frozen water also. Liquids applied to eyes, and eye lashes plucked. Day after day, living in fear that they too would be sent to the gas chambers. But strange to say, Dr. Mengele was fond of the dwarfs, and encouraged them to dress in their finest costumes. He fondled them as if they were pet dolls. And all the while asking about their family history, and drawing up a family tree.

One vivid memory recalled by the surviving member of the the troupe, Perla Ovitz, was when Dr. Mengele ordered them to dress in their best, and were taken by truck to a large hall where they were told to stand across the stage and undress before the assembled crowd. Dr. Mengele then pointed and prodded each person, while showing a large geology sheet.

Meanwhile the war was winding down, and the Russian Army was closing in. Bodies that had not yet been cremated were thrown into a huge hole, crematoriums were blown up in an attempt to cover up their crimes.

When liberated the Ovitz family were alive. Their survival was due to "through thick and thin, never separate, stick together, guard each other, and live for another."

After much difficulty the family returned home only to find that neighbors had looted their property, and refused to return stolen goods. The family had hidden some valuables and these were dug up. Nothing was left for them. And the only country welcoming them was Belgium. They resumed touring, but growing old, they split up, some going to America, and others to the new state of Israel.

Mengele fled to Argentina using the false name Helmut Gregor. In 1959 a warrant for his arrest was issued. In April 1960 Israeli secret agents found both Adolph Eichmann and Mengele, but it was thought that Eichman was the most important Nazi of the two, and Mengele escaped. Eichmann was brought to Jerusalem for trial and hanged.

Mengele moved to Brazil, using false identities.  Mengele's son, Rolf, issued a statement that on 7 February 1979, his father had suffered a stroke while swimming and had drowned. Mengele had been on the run for thirty years.

I could have written about the many cruel experiments conducted by Mengele, but I chose instead to try and focus on the Ovitz family.

     Aloha
     Grant

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Something Super


      More Letters From Paradise
          Something Super

Everyone who goes to a play or even a movie, realizes that the production relies on people around the stars called "extras." Their job is to make scenes realistic. In the production of an opera, those men who play a part on the stage are known as supernumeraries, or supers for short.  Sometimes they are jokingly called spear carriers.  They work with and around the major singers. They neither sing or have a speaking part. Dressed in the period of the opera, they play a vital role. But alas, they receive no recognition whatsoever.

Imagine my surprise to discover a man who works in our building named Karl Sofge,who was a Supernumerarie with the Metropolitan Opera in New York! The following is a conversation I had with him recently.

"Karl, how in the world did you become a super at the Met?"

"My sister sings in the chorus, she got me the job."

"How many seasons did you work at the Met?"

"Five and a half."

"In how many operas were you a super?"

"I guess at least sixteen, but there were many repeats."

"Old war horses, standard favorites I guess."

"Yeah, you're right."

"What opera do you  remember the best, and what did you do?"

"It was Puccini's "Turindot, the cruel Chinese princess.   I had to carry this big heavy thing that wanted to swing and sway. It was like a great big lollipop."

"Were you ever in my favorite, "La Boheme?"

"I was a guy who moved through the crowd during the end of act one, the Christmas scene, and made like I was picking people's pockets."

"I know that there are sometimes when things go very wrong.  Do you remember any?"

"Oh there were so many.   Like the super who was supposed to hold the scabbard for a sword which would be drawn by the singer, and when he did draw the sward he lost his grip and the sword went clattering across the stage."

"How about another one."

"Well, during the grand march across the stage in Aida, a super was wearing bright new white sneakers under his too short robe."

"Back stage a voice came over the intercom, "Bob call 244" "Bob was the guy who was the head of the supers.  And every super heard a call like that."

"You said something about  the super who was supposed to hold up something and his sleeve was too
short and showed a bright green watchband."

"Yeah that happened."

"How long was the Met season?"

"We began rehearsals in August and ended in late March."

"How were you paid?"

"I got only ten dollars an hour, because I was not a member of the union."

"The core supers who had been around for a long time were better paid and drew unemployment during the summer."

"That must have hurt."

"I think I made only $5,000. per season. But don't get me wrong, I loved the work."

"You said that there was some taunting by the stage hands."

"Yeah, some guy would say,"You look pretty in that costume, maybe you could take it home, things like that. They were all the time making cracks like that.  I came to call them the "Alien Race."

"Speaking of costumes. There are pictures of you in so many costumes. What was your favorite?"

"I was a devil in "Faust" and wore a custom-fit costume."

"You said that you lived in the Bronx, and received a phone call on 911 not to come in for work."

"It was pretty terrible. There was dust in the air and the smell. The subway shut down.  People where I lived placed candles on the doorsteps. One candle for each person who was killed. Sometimes there were many candles at the front of a building."

"But turning back to your life as a super, would you do it again?"

"I would do it again in a minute."

"How about another time you recall?"

"Well there were times when there was silence on the stage and someone farted.  It was difficult to keep from giggling. I have programs and more pictures I could show you"

"Thanks, Karl, I would like to see them."

     Aloha
     Grant

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Go Blow


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              Go Blow

Here in Honolulu we have a rich mix of ethnic people. But by far, the largest group of people are the Japanese. Their culture flourishes in our city. Signs in Japanese are everywhere. We have Japanese families living in our building. And, over time, I turn around, there is another new Japanese restaurant. I thought I had seen it all about Japanese culture until I saw an article in our paper about "Fukiya," written by Nancy Arcayna.

Fukiya it turns out is an indoor sport using blowpipes to fire darts at targets. Popular in Japan, with more than 40,000 participants,there are only only about 100 in Hawaii.

The focus of the sport is using abdominal breathing. First, the pipes are lowered while taking a really deep breath, and then the pipe is raised while aiming, and the air exhaled drives the dart to the target, some 20 feet away. Masters of the sport can propel a dart from a distance of about 32 feet! Lessons are free for first-timers. Fees range from $7.00 for a drop-in and $6.00 if you join the association. I would bet you any sum of money that the sport began in ancient Japan with the ninja assassins. What better way to kill, with a poison dart from some distance?

       Aloha
       Grant

My Buddy


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          My Old Buddy

His name is George Hennig, and we first met in 1965. We were both teachers working in  two separate school districts, only five miles apart. Teachers had been granted the right by the Michigan Legislature, to bargain for salaries. Teachers all across the state joined the Michigan Education Association. George was Monroe County President, and I was president of my school.

George had been in the Airborne 508, part of the 82nd Division. And I had been in the Navy. We found we had a lot in common: sailing,fishing,hunting,and beer.

Teaching salaries were miserably low. I was making $4500 dollars, with no benefits at all. George wasn't making much more. He is a journeyman carpenter, and worked his butt off roofing houses during the summer. I became Justice of the Peace, and worked for the State inspecting bees. The average salary in the county was $7,000 a year. Teachers wanted a $7,000 starting salary. When the schools in both of our districts failed to meet this figure, George resigned, and so did I. He found a job in another district near Detroit's Metro Airport. At his urging I followed after him. We stayed in that district until our retirement.

Those years were not all tea and roses. We went six years without a contract. Picketing,letters to the editor had no effect.There were problems too in neighboring school districts. Teachers in one district  refused to teach without a contract. The judge  ordered teachers to report to work, or go to jail. Some of the male teachers refused to do so, and were photographed, finger printed, and were sent to jail. They now had a record as a felon. When the dust died down, the returning teachers were reassigned to different buildings and assignments.
In our school district another teacher and I were suspended. But that is another story.

This story is supposed to be about George, but so much of our friendship was all bound up in those difficult years of labor strife. Let me turn now to better affairs.

With a better and brighter financial future, he was able to buy a sailboat. It was a far cry from his little seven foot rowboat. I also bought a smaller sailboat.

We sailed on the Western end of Lake Erie. The lake is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, and also the most mean for sailing. The weather can change suddenly. Our end of the lake contains a few islands. It was there that Commodore Perry defeated the British fleet in the War of 1812. The American ships were built right there. Fantastic effort. Hell of a story.

We had a friend Ron Martin, who owned an old wooden Trojan power boat. We went to South Bass Island to a place called Put-in-Bay. This place is famous for sailers to go and raise hell. I brought along an electric roaster,turkey, stuffing, and potatoes which were mashed with a beer bottle. The dockside dinner that summer is a great memory for both of us.

I should also write about our fishing together. First in his little wood rowboat, and later in his big boat. Once we caught 30 pounds of lake perch from the little boat, in really rough seas. We took most all of the fish we ever caught to Matthews Bait shop, where women standing in rubber boots, with rubber aprons, cut fillets for ten cents a pound!

Sometimes while fishing for perch, we would each hold two fishing rods with a spreader having two hooks. And often caught a fish on each of the four hooks.  

I remember one time while George and I were hunting rabbits, we came across a cache of antique bottles. While we were digging in the pile of bottles, George said suddenly,"Look there goes a rabbit!" We didn't get any rabbits that day, as we filled the pocket of our hunting coats with antique bottles.

Life changed for George when his wife Peggy left him, and all his children moved away, leaving an empty house. Sometime he and I would sit at the kitchen table and play our  dulcimers. This is a folk instrument often shaped like a violin, and is played by strumming the strings. Its origin is in the hills of Appalachia. There is also a dulcimer played with small hammers.

George loves to sing, and for many years he sang barbershop music. He even had his own quartet. And as we rode together to school, he would often break into song.

And speaking about riding together to school, we took turns driving our cars, and never were involved in an accident. One time we skidded into a snow bank, and another time the left front wheel of my pickup truck fell off.

 In the spring we would take the back roads with a six pack and look for, and find wild  asparagus. on our way home.

George and Lou have been together some 31 years. And they purchased a mobile home in Florida, where they would live to escape cold Michigan winters. They did not travel to Florida this past winter due to health problems. And as I write this, I will be eighty in August, and George is 89. George remarked when I last saw him, "Who would have thought that we would have lived this long?"

        Aloha
        Grant

Monday, April 4, 2016

Kosher Kilt


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             Kosher Kilt

Just when I think that I have heard it all, there is this great story coming out of Scotland. This is the place where men wear kilts, eat haggis, and make and drink scotch whiskey.

Scots are divided into clans, each one with a distinctive tartan plaid color. They vary in design and color and are very beautiful. Woven of wool, and worn by men around the waist and hanging to the knees. It's best not to ask a Scot what he is wearing under his kilt.

All of the above information is easily found. But I have discovered something new concerning Scottish kilts. There is a Jewish rabbi who was born in Scotland, and recently caused a Jewish kilt to be manufactured. According to Jewish law the kilt had to be made of linen, not wool, as all the others are. The colors are blue and white, the colors of the flag of Israel, and the Star of David woven into the fabric.

This is an excellent example of how the Jewish people have managed to survive for a couple of thousand years. They adapted to the country where they lived, but managed to retain their identity and religion.

If you happen to have any Scottish ancestry, this story should tickle you silly. It does for me. My clan is MacDonald of Glencoe. But if you don't happen to be Scottish, and are Irish instead, take heart, for Irish are only Scots who learned how to swim.  

        Aloha
        Grant

Arkansas Farmer


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           Arkansas Farmer

"My dad never took a dog to the vet." "Why? I asked." "He could always get another one." "And when they were sick, he would hit them in the head with a ball peen hammer." "He couldn't stand to see them suffer." "Told us kids he would use the hammer on us if we didn't behave."

"Saw him beat up a man who was once abusing a horse." "And another time he saw a black man beating his wife, and knocking her to the ground." "He beat him up too, and helped the woman up from the the ground." "He was still beating people up into his late sixties."

This tough Arkansas farmer who only went to the second grade in school, built a school for children of tomato cannery workers. The nearest school was far away, and would require the children to stay at school. The canning factory put four tomates in each can. They were called "Kiser Tomatoes," and were developed by this tough Arkansas farmer. It was a win-win situation. The children went to school for part of the year, the rest of the time they could be picking tomatoes.

        Aloha
        Grant

Fourth Industrial Revolution


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      Fourth Industrial Revolution

Robots are here, performing tasks which once were done by people. A prime example is the use of robots in the manufacturing of automobiles on the assembly line. The White House economic forecast, predicts that occupations that pay less than $20 per hour are likely to be automated into obsolescence. The first ones to be hardest hit are blue-collar workers and the poor.

Corporations and investors are spending billions-$8.5 last year, on artificial intelligence and robots. Why? Simple answer is that robots need no health plan or pensions. And they can be worked for as long as desired. A McKinsey Company forecast stated that 45 percent of workplace activities today could be done by robots. Some professors argue that there will be 50 percent unemployment in thirty years. What is to be done with these people?

The 2016 World Economic Forum calculated technology will likely destroy 7.1 million jobs world-wide by 2020. And only 2.1 million replaced. What is to be done with all the people without employment? And you thought that we only had climate change to worry about. Technology comes with strings attached.

         Aloha
         Grant

Empty


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                Empty

It haunts me still, after watching a BBC film showing the visit by a Canadian photographer to an empty Jewish school in Slovakia.

The school was abandoned by order of the Nazis. And the schoolroom is shown as it was when the students left it in 1942. No one  ever returned.

Bookshelves filled with decaying books. Curling pages covered with Hebrew print, and hanging from the ceiling a single clear lightbulb. Desks covered with dust and neglect.

Why, you may ask was this school building  abandoned and ignored? The answer is simple. This was a Jewish school. There was nothing there to loot. But they were wrong. There was treasure to be found on the shelves of decaying books. The heritage and beauty of a culture the Nazis could not destroy.

      Aloha
      Grant

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Paul


                  Paul
Teena and I first met Paul when we moved into 1405, and Paul lived next door in 1406. Pete has known Paul the longest. And I will  ask Pete to give us all the details of their long friendship. I think of them as Peter and Paul the Apostles in the Bible. But they  were "Apostles of Fun."

Paul, knowing my interest in history, took me to Wickham Field and pointed out the pock-marked bullet holes on buildings made by the Japanese attack.

One time we went to Ford Island, and looked around, including the red and white rusting control tower.

We would often go to the Coast Guard Station on Sand Island. It was there that Paul could buy his supply of wine at a cheaper price. There is a bar there where we would have lunch. We went so  often, that the bar maid came to know us well.

But the most interesting and memorable trip  to Sand Island was when Paul and I visited building 419. This large building was where bodies of U.S. soldiers and marines were returned from the war in Vietnam. In the building there was a tiny museum and military surplus store. The place was full of ghosts and termites. I wrote more about it in my blog.

Paul and I would take the bus to Chinatown, where we poked around the shops and ate dried fish, and char sui cut from slabs of red colored pork in a store window. I talked Paul into having a chop made for his large Chinese painting. A chop is like a signature.It is hand-carved. So Paul had a chop carved (like a seal with red ink.) It cost him $95 bucks.He added his chop to the painting. You can see that there were three previous owners.

Paul was a long-time nudist. He would attend nudist parties at the home of a woman named Amber. I remember one time when all those nudists rented a catamaran, and when they passed the outer body,and threw off all their clothes. Two of Paul's female friends are nudists.

When Paul's first wife died, he married a much younger woman named Donna. They had fifteen wonderful years together. A story about the two of them is just great. They were on a cruise around Greece, and one snooty woman noticed the difference in their ages. And she asked "Why did you come to get married?" Donna replied, "Because we had to."

Pete has a great story of the three of them traveling together in Europe. So as I know so little about it, let's let Pete tell the story.

Donna became very sick, and at last Hospice brought a bed for her. I was with Paul when she died. I said a few words, and Paul got out two bottles of champagne. We each drank a bottle while the hospice nurse flushed the drugs down the toilet. We asked her to join us, but she declined.

Paul rented two large canoes down in front of Dukes. The two canoes held friends of Paul. I think that Pete was in the one with me. A mile from shore, Donna's ashes were put into the sea, and I said a few words.

Returning to the Waipuna, Paul held a party for Donna. He was fond of this female singer who played guitar and sang "Oh Donna, My Donna." Pupu's and drinks were served. At least thirty people were all crammed together in his apartment.  

Following Donna's death there are five female friends of Paul. The first one is Winnie, a Dutch nudist and painter, from Florida.  She painted miniatures, sometimes with an eyelash. Teena and I have some of her paintings. The large black painted four masted sailing ship you see at the harbor was sailed by her father. She is the one who taught us how to pronounce Gouda cheese. It's really" how-duh."

And, there is Grace. A Chinese woman who lives in Chinatown. He really liked her. She had a hard life, her family owned a laundry. He took her to a nudist party at Amber's house. She wasn't cut out to be a nudist.

Next on the list of Paul's women friends is Pat, a fellow nudist, who had an apartment in Discovery Bay. She liked to drink Amaretto. Paul bought a case of Amaretto at the Coast Guard store. The clerks were greatly surprised.  As Pat's health declined, she decided to return to the mainland. Teena and I went with her to Sand Island, and arranged the shipment of her car.

Then we come to a woman we all know. Noelle, the French lady. She was very fond of Paul.

The last of the five is Helen. She and Paul had known each other for fifty years, living as neighbors with different mates. Helen's husband was gone and so was Donna. The two began spending time back and forth between California and Hawaii. At last Paul decided he would move to California for good. The two of them managed to have five years together. Love and companionship.

We all remember Paul's generosity. Need any money? Need to use his car? All this and much more. It is too bad that none of the tribe took any pictures of his marajuana plants on his lanai. I remember his fondness for cooking sausage and sauerkraut. Paul delighted in what he called "stirring the pot," when he would say some outrageous statement, and then when a person reacted, he would laugh like hell. One other thing is that he often bragged how he had the first hot tub in Santa Barbara.

Everyone here has something to remember about Paul. It was Paul who introduced the tribe to Paisano, our favorite beverage. You may recall the small white hat he wore to the exercise class at Fort DeRussy. I often made fun of his hat but he said it covered his ears.

Someone once wrote that a person was never really dead until they were forgotten. Paul's memory will remain alive in our memories.
 
           End

 

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Bong Bong


      More Letters From Paradise
             Bong Bong

Ah Spring! The daffodils and tulips are up.  Cold winter is left behind. And the thoughts of many people turn to America's favorite sport-baseball!

Fans clutching tickets in hand, climb stairs and look for their seats. And the smells of hotdogs and peanuts fill the air. Over-priced cups of beer are offered for sale.

And out on the field balls are whipped around the infield, and the pitcher and catcher are tossing the ball back and forth. Then it is time to stand for our nation's National Anthem. The crowd gets settled into their seats and eagerly await the first pitch.

The pitcher winds up, the ball tries to miss the swinging bat, but it strikes the bat with a mighty bong, and then sails out into center field. Hey wait a minute, what's this? Bong! instead of the sharp crack of the bat as it strikes the ball.

Just whose bright idea was this? Aluminum lobby in Congress? Lawyers certainly. "Lady your kid will be much safer with this bat.""Your athletic department will not have to replace bats as often." Probably insurance companies too. "There won't be any more broken bats."

Do you remember when you were a kid at bat,  and you always turned the burned-in trademark up? Or even on the back. But never on the trademark for fear that the bat might break. It would't have, but that's what we thought.

Anyway, you can't turn back the clock. My grandfather turned an ash bat on his lathe for me, and it lasted forever. Thank heavens that the major leagues never went the way of the metal bat. I always look forward to the crack of the bat, never bong.

       Aloha
       Grant

Poetry for Enjoyment


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        Poetry For Enjoyment

Sometime years ago while teaching, I had the idea to create a class where poetry could be made fun, and not analyzed. I had always thought that taking apart a poem was like taking apart a song bird to try and discover the source of its song.
And so with approval of those over me, I had my class.

I began by playing recorded poets, then I asked students to find and bring to class poems that they enjoyed, and tell why.The next step was to urge them to try and write poems of their own. And they did. I made suggestions of poets they might enjoy.

We then made a giant leap. Members of the class chose poems that they felt were the best ones of all. These were printed on a offset press,illustrated by two talented boys, pages were stapled together, and with a cover"Some Poems and a Few Other Things."   I think a couple hundred copies were printed and we sold out!

The next thing we did was to form what we called the "First Modern Poetry Quartet." Students chose poems to be read to an audience. Two girls and two guys were chosen for their reading ability and tone of voice. Soon there was practice.You would hear four voices chanting lines from a poem. Or a duet, trio, or a single voice. We borrowed four music stands for the quartet. The big night came and the girls wore dresses and the boys jackets and ties. It was a hit, but one night only.

I remembered reading in our paper that Michigan had an unofficial poet laureate. His name was Max Ellison, and he lived up North  in Antrim County. I wrote to him asking if he would come and speak to my class. I offered him fifty bucks out of my pocket to do so. He agreed.

When he arrived I found him to be a short, stout man with gray chin whiskers, glasses,  and his pants held up with suspenders. And on his head was a black flat Amish hat.

Max had memorized many poems which he recited to the class. He also included some of his own poems from the two books he had written. He had brought extra copies for sale.They sold for I think three dollars, never more than five.

I received permission to use the great lecture hall. I watched as Max cast his spell over the students. They couldn't get enough of him. And he sold some books too.

Max came again the next year, but this time it didn't cost me anything. And somewhere there is a picture of him standing by his old VW with the hood up, showing it filled with canned goods.

 Max is long gone now, and only lives in the memories of students who listened to him,and on these pages.

     Aloha
     Grant

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Oh, Rats


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                Oh Rats

Thousands of people living in parts of our war torn world have lost their lives or limb to landlines. Warfare may have passed, but land mines remain. Farmers are afraid to plow their fields. People live in fear of land mines.

Now it seems that help may be coming from a most unusual source. African rats have been trained to sniff TNT used in land mines. My information came from an excellent Associated Press story, "Hero Rats," by Dennis D. Gray. He writes that African rats trained to locate land mines have been used in Angola and Mozambique.

Now being used in Cambodia, the rats with their handlers are able to clear 2,150 ft. in 20 minutes. A man with a mine detector would take four days!

The non-profit organization APOPO translates from Belgian as "Land mine Detection Product," in English.

These African rats are more easily trained than dogs, and they are friendly too. And they work for peanuts. Their favorite food is bananas.

History has had much to say about rats. Rats spoil or eat almost anything. And they are found around the world, carried there by sailing ships. Traps were invented long ago and continue to be used today. So is poison. American farmers use paper trays containing wheat treated with Warfarin. The rats die of bleeding. It is the same stuff used by humans as a blood thinner.

The main event concerning rats took place in the early part of 14th century Europe, often called the Black Death, now known as bubonic plague. It was spread by rats carrying fleas. It has been estimated that 75 million people died.      

The war against rats continues. Major cities such as New York have ongoing programs to fight rats. Here in Honolulu ships moored to docks often have large round discs on their lines to prevent rats from coming aboard. Visiting tourists will see metal bands around palm trees. These bands are to prevent rats from climbing, and eating coconuts and making nests in the top of trees.

And while I am at it I should mention that Honolulu's Chinatown burned down twice. Once by accident, the second time on purpose, because of rats.

Much has been written about the history of rats. But I feel that I simply must end with the speech made by the actor Edward G. Robinson, in a Hollywood gangster movie "You dirty rat."

         Aloha
         Grant
         

Simply Bananas


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            Simply Bananas

To begin with, Gene is a  pilot. And years ago he was flying a cargo plane to Panama, and back to the States. While he was in Panama, he bought two big bunches of bananas (very cheap),to take home. And when the plane landed, there were no customs to bar his way,so he threw the bananas in the trunk of his car and drove home.

The next morning while his wife and two kids were having breakfast, they had remarked that each bunch of bananas were as big as they were. And Gene went down into the basement, to hang up a bunch to wait until the bananas were ripe.

 A scream was heard, and Gene rushed upstairs to see his wife standing on the top of the table, and the two kids in the kitchen sink! And there on the beautiful white kitchen floor with gold flicks in it, lay a big nasty spider!

What was he to do? Armed only with soft bedroom slippers? He sneaked around behind the big nasty spider and struck a mighty blow with the sole of his slipper. "Did it squish?" I asked. "No, he replied, more like a crunch."

      Aloha
      Grant

       
     

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Building 419 Revisited


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        Building 419 Revisited

Building 419 is no more. It had long been a race between the termites and a wrecking ball. But one time this warehouse was the most important building on Sand Island, Honolulu. For it was here that the bodies were returned to from Vietnam. And the dusty, empty building was believed to be     haunted with ghosts.

Standing in the now empty building you could have heard voices:
          "Hay Sarge."
          "What do you want?"
       "How many did we get today?"
              "Ten."
       "Easy day, for a change."
         "Yeah. an easy day."
   "How many did we get last month?"
            "Eighty."
"Goddam war, they say we are winning."
    "Not from the looks of it."
"You guys had better move your asses."
"The chaplin will be here soon for the service."
"Get the lead out!"

"Well, I'll be damned."
"I saw a guy's name on one of the body bags, and I knew him."
"So what, a lot of guys you probably knew passed through here on their way back home."
"I really knew this guy, we spent three lovely days in a shell hole in the jungle. He had just gotten married when he was drafted.  The poor sonofoabitch. What a way to go home."
        "Yeah, all of them."
 "Don't you guys forget the flags."
   "Yeah, those fucking flags."

I wrote this in memory of two of my students, Vince LaRocca and Bob Perry, who passed through building 419 on their way back home to Petersburg, Michigan.
      Aloha
      Grant    

Monday, February 1, 2016

(Saint) Jim the Plumber


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       (Saint) Jim the Plumber

Okay, I fully understand that in order to become a saint, you must first be dead. And Jim, our plumber is still very much alive inspire of some heart trouble. He is probably in his sixties, medium height, with gray hair, small mustache and a small grinning mouth. Jim hails from Arkansas. You can hear it in his soft speech. In high school he had a job as a "chicken sexer." This is very important to the chicken industry, and Arkansas has a lot of chickens. Growers wanted to know if a baby chick was either a male or female. Not many people can do this. It is one of the strangest jobs in the world. Jim said once that he knew more about chickens than God.

Jim is our building plumber. Our building has 407 apartments, ranging from one bedroom to penthouses on the top floors. That is a lot of plumbing. And that means a lot of leaks. Some of the apartments are empty until the "Snow Birds" return for the winter and turn on all their plumbing. Then the leaks begin. Rubber gaskets and seals that have become dry, fail to seal.

Jim is always on the run fixing leaks. I know to a fact that he has returned here from his home, in order to make a repair. He has also worked all night too.

Jim has always given gifts of bananas, avocados, and orchids to many of the people in the building. But in spite of all this, there are some people living on the 35th floor who dislike him. The problem  stems from the fact that large pipes run through the 35th floor, and sometimes cause major leaks. Drywall melts with the water, rugs and floors are ruined. Jim and his crew try to restore the damage. The residents take out their anger on Jim, who is not the cause of the trouble.

For some 14 years Jim has helped a Japanese woman to care for her wheelchair- bound daughter. The husband had left for Japan, some time ago, leaving his wife and a care giver to care for the girl.
A couple of days before Christmas, I asked Jim what he planned to do for the holiday. He said only, "I will be here, it's bath time. She can't lift her in or out of the bath tub.  Care givers don't work on Christmas."

      Aloha
      Grant
   

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Desert Secret


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           Desert Secret

He told me that he liked to hike, and there is a lot of desert to hike. He said that he would often take along some boys who also liked to hike, and explore the desert.

One time he and the boys had hiked two miles into the desert. Some of the boys had ranged on ahead. They stopped in their tracks as they saw the body of a man hanging. Moving closer they saw that the man had zipped himself into a sleeping bag, pulled the hood over his face, and stepped off a plastic bucket at the foot of the tree.

A couple of the boys trudged back to the road to call the police. The police arrived using an ATV to cross the desert.

That's all there is to it. But several questions remain. Such as "Why would he have chosen to walk two miles into the desert in order to commit suicide?" And why the use of a sleeping bag?" " Did he find the bucket, or carry it in?" And "Who was he?" The desert has long kept its secrets. And this is only one.

     Aloha
     Grant

A Story of Three Minerals


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       A Story of Three Minerals

In the vast empty reaches of the Southwest, where Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado all meet together, lies the Navajo Nation. The Navajo scratch out a bare living herding sheep.

The federal government had a hospital built, along with offices and residences for doctors. The well dug to supply water was found to be filled with arsenic. As a result, the buildings now stand empty and abandoned. And the Navajo still are without a hospital.

The next story is about the result of the mad rush to mine uranium. The tailings from the mines and the dust on the ground became a playground for Navajo children. The result was radiation poisoning.

My final story concerns the people living in Lake Havasu, Arizona. The city lies alongside the Colorado River. The lake was formed when Parker Dam was built. For a number of years I wondered why the citizens of Lake Havasu could not get its water from the Colorado River. I now know the answer. The water drawn from the Colorado River is strictly regulated. Much of the water is used by farmers in California.

Lake Havasu draws its water from wells. And the water contains manganese. The people living there have reverse osmosis filters in their homes. The filter traps the manganese, which looks like black gunk.

It's in all the news. The city of Flint, Michigan, began drawing its water from the Flint River as a cost-cutting measure instead of from the Detroit water system.    The river contains lead. Many children have been poisoned.

So, friend, how's the water where you live?

       Aloha
       Grant

Matthew Brady and Me


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        Matthew Brady and Me

Take down a book of Civil War photographs from a shelf, and you will often find that many of the pictures were taken by Matthew Brady. The Civil War was the first of America's many wars to be photographed.

I feel that I can really relate to him as I, too, was a photographer. Although the equipment he used, and the conditions under which he was forced to work, were vastly different than mine.

For example, he had to use a large, heavy, bulky camera with bellows placed upon a tripod. The camera used glass plates that were coated with a light-sensitive material. These plates were kept in light-tight holders. When a picture was to be made, a holder was placed in rear of the camera. A slide was removed  to make an exposure.

The major problem Brady faced was that to take a picture, a long period of exposure was necessary. And, if the subject moved, a blur was created.

Once the photo was made the next step was to develop it. Brady had a light-proof tent sitting atop a horse-drawn wagon. He had to work in the dark with chemical fumes, and no ventilation. How he must have suffered!

The subjects of his pictures shows us all the horrors of war. The dead bloated bodies of fallen soldiers. The ruined cities. The huge cannons, and much, much more.

It was the Union General Sherman who said, "War is hell." Brady shows us exactly what he meant.

There is one big difference between Brady and me. He never took any photographs from an airplane.
                       
       Aloha
       Grant  

Friday, January 8, 2016

Chernobyl Revisited


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         Chernobyl Revisited

The firemen were the first ones to die. Many others would soon follow. All they knew was that there was a fire at the reactor. What they did not know, was the danger of radiation. They soon found out, when in the hospital their bodies were swollen up like balloons. Sores covered their bodies. The wife of one fireman said that her husband's mouth became filled with bits of his liver and lungs. Most of these men died within fourteen days.

Some soldiers were ordered to fight the fire, and they didn't know about radiation either. Busses were called to evacuate children in the area. People in the affected area were forced to leave their homes.
Those leaving boarded up windows and doors. The names of the owner of the houses were painted on the outside of the buildings.

Some of the fields around villages were frosted with a white powder. There were tiny holes in the leaves of trees, and tiny holes too in cucumbers and tomatoes. But they were eaten anyway.

No information was forthcoming. Some thought that radiation was colored white, while others said that it was black. And all the while, the papers and radio claimed that the situation was under control.

And what about the animals grazing in the fields? They ate and died. The now silent houses in the surrounding villages saw dogs awaiting their masters return.

The authorities believed that dog and cat fur carried radiation, and enlisted twenty hunters to kill all the dogs and cats. The dogs greeted the hunters, only to be shot dead. Later on the dogs began to hide from the hunters. Cats were much harder to find and kill. One such hunter said that he was haunted by the memory of one black poodle which had to be buried alive because all the hunters were out of ammunition. Strangely, none of the pigs were killed.

The passing years saw the collapse of the Soviet Union. Some people returned to their homes, only to find them looted of everything.They did not seem to care very much, as they rejoiced in the freedom to go and do what they pleased, on their own land.

The schools in Chernobyl had sand covering the surrounding area. The children had to remain indoors all day. The government issued one suit of clothes to each student, which was supposed to be washed daily.

Teachers found that their students were tired, and failed to play games. And it was almost impossible for them to repeat sentences when given them.

What I have written above is my attempt to summarize what happened at Chernobyl. All of my information is from a book "Voices From Chernobyl," by Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the Nobel Prize For Literature 2015. Her book is a series of interviews she had with people who survived the disaster. She points out that those who survived were shunned by members of society, in the same way the survivors of Hiroshima were treated.

This book caused me to remember that my family and I once lived in what was called the "Danger Zone." We were told what to do in case of the failure of the nuclear power plant. We were advised to drive North on the single main highway. What then? We lived seven miles from the Fermi II power plant, and at one time I rented a dock for my sailboat directly across from one of the cooling towers.

        Aloha
        Grant