Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

      More Letters From Paradise
       Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
      The songwriter, Jerome Kern, wrote the song which is the title of this entry in my blog.   Not only does smoke get in your eyes, but every where else.  In your lungs, on your clothes, etc.  Girls say that kissing a man who smokes, is like licking an ashtray.
      And yet, people still smoke, in spite of all the health risks.
      I was happy to see that the CVS chain of drug stores will stop selling cigarettes.  They think that selling smokes was poor policy when they were selling health products at the same time.
It all began with the Indians who grew tobacco for ceremonies and peace pipes.  Then Sir Walter Raleigh brought the smoking habit to England.  Remember the story of how he was smoking a pipe, and someone threw a bucket of water on him, because they thought that he was on fire?  Good for whoever he was, there should be a statue for his early effort.  Tobacco became an important crop in the colonies, and men became hooked.
      In London at that time there were coffee houses in which coffee was in vogue.  Coffee never really caught on, and it wasn't coffee that was dumped in Boston Harbor.  If coffee didn't catch on, tobacco did.
      Smoking became a part of American culture.  I remember as a kid (early elementary) trying to copy our elders, by smoking dried Tiger Lilly stems.  They drew really well, but you didn't want to inhale.
Then, among all the candy on the market, there were even candy cigarettes.
      When you watch some of the old movies, everyone was smoking.  Some of the early ads were, "I would walk a mile for a Camel," or "LSMFT,  Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco."  Also Chesterfield, with "they satisfy," or,  "More doctors choose Chesterfields than any other brand."
       Were we nuts or what? Nobody suspected the dangers in smoking.
       During WWII,  cigarettes were included in K Rations along with crackers etc.
       I began smoking in high school.  My father smoked, my mother did not.  He would send me to buy him a pack of Camels. Ugh! no filter either.  I began with a pipe, called a Yellow Bowl. There were many styles to choose from.  One time after I brought home a pack of Camels for him, and I forgot to give him his change, and he looked through the pockets of my coat and found my pipe.  The next morning at breakfast there sat a fine, dark briar pipe.  I played dumb, "So you have bought a new pipe?"  His reply was, "Throw away that damn thing you have, and smoke something good." He went on to say that the pipe had belonged to a British soldier who was sea sick, and was about to throw it overboard.  This was Normandy D Day plus two, 1944.  I no longer smoke, but I wish I had kept that pipe.
      When I was in the Navy, nearly everyone smoked.  I was on a carrier, and we often refueled destroyers while still underway.  Movies were exchanged, along with obscene gestures.  Word was passed, "The smoking lamp is out."  It was also the same when bringing ammunition aboard.  Smokes were cheap.  Guys who were in the service earlier, often said that a package of smokes could get you anything.  They were still only ten cents a pack when I was in the Navy.  Buck a carton, sealed in wax paper.  I smoked sea store smokes during my freshman year of college that I brought back in my seabag.
      When I first began teaching I was still smoking.  I grew some tobacco, twisted it in to fists, and hung it up in the corn crib to dry.  When dry I crumbled it, and tried it out.  Not very good.
I quit smoking cold turkey.  My buddy, George, used some psychology on me.  He said, "Are you in control, or is that smoke in control?"  I always thought I was in control, at least most of the time.  But when he said beer and other food would taste better, I was sold.  He was right.
      If you don't smoke, think of how much money you save.  Smokes here in Honolulu cost $7.80, per pack!  And that's on special.
      And in conclusion, as someone once said, when trying to quit smoking, "In order to quit smoking, call up a friend and go and get drunk."
            Aloha
            Grant
             

Witching

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               Witching
      Any Canadians reading this blog, please disregard the following question.
      Quick- What is the capital of Canada?  If you answered Ottawa, congratulations.  Most Americans can't answer the question correctly.  The school where I taught was some forty miles across from Canada.  Yet most of my students didn't know the answer.   So I taught a class about the history and culture of Canada.  I obtained, with some difficulty, Canadian text books.   I met with the head of the history department at Assumption High School in Windsor, Ontario.  His name is Reno Bertoya, who  used to play third base the Detroit Tigers.  He and his associates were most helpful.
      What has this to do with witching? you ask.  Well, in one text which was sociological in nature, there was a chapter on witching.  It seems that there are men who are employed by Ontario Hydro who use witching to locate  underground water pipes.  The article went on to describe how to cut a wire coat hanger so that you have a long piece of wire.  Bend it into a right angle about four inches long. If you have followed directions, you should have an L shaped tool.  Then holding the short side loosely in you hands, do not grip, seek the source of water.  If there is water, the long wires will point to the source. Or, you can hold the long part of the wire, and the short part of the wires will move and sometimes cross.  I know this is true, as I have seen it done.  I took my students out onto the football field, and knowing in advance where the pipes were located, some of them could locate the pipes.  But, strangely, not everyone could do it.  Old timers will tell you that some people could use a peach branch in the shape of a Y, and then tell you where to dig a well. The use of a willow branch is often mentioned too. Try it, don't take my word for it.    

           Aloha
           Grant

Dome Sweet Dome

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           Dome Sweet Dome
      A popular book in the late sixties and early seventies was "Operating Manual For Spaceship Earth." Its author was  a professor at the U. of Illinois, named Buckminster Fuller.   In the book he wrote that we should look on our earth as if it was a spaceship hurtling through space.  And on the ship people had to rely on food, water etc.  Our job is to conserve and take care of our planet in order to survive. Good advice then, and even more so today.
       He is also the inventor of the geodesic dome. You know, those connections of triangles.   And that is where I come in.   I helped construct, and owned,  two domes.  I was part of the back to the land movement, and, as such, had a small farm.  I wanted a greenhouse.  I had learned much at the U. of Mich.:  How to graft, bud, seed propagation, etc.  I bet you didn't know that you can graft together a potato plant to a tomato plant, and have in a pot, tomatoes on the top, and potatoes on the bottom. That's because they belong to the same genetic family.  But now getting back to domes.
       My first dome was rather small and dumpy looking.   It was about 15 ft in diameter, and about 7 or 8 ft high. It was built out of 1x2 pine, and covered with white plastic.  To attach the triangles you had to drill two holes in each one, and then bolt them together.   It took a lot of time, and you had to have a ratchet.  When finished, it worked fine, that is, until one of my pigs got loose and punched a couple of holes in it.  So much for that one.
      The second dome was much bigger, 25 ft dia. and about 10 ft. high.  It was constructed of redwood, and covered with vinyl.   Two of my students helped me build this big one.  When finished, it looked like a giant soap bubble.   It was a Sunday when we put in the final bolt.  A wire was strung from the top of the dome to a long steel rod in the ground.  I would finish the tie downs after school Monday.  As luck would have it, a very powerful wind storm arose, and when I came home I found 109 triangles all over the field.  Would I build another if I had the chance?  No, I don't think so, been there and done that.
        Domes are really wonderful, the sense of space and the absence of walls. But domes have the problem of leaks where the triangles are joined. And our problem with the big dome was not tying it down, but also covering it with vinyl.  For that material does not block the sun's rays.  While working on it you could get a sunburn.  Still, it could have been painted with white wash as green houses do. Anyway, it was an adventure.
       Aloha
       Grant

Thank You for Asking

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         Thank You For Asking
      How do we occupy our time while living here in Hawaii?   There are a great many things we have to take up our time, and it isn't spending it on the beach either.
      First, it's appointments with our doctors.    It is often said here that if you didn't have dates with your doctor, you would not have any social life.   I have three, four if I count the dentist. Tonto has three also, plus the dentist.   One doctor said that you should take a pill for every decade of your life.  I take six.  I still have one more to go. ( I am 77 ears old.)
      And, there are prescriptions to pick-up. Both of these events are most often at very inconvenient times.
       More of the have to do,'s are buying food and all the other stuff that life requires.  We shop at Cosco, Sam's Club,  Wal-Mart. and Don Quxiote.  The first three are familiar, but the last one is part of a Japanese chain of stores. Why Don Quxiote? and why is their mascot logo a penguin?  Who knows? We sure don't.   A very interesting store with the store divided in half, more or less, with Asian food on one side and haole food on the other.  The two sides  meet, though, in the dairy, meat, fish, and booze sections. There are often food and sake offerings.   "Here, have a couple of cups of sake."  Sake is sometimes served in square wood boxes about 3x4 inches.  I was given two.  I could go on and on about this store but there are other things to occupy our time.
      The hotels in our neighborhood have cheap pupu's and live music.   It is nice to spend an evening by the ocean with our friends, Connie, Ray, Paul, Pete, and Ann sitting on chairs we brought, in the sand, listening to the music, and drinking booze we brought with us. Total cost zero. We also have church and the Elks Lodge.
      If we feel that we want some culture, there are the museums, opera in season, the symphony, hula shows etc. And when we have guests, we make sure that they get the full treatment; seeing Hawaii through the eyes of residents. There is more I could add, but what about here at home?
      Tonto and I exercise in the morning, read two newspapers, and she consults her computer.  She is in charge of our library on Thursday each week.   I am on the Board of Directors,  and am up for re- election.   I fix breakfast, clean up and go the the exercise room and ride the bike for 3 or 4 miles.  It's while I am on the bike and others are all plugged into whatever, that I think about what to write next.
We often attend movies, I write for my blog, and practice my ukulele.  And we read a lot.
Tonto is a member of the "Daughters of Hawaii," and a monthly "Birthday Club." As for me, I belong to a Friday breakfast group called "Romeos." (Retired Old Men Eating Out.)
      We have a tightly-knit group of friends which we call the "Tribe."  In order to gain entry, you must answer the invitation question correctly,  "What is your favorite vegetable?"  If the answer is"green beans." You are accepted into the tribe.  Coaching is allowed.  As a tribal member you agree to  help each other at all times. Members of the tribe were at my hospital bedside for a long time. There are also airport trips, both in and out. Also, there are meetings where food and beverages are served.  And so, that's how we spend our time.  Thanks for asking.

             Aloha
             Grant        

Tom and Margaret Martin

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        Tom and Margaret Martin
Tom and Margaret Margaret you are dead.
      But you already know this.
I am reminded of this fact each time
     I pass the weed-grown corner
    where your store used to stand.
      I recall hearing that when
           Margaret died
     You sat with her body for
    three days in the back room.
    And nobody would have known
except that teenager (what's his name?)
      wanted to buy something
  and you told him you were closed
     because your wife was dead.
     The boy ran off in a panic      
       and called the police.
  Soon after I learned that you were      
        declared unbalanced.
   You died in the State Hospital.
Tom, I remember that you got shot
in the knee in Archangel, Russia
      during World War I.
  Margaret was a British Wren,
 and you brought her to America.
    Your building stood empty
        for a few months.
Some kids broke most of the windows.
After that, the store was knocked down.
All that remains to mark the spot
is the faded, peeling Texaco sign.
   In the summer some people
 sell vegetables on the corner.
But I wonder, how many remember
      Tom and Margaret?  

          Aloha
          Grant

Summer Sounds Remembered

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       Summer Sounds Remembered
      One sound was baseball.  It wasn't so much the game's win or loss,  but the sound itself.  The   announcer's eager voice, the roar of the crowd when a ball was hit or a man scored.  Every so often the voice urged you to buy Blue Blades or Stroh's beer.
      There were other sounds too. The creak of a porch swing, and the slam of a screen door.
Another sound was the clickety click of the push mower as it mowed down the protesting grass.  Then silence for a moment,  only to be repeated again.
      And as twilight turned into night there were other sounds.  Crickets and frogs sang, while radios played dance music, and an army of small boys played kick the can under the street light.

           Aloha
           Grant

Want to Play?

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           Want to Play?
It's a Kendama. A two- century old wood toy from Japan.  It is a short turned wood shaft with a point on one end. There is also a short shaft with shallow cups at each end, forming a cross.  A wood ball with a hole drilled in one side, is attached to the crossed shaft by a long string.  The idea is to toss the ball in the air and try to move under the ball and catch it in one of the two cups, or even harder, catching it on the point of the shaft.  Some Kendamas are painted and sell for big bucks, $65. or so. Tonto found one for us on line for $15.  I found it pretty difficult, but learned that you don't swing the ball out in front, but simply toss the ball in the air and quickly move under it.   I  saw a very small boy in church today, who repeatedly caught the ball on the point of his Kendama.  I congratulated him, and ask how old he was.  He held up five fingers.  He and his brother said that they had owned them since Friday.
Kendamas have been banned from  the area schools because they may promote gambling. Also, there have been several Kendama competitions. Just think, no batteries required.
 
          Aloha
          Grant