Mountains and Islands

Mom and I kicked around Hilo Town Monday. We spent time at the Farmers' Market, bought matching Crocs , then cruised on up to Rainbow Falls, which is right in town. It's a beautiful spot. There, we met a man named Alvin. He described himself as "82 years young" and was more fit than most 4o year olds I know. Alvin told us he was third generation American, with ancestors from Japan. My mom told him she was third generation American too, with ancestors in Norway. We chatted with Alvin awhile. Then, we told him we were headed to boiling pots and asked if he knew where it was. He said, "Follow me," then jumped into his green, '57 Chevy to lead the way. When we arrived at the parking lot, my mom laughed at the name of the place. While it is commonly known as Boiling Pots (so names because when the water's raging it looks like it's boiling), it's real name is Pe'epe'e Falls. My mom pointed, then pronounced, "Pee Pee Falls! I love th...

Mom is here! Yay! We spent three fun days on another rock, where she says it's kinda like Disneyland with palm trees. Actually, I think Disneyland has palm trees, but they're probably fake. Still, Disneyland can be a hoot. We visited the Arizona Memorial, Bishop Museum and Waikiki Aquarium. We also ate lots of really good food, listened to good music and even spent a little time in the water and on the beach. We managed to get lost pretty much daily at our own hotel, which was really, really big. There were penguins and turtles and flamingos and other animals one would not expect to see in Hawaii. They all live at the hotel. We saw hula dancers, a fire dancer and lots of wealthy tourists. We fit right in. Really. We did. As you can see from this photo, we had a nice ocean view. This was not planned, but it was appreciated. We had a Vietnamese cab driver named Mike, a self-described "boat person" who came here when he was 16 with his cousin. He basically told us his w...

Friday night was my first social gathering with the winery crew. They are a pretty fun lot. Not everyone was there, but many were. We were toasting La'akea , the guy who has worked there the longest of any but who is leaving next week to attend school full time. He's a very smart guy with a great sense of humor and probably the chattiest man I've ever met. He actually makes me seem quiet and reserved. I'm sure he will do well with school. He's a born academic. Saturday it continued to rain, so we vegged. Today, the sun came out and the wind whipped up, helping to dry things out. The strong breeze also kept the poochies cool. We didn't need the fans; just a few open windows. Ron and I alternated mowing sections of the lawn. I went to town to pick up $100 worth of overpriced groceries. I'm applying for yet another job for which I am under-qualified. Actually, the last one had me over qualified. This one is pie-in-the-sky and it's on another island, but wh...

Flossie has flopped. That was the most boring hurricane ever. It's windier and rainier on a typical winter day. I was really hoping for some excitement. I wanted to see things fly around. I wanted to hear incessant, relentless, pounding rain. I wanted the electricity to go out so we could huddle around flashlights and listen to the radio by battery power. I wasn't looking for complete and utter destruction. Just a little action. Instead, Flossie fizzled. The news media sent scores of reporters to cover the destruction. It reminded me of the "team coverage" they employ whenever it rains in L.A.: "We just spotted three drops falling into a puddle here on Sepulveda . Over to you, Jane." "Thanks, Bill. Here on La Cienega , the sidewalks are completely wet. People are actually slipping as they try to walk, which they never do here in L.A. Back to you in the studio, Colleen." So the coverage to me was actually pretty comical. One interview was of a loc...

Hurricane Flossie is on its way. It is predicted to just skirt the island, missing us by about 100 miles or so, bringing some wind, lots of rain and fraying nerves. There's something comical to me about a hurricane named Flossie. I'm having trouble taking her seriously. It's like a Rotweiler named Fifi or a Bijon Frise called Fang. It just doesn't fit. "Whoopdee doo. We're going to be hammered by Flossie." It might make a great name for a cartoon character created to convince children of the merits of dental care. She'd be a female talking tooth with arms, legs and long eye lashes. But a Hurricane? Puleeeze..... If you want to scare me, give me an Ivan or an Andrew or even a Katrina. Not a Flossie. Just in case Flossie is not whimpy, we are fully stocked with all the important supplies like water and pet food. We moved the loose items around under cover and my tea plants up against the house. Reports say we could see 50 mile per hour winds. That's...

I set a new land speed record on the treadmill today; four miles in 44 minutes! OK I guess that would actually be a conveyor belt speed record, since I wasn't technically running across land. Anyway, for you mathematically challenged out there, that's an 11 minute mile. Yes, I know that real runners trot along effortlessly at between six and eight miles per hour for many more miles than I do. I am painfully aware that what I do is not running, but jogging. Still, for me, an 11 minute mile is blindingly swift. I swear there were flames shooting out from the heals of my sneaks. Truthfully, I think that treadmill is in serious need of adjustment. As a result of all that running, at whatever speed, my left Achilles tendon is sore, tight and a little inflamed tonight. See? inflamed ! As in flames. I knew it! I was ON FIRE! Poor little Crawford is suffering from rickety back legs and is in need of having her okole squeezed. In other words, it's time for the anal glands to be...

We've got our first coffee blossom. Woohoo ! It's on our largest tree, which looks as though it's ready to sprout more blossoms in coming days. We may actually have enough coffee by next year to brew and share a cup. Or maybe half a cup. Factoring in all the time, sweat and money we've put into the coffee trees to date, I estimate this cup will cost roughly $30,000. And you thought that Vanilla soy latte half-calf with a twist was pricey at Starbucks. But hey, this blossom? It's a start. It was unbelievably busy at the winery today. This, despite reports that visits to the islands are way down from last years numbers. One third of the hotel rooms on the big island are empty. Still, of the people who are here, a bunch of them decided to buy wine today. Some were buying by the case. This, after my suggestion that we offer a 10% case discount. Lots of wineries do this and plenty of visitors ask about a discount. So once again, my business genius saves the day. It...

This is Abner saying a-a-a-aloha! Actually, I was trying to tell him today how excited I am that I've finally gotten a story published here in Hawai'i nei , but he was a bit bored by my tale. Oh wait. I don't have a tale. I mean tail. I have a tale. He does, too. A tail, that is. Anyway, I am thrilled. It's technically my second story, but the first was a bit of a fluff piece previewing an event. This one is a full fledged feature. It will be available to read online in a couple of weeks. For some reason, the Hawaii Island Journal only puts an image of its cover on its website with access to current calendar and classified info, but only last issue's stories. The cover story is my story. You just can't read it yet online. You have to wait until the next issue comes out before you can read the story from the current issue. A'ole pilikia . No problem. I've picked up about a dozen hard copies to send to friends and family and to keep for clippings to ...

I had a check-up with the allergy doctor this morning. It took all of about 15 minutes for her to determine that I am well. The office has moved and the description of the new location, as delivered on their answering machine message, places the new digs near the police station and St. Joseph's School. Both of those landmarks are vague to me; I'm not a Catholic School child, nor am I a parent. I've only been to the police station once to get a state I.D. card. When I finally found the place, I knew exactly where I was. I was right behind Nori's Saimin and Snacks. Why didn't they just say so! For me, the best landmarks are always food vendors. Nori's is the bomb! Dey get da bes saimin, fo real, brah! Da kine serve wit' one ono chicken terriyaki stick. They also make this chocolate mochi cake that is divine. Broke da mout', cuz! Poor Crawford has developed yet another affliction. Her left back leg was injured way before we adopted her. It was broken badly....

How do you like the new look o' the blog? The banner at the top was cut from a photo of a giant leaf covered in rain drops. Pretty cool, huh? I think I need to change the color of the heading font, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. The tropical depression that's come and gone left us with a generally soggy weekend. We spent it puttering around the house. The dog's are bored stiff. Today, Ron chased a passel o' pigs from the yard with his trusty .22 caliber rifle. That provided some excitement to an otherwise dull day. He didn't hit any of them, but he scared them away. Our neighbor has hit two in the past few days. He's a much better shot than Ron. He's smokin ' 'em up. I'm actually glad Ron didn't hit one. I wouldn't know what to do with it if he did. Actually, I would know what to do with it but I wouldn't want to do it. I know the pigs are just trying to survive in this world, just like we are. But they are a menace...

We're tucked away in our little hovel tonight, riding out what has turned out to be a very mellow Tropical Depression Cosme. Earlier this evening, we ventured down to Kea'au to check out the catfish and gumbo special at Paradise Bar and Grill. En route, we spotted a large, white pickup truck overturned just off the side of the highway. It was upside down with it's cab, ever-so-luckily poking downward into a fairly wide ditch. The fourth of four passengers was wiggling out of the driver's side window as we pulled up and stopped. When I asked, everyone said that they were OK and had all gotten out of the truck. It was obvious that they had all been wearing seat belts. They were, however, noticeably shaken up. That included a little boy of about four who seemed all but frozen in fear. He just stood there staring blankly. Poor kid. That would scare me too. It was raining pretty hard at the time and the truck just lost its grip on the road, veered and flipped. It happened in...

Yesterday in the checkout line at Puna Fresh Foods, I struck up conversation with a local boy. He was a young man, really. I'd say he looked to be about 20 years old. He was buying a bottle of Vitamin Water and a copy of High Times. I guess it's all about balance in life, isn't it? Ying and yang? I didn't even know they still published High Times. The young man had an elaborate, Hawaiian style tattoo that covered his entire left shoulder and upper arm. It was all black; a pattern of shaded geometric shapes. Embedded in it all was capital "A" in curvy script. I am usually not enamored with tattoos, but this one was really cool. So, I told him so. "Fer real?" He asked. "Yeah. It's one of the best I've seen in a long time," I assured. "Fer real?" He asked again. I hoped this time his question was it was rhetorical . We could go back and forth with compliments and fer reals for a long time. "Thanks for noticing,...

Saturday was sunny and beautiful, a nice day for a job interview. I think it went well. If nothing comes of it, at least I got to eat lunch at Cafe Pesto with an interesting person. She said she'd call sometime this week to let me know about the job. Meanwhile, today I learned that the Hawaii Island Journal is going to print one of my stories next issue - as it's cover story. Cool! It took 'em long enough. Sunday was Ron's big day; the big 6-0. Wow! First, he did a little farm work, tilling up some dirt on his trusty steed(aka the tractor). Then we went to Luquin's (where we always go) in Pahoa . There, we drank mango and guava margaritas, ate a boatload of heavy Mexican food, then came home to take a long, digestive nap. It was a very satisfying day for me. I think he enjoyed it to. I know Mr. Sox relished his snooze while we were away on such a warm, sunny day. We've got zucchini coming out our ears, as you can see here. This morning, our neighbor's baby...

I received a welcome call this afternoon. Tomorrow I'll meet with an editor about a job as a reporter. Yay! Don't know if I'll be the one selected, but at least I have a chance. Today I fared marginally better on the two sample test segments i took. If I can carry that through to the entire test, I'll bump my score up by about 4 points, which is just enough to give me a solid chance of getting accepted to a second tier school like UH. I will definitely need to not only improve my test-taking skills but a little luck to pull this off. Make that a lot of luck. Today, while I was strolling through Hilo Town shopping for Ron's birthday gifts, a man, sitting on a concrete divider wall with his buddy, shouted out a hearty "aloha" to me as I walked by. I didn't know him and he didn't know me. He was just being friendly. I returned the greeting. That was nice. The aloha spirit is alive and well. I'll take a few pictures downtown tomorrow en-route to o...

On Tuesday, I was asked at the winery if I would mind a schedule change. "Could I," they asked," work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rather than Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday?" "Sure," I said. "That's no problem." "Great," they said. "That would help us out a lot." They said they'd let me know when the schedule change would take effect. Today, just two days later, after extensive deliberations among the "managers" I was pulled aside and told that, due to the financial situation at the winery, all part timers would be restricted to two days per week. My days would be reduced to Tuesday and Thursday only. Gee? I wonder why that is? Maybe because three days bumps an employee up to enough hours to qualify for health care coverage? Ironically, I am the only part timer who's been working that much, so I am the only one who loses that coverage. I've only had the coverage for one month so I guess it's no gre...

The lava has returned to Pu'u O'o on Kilauea. It's not flowing to the ocean, but it can be seen in the crater. Click here to see the lava live via the USGS Live Webcam. If you log on after dark (that's after dark in Hawaii, of course) you can really see the ribbons of lava. We’ve gotten a bit jumpy here in the rainforest. Now, every time a dog barks, Ron shouts, “Is it pigs? Is it pigs?” Oddly, it never is. Or maybe it is, but by the time we go out to look, they're gone. I’ve been seeing tell-tale signs of the pigs around the neighborhood. They leave strange trails where they’ve rooted up the ground along the sides of the roadway in search of worms, roots and grubs. They've returned to the yard, too. The other night, I took a stroll down the driveway in the dark with a flashlight. I was listening for coquis. The battery in my light failing and the light was dimming. As I listened to the frogs chirping, “co-QUI, co-QUI,” I heard a “snorty snorty snort" in ...

Happy Independence Day!There are people here in the Hawaiian Islands for whom true independence would mean a return to sovereignty. It's a vocal faction and I actually believe their ranks are growing. Not that it's likely the United States will ever revoke Hawaii's statehood. A symbol of support for the sovereignty movement is the Hawaii state flag (formerly the flag of the Republic of Hawaii) flown upside down. For some, it's less about sovereignty and more about spreading the fundamental understanding of how Hawaii became a US Territory. It was an illegal overthrow of the Queen (Hawaii was a constitutional monarchy by 1993, the year she was removed from the thrown) by American businessmen, supported by the US marines with the US government looking the other way. Plenty of folk have been stewing about it ever since. The late 1970s mark what's called the Hawaiian renaissance, a resurgence of Hawaiian cultural pride and an interest in understanding the true history o...

Have I mentioned I have a toe-a- noma ? OK I'll admit that would be an exaggeration . What I have is a funky toenail. It all started a couple of years ago when I bruised it running. After that, I somehow managed to stub it pretty badly once or twice. Then Doc, the wonder dog, stepped on it before it had the chance to heal. The end result was a toenail that rebelled. A year or so ago it began to grow funny. It separated from my toe, developing a very high, vertical ridge in the middle. It was as though two continents, in the form of the two sides of my toenail, collided and formed the Himalayas upon my largest left digit. It became thick and looked a little gnarly. All that trauma apparently made it susceptible to (yikes!) a fungus! Can you imagine? Fungus growing here, in the rain forest ? On MY toe? Anywho , I finally broke down and went to see a foot doctor. He confirmed a mild fungal infection and said I had two options. One was to take an oral medication called Lamisil (Th...

This little piggy dug a coffee tree. This one uprooted a tangerine. This little piggy went wee wee wee wee all the way through the yard without the dogs barking one yip. Yes, we have pigs. This time, it's not just a handful. It's a whole extended family. There are mommy and daddy pigs, uncle and auntie pigs, plenty of baby pigs and probably even a grandma and grandpa pig. They are wreaking havoc on our yard. Ron was frantic the other day. They had toppled several coffee trees and plowed up the turf big time. They got into his corn and rooted around two small citrus trees. They came right up to the back lanai, to within about 10 feet. The dogs didn't notice. They bark at every other phantom noise they hear, but when there's a real invader, they just snooze away. So we've now replanted the toppled trees and put some quick fencing around them to deter those snorty omnivores. I think I prefer the occasion bear in my trash. Trash is trash. Coffee trees cost money. The ...

The big news around here is being referred to by geologists as "Episode 56." Last Sunday, Kilauea summit began to do a little shaking. (Kilauea is the mountain from which the current volcanic eruption is spewing.) Apparently, they experienced some 200 or so small earthquakes, one after another, starting at about 2:30 a.m. and lasting all day. I say "they" because we didn't experience a thing. We're very close to Volcanoes National Park, where all the shaking occured, so the quakes must have been tiny. We always feel the bigger ones. Anyway, scientists and park officials felt something was up, so they evacuated all the campers from the park and closed it. It's the first time the park has been closed in a decade. Pu'u O'o, the vent from which the lava has flowed for the past 10 years all the way to the ocean, had stopped. The crater floor and edges began to collapse. In the photo above you can see that what was once a circular crater has sprouted w...