Mountains and Islands

I'd like to dedicate a portion of this blog to the late, great Harvey Korman . He was one of my favorite comedians, one of the few humans who could make me laugh uncontrollably. He is also the man who uttered one of my favorite movie lines ever. In fact, I shamelessly steal and use it frequently in everyday conversation: "Now go do that voodoo that you do so well..." ( Hedley Lamarr , Blazing Saddles). Thanks, Harvey, for all those hilarious skits on the Carol Burnett Show. Thanks too for being such a perfect straight man to Tim Conway over the years (who is also so funny exposure could result in serious bodily in injury, like strained face muscles, aching diaphragm and actually slipping on the puddle you made when you wet your pants from laughing so hard). Thanks for being Hedley Lamarr , Professor Balls in the Pink Panther movies, voice of The Great Gazoo on the Flintstones and all the other goofy characters. What great joy you brought to us all. Cheers!! Th...

Ah, simple pleasures. Whenever Crawford manages to poop outside, we are elated. "Crawford had a peepee and a poopoo outside this morning, daddy!" "She's a good girl, mommy!" (Somewhere along the way, when it comes to the pets, we began to converse like Nancy and Ronnie Reagan.) Crawford can't really feel when the poopies are coming out, but walking around in the grass for awhile at certain times of the day helps to ensure "love dumps" as we call them in the grass , not on the rug . It helps , but there really are no guarantees. Still, she's a good girl and we love her and it's only poop. Shit. Everyone poops. With our acid rain here in windward Hawaii, we have learned that it is unwise to drink our catchment water. The acid comes from Pele, as she spews forth noxious chemicals from her volcanic bowels. Those chemical then rain down and flow into our tank. The water must also be treated with very small amounts of chlorine to kill...

How cool is this little brave? We went to the annual Hilo Inter tribal Pow Wow yesterday, taking place this weekend and Wailoa State Park. It's just the third time they've held this event, but it's quite popular. It's an inter-cultural exchange between American Indians and Hawaiians, to which everyone is invited. You could buy Navajo flat bread and shave ice at the same event. You really don't see that everyday. You also don't often see monkeypod trees in bloom like this one to the right. Today has been just about as lazy as they come, highlighted by a long nap this afternoon. I planted some tomato and basil seeds into small pots. I know the basil will grow and I suspect the tomatoes will not, but I'm going to try.... again. I have recently learned some of the details of my first residency for school this summer in Alaska. This is going to be a lot of work, to be sure. We're scheduled from 8:45 every morning 'til 10 every night for 12 da...

The slacker has returned! Today was fantastic. It was one of those days that could trick me into thinking this must be paradise. Over the past week, we've struggled with vog . It hasn't been so bad at the house. OK, it's been kinda bad. But not as bad as elsewhere. We had a few bouts of thick haze, but it was intermittent . The haze has been everywhere. Even O'ahu and Maui have had their landmarks, like Diamond Head and Hale'akala , shrouded in volcanic spew. They closed the volcano viewing station for a few days because the wind was blowing toxic gas and fine glass particles in the direction of where the visitors would be standing. Apparently it's not good for one's health to breath fine glass particles and toxic gas. The trade winds died away, causing all of this nastiness. Today, however, a light northeasterly breeze returned, palm trees began to sway and rustle, the sun shone brightly, the sky was blue and all was right with our little world...

The common cold has transformed itself into acute bronchitis. I don't need a doctor's diagnosis to know this. It happens every time I get a cold. It has been happening to me for as long as I can remember. It's how I know I'm a genius. I missed several weeks of school every year when I was young with bouts of bronchitis and occasionally pneumonia and still got pretty good grades. See? Genius. Just sailed on through. I was less sickly in high school and didn't miss so much class then. I rarely miss work as an adult. So taking two days off this week was a big deal for me. I plan to hack my way back to the wine factory today. I'm sure the tourists will love that. Speaking of the winery, even in my isolation here in the rain forest hovel, I've learned that yet another of my comrades has given notice. I do like the job, but it's frustrating when all these people I so enjoy working with leave. Months ago, one colleague left to return to school full t...

I have a cold. I don't like being sick. I've been bragging lately, mostly to myself, that I have not had so much as a sniffle in close to three years. Look at me, the picture of health. Well, all good things come to an end. A bug has infiltrated and I am not happy about it at all. I know exactly where I got it. The woman sitting next to me from Phoenix to Honolulu had some obvious congestion. She was where I was yesterday. I enjoyed chatting with her, actually. She was a marketing executive for the Princeville Resort on Kaua'i . She told me they will be closing for seven months to remodel the place, which is spectacular if a bit over the top with victorian glitze . She said they're going for a more understated form of elegance, reflective of their Hawaii location. That location is probably the best in all the islands. The place could be a total dump and command great prices just for the view. We talked story, then went our separate ways within our limit...