Robbery in Progress

I've always known I would not make a good witness to a crime, but now it's confirmed.

A couple of days ago, Art, Mom and I went shopping.  When we returned, we started opening up our house again.  We lock all the windows and doors before we leave so the house gets a little stuffy.

Suddenly Art called out to have me look out the window at something that looked awfully suspicious.

A man was running down the street carrying a white bag of some sort.  I thought about getting my camera, but he was running too quickly. I thought about calling 911, but thought we needed to see what we could first.  And was this truly a burglar?  The police could never come quickly enough any way.  The man ran down the street where a car came up and he jumped in and sped away.

Art said the man had come running from the backyard of our neighbor's house.  Mom said she noticed nobody was at home there when we returned from shopping because she didn't see any cars, but now there was a car.

Oh no... That sent a shiver up our spines.  We ran across the street and rang the doorbell.  Our neighbor answered the door in shock.  She had returned home while the robber was probably still there.  When the robber heard her enter, he ran out the escape hole where he had removed window jalousie slats to get in.  (This is why we replaced all our windows and doors when we moved here.)

We told our neighbor to call 911 right away.  When the police came, they asked a lot of questions.

Art was able to tell the officer clearly what the burglar was wearing, how tall, how much he approximately weighed, what color and type the escape car was and what that burglar did in that short time we watched what happened from our house.  Totally boggled my mind.  My brain couldn't take it all in.  I was so flustered.  Art said the fellow was stocky.  I thought he was skinny.  Art said the color of the car was a light metallic green.  I couldn't remember what kind of car it was at all. 

Later in the evening we brought over some dinner for our neighbors and learned that the robber had stolen a lot of their bank information.  Luckily our neighbor went right away to the bank where they helped him close accounts and protect them from identity theft.

This has really shaken us up.  We've evaluated again where we put things and have removed anything of worth to the safety security box.  The problem is me remembering where we put things.  I'll have to let our kids know so they can remind us.  One thing the Neighborhood Watch people told us was to NOT put things of value in the Master Bedroom because that's where robbers look first.

What we have especially learned is that we are not safe.

And that just creeps me out.

A Past No Longer There

I grew up in the sugar plantation town of Waipahu on the island of Oahu.  Our homes were provided by the plantation and my parents paid a very low rent.  We called it "the camp".  It was on a sort of flat hill.

We were about two houses away from the sugar cane fields and when they burnt the leaves for harvesting the canes we'd get a black ash shower that would have mom scrambling to get her laundry in.

There were huge mango, avocado, lemon, banana, tangerine, star fruit, plumeria, etc. trees everywhere.  My brother and I had the entire "camp" to play in.  Our parents never worried about us.

This is a photo of mom and Dennis in front of our house and our huge mango tree.

And here's Dennis swinging from the avocado tree in the back yard.

We had so many avocados that it was a chore to get them all given away.

I confess that when I got older, I may have felt a little embarrassed about living there instead of a regular home.  However, now that we're older, my brother and I regret not having taken more photos of the place because it's all gone.

When I was in Chicago, Dennis sent these photos to me to describe how it looked.  The camp had burned down.  He'd taken his sons to see the place he grew up in.

The area was later sold, plowed over and graded so that everything that used to be there was completely obliterated.  It's as though it never was.  There are only stores or new homes there today.  We've tried to drive around the area but can't find any landmarks to tell us where our home might have stood.

It's really a strange feeling.

What's Old is New Again

It's true that I have complained about Art keeping some of his favorite clothes until I can almost tear it off his body.  Hmmm...That does sound rather provocative, doesn't it?

However I must confess that I do have this one cardigan that I got from Lands End decades ago that I wear whenever it's a little nippy here in Hawaii.

It's perfect.  The fabric is not too heavy so that I'd get overheated.  However it's not too thin so that it could tear with many washings and being hung up on the clothes line, buffeted by winds.

Art was appalled when I forgot and wore it to go shopping one day. 

The sleeve and bottom ribbing of the cardigan was worn and tearing.  In fact, I could easily rip it with my fingers.

I was almost going to throw it away, but I kept staring at it and was reluctant to let it go.

So I decided to try something.

Since the body of the cardigan was holding up, I cut off the ribbings and hemmed it up.  The sleeves are now more three quarters length and the bottom is shorter.

Perhaps now it's a little too short, but Art won't have to be embarrassed anymore to be seen walking with me.

I'm still tempted to throw out his gray, worn out shorts though.  

A Letter to Mom

Mom is sifting through her things and trying to organize her belongings.  She says she wants to get rid of things she doesn't need so it doesn't burden us when her time comes to leave us.

She took out a box of all the letters my mother-in-law who lived on the Big Island and I wrote from Chicago.  She said I used to write long letters to her.

She asked me if I wanted to read them.  I didn't think I wanted to.

This letter was written in December, 1974.

For one thing, my writing is pretty sloppy and I figured I'd probably sound very childish.

Mom laughed and read it to me.

I couldn't believe I'd written it.  There were words I no longer know, phrases I don't use.  I couldn't write this letter today if I tried.  It was the weirdest sensation.  I couldn't recall writing the words.  It's like a different person had written them.  I wrote about attending a party where there were people from Japan who spoke only Japanese and poor Art couldn't understand a word.  I mentioned how I was told I would have difficulty conceiving and that I felt I was letting Art's parents down as well as Art.

Tiffany was born in fall of the following year to somebody I feel I don't think I know.

MY APOLOGY to the Commenting Friends I LOVE:
I'm so sorry I'm having to put up the Word Verification spam blocker again intermittently. I've been getting a flood of SPAM comments which are driving me nuts.  I can't take away the Anonymous option because many of my favorite commenters use that method to leave their much appreciated conversation.  Therefore, I'll have to resort to the word verification which I hate with a passion, but just every so often when my blood pressure rises.

Hiking in Makapu'u!

Our friends Dave and Diane suggested a hike up the 2.8 mile Makapu'u Trail on the other side of the island.  It has a 462 feet elevation.  Actually, it is an easy trail because it's paved.  Nevertheless Art recommended I wear my hiking boots since I've sprained my ankles on two previous hiking attempts.

The warning about crumbling cliffs and falling rocks had me raising my eyebrows.

It was fun to see some flora that we don't seem to see on our side of the island.

We do see this flower all over the island.  As a rather curious boy who often did get stung, my brother, Dennis used to wait until honeybees would go into these trumpet flowers and he'd pinch it closed.  Then he'd walk around with the trapped bee buzzing.  Once he let it go, of course... he'd have to run pretty fast to get away.  Maybe that's why he's a faster runner than me.

 

Dandelions used to make Art cringe in Illinois when they would invade our lawns.  However, these flowers were beautiful against the cliff.  They were different from the Illinois dandelions because of their pretty red centers.

These koa shrubs are found everywhere in Hawaii.  They often use the small seeds to make leis.

It wasn't a difficult trail and appeared to be very popular with both locals and tourists.  It was a first time for me.

We saw that people had been scratching their names onto the cacti.

I considered it graffiti.

Why do people need to do this?

These purple flowers were pretty, but I wondered if they are indigenous to Hawaii.

I had a pencil cactus in a hanging planter for about 20 years in Illinois.  I had no idea they could grow this big.

We could easily see which way the wind usually blew because of the formation of the leaning trees.  I had no desire to go and see what was in that hole in the shrubbery.

Although the views were magnificent, the vog (volcanic smog) did not make photography easy.

Woo hoo!

We made it to the TOP!

Dave took this photo.  Notice my nifty hiking shoes? That's Art looking over the guard fence at the following panoramic view that Dave also photographed.

We could see the Moku Islands from up high.  The one on the top right is called Rabbit Island. 

 

And then we saw this dog perched over the lighthouse and we all gasped.

When he looked at us he seemed to be saying, "Who me?  Of course I wouldn't jump."

Going down was a heck of a lot easier and we could see somebody was going to be thrilled to get our parking space.

After burning some calories on the hike, we felt we were entitled to a lovely brunch at Big City Diner.  This Portabella mushroom and spinach Benedict really hit the spot.

Hanamatsuri

April 8th is Hanamatsuri and the day to celebrate Siddhartha Gautama's (Buddha) birthday.  The Buddha was born in Nepal on April 8, 566 B.C. He was born the son of King Suddohana and Queen Maya.  Hanamatsuri is Japanese for flower festival.

Photo from Wikipedia

I remember going to the temple during Hanamatsuri and enjoying some activities as a child.

Trouble is, I can't remember if there was dancing or whatever.  I do remember a ceremony where they would pour water on a statue of the Buddha.

 For mom, it's another time to visit the departed and bring flowers in their memory.

She took great care in selecting her flowers and then we drove her to the Zen temple where her best friend's ashes are cared for.  She says a prayer to tell her friend we came to visit and to thank her for her friendship.

Mom always tells me the same story about how her friend had no children so she always doted on my brother, Dennis and me.  I remember.

Our next stop is in Nuuanu where my father and paternal grandmother rest.


The niche for our family is very high.  Mom reminds me that her ashes will be placed there someday as well.

Dennis and my sister-in-law, Nancy will join them there.

Then we go to see my grandmother and mom reminds me again how much she loved Dennis and me.  She repeats the story of how grandma despite her loss of memory in her final days, remembered us and held on tightly to our hands before she died.  Dennis and I both remember that.

Grandma lived with our family for many years and taught my brother and me how to play a Japanese card game called Hanafuda.  She used to give us Cracker Jacks and a candy called Tomoe Ame that came with a little toy.

Mom tells me again that we mustn't forget our departed family members because they all taught us things, cared for us and shared their lives with us.

There is another underlying message in all this, of course.  I shall have to remind my brother that when we lose mom many, many years from now, she will be expecting flowers and remembrance also.

We'll remember.

Looks Like a Cherry Blossom

Mom heard on the radio that there was a tree that looked like a cherry blossom tree in Waipahu. 

I attended the old Waipahu High School before they turned it into a middle school and built another High School down the street.  My brother was the first graduating class from the new Waipahu High School where this tree was supposed to be.

We passed by on Tuesday and I could see why people thought it looked like a cherry blossom tree.  It was spectacular.

Since school was in session, we waited until Saturday to go for a closer look.

Unfortunately, a lot of the flowers were now passed their prime.

Art checked online and says he thinks it's the Tabebuia impetiginosa.  I tried to look up Hawaiian tropical trees or flowering Hawaiian trees and  had no luck.

He found it right away by typing in pink tropical flower tree and somehow located it.

I thought Tabebuias were only yellow but I guess they come in different shades.

I was trying to take a photo of a flower cluster that Art had pointed out.

Doesn't it look like a bouquet?

Many of the flowers had already fallen and turned black.

The blossoms on the tree still looked pretty whenever the sun peaked through the clouds.

The light pink color didn't quite come through.  They really were the color cherry blossoms we'd seen in Japan.

Can you imagine how much prettier they looked last week?  I'll have to keep a look out for it next year.

Hospital Mistakes

Art showed me a newspaper article that was printed on March 24th titled, Hospital Violation Reports Available Online.  It was written by McClatchy Newspapers and printed in the Honolulu Star Advertiser.

They reported how sometimes deadly mistakes are made by hospitals where a patient could be given the wrong medication or undergo an operation meant for another person.  I did notice that when my mother had her eye operation done at Kaiser Permanente, she was asked who she was and what she was having done about half a dozen times by different people before she went into the OR.

Apparently there is now a new website that includes detailed reports of hospital violations from January 2011:

http://www.hospitalinspections.org/

The article said a lot of this information was not reported before and only available through a Freedom of Information request.

Although Tripler Army Hospital where we go has had their share of problems and lawsuits in the not so distant past, they must be OK since 2011.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  It's just nice to know there's one more website we can go to and get important health information.

Bad Habits

I've had a bad habit for nearly half a century and I've finally licked it.

I bit my nails.  Well actually, it was more like biting a corner and ripping it off.  Whenever I could feel my nails, it was a compulsion to tear it off.  Sometimes, if it didn't tear right, it got a little bloody. 

I did fight the urge and try to break the habit several times.  My wedding was one time because I  knew they'd be taking photos of my hands at some point.

Off and on I've tried all kinds of ways to break the habit.

And now I've finally done it.

I realized it when my nails grew out recently without my even thinking about it.  However, now I know I don't like having my nails long.  I'm apt to scratch someone or myself by mistake and my skin is thinner these days.  Typing is harder.  I wonder how people with those super long nails do it, much less anything else.  It just gets in the way.  I'll be snipping these off now.

OK, now I'm working on not ripping my toe nails off too; especially since I wear sandals more often in Hawaii.

Do you have any bad habits?

POSTSCRIPT:  Several of you asked how I stopped. I don't know... it just happened.  I did use Barielle which is a nail polish thing that is supposed to strengthen your nails.  I'm not sure if it did, but it does seem to help stop nails from cracking.  A teacher friend recommended it to me.

National Walking Day

Yesterday was National Walking Day.  So yes, of course Art was adamant about getting out there and taking a walk, rain or shine.  Luckily for me it wasn't raining, but it was a little chilly.  We've been breaking records here for cold weather.

No seriously.  Art says he went for his run this morning and it was about 59 degrees.  We have an outdoor thermometer by our side door.  I was actually able to wear a long pair of jeans.  I haven't worn long jeans since our trip to California in January.

I had to take the little sweater off by the time I got to the top of the hill because I had to exert myself.

I liked smelling the plumerias as I passed this area.  You can see them scattered on the ground.

I'm afraid I probably wouldn't keep walking if I had to do it on my own.  The American Heart Association does encourage you to walk with friends or coworkers.  I even told my friend, Diane we should do some mall walking sometime.... perhaps when she retires in a few years.

Meanwhile, I've got my best friend coaxing, encouraging, pushing, cajoling, urging me to walk every night that it's not raining.  In fact, every time I look out the window after dinner, Art says, "No it's not raining.  I know you're thinking of doing a rain dance."

Don't ask me where he gets that idea.

Getting the News

One of the pleasures of Art's day is to start it off by reading the morning newspaper.  If for some reason, the paper does not arrive, it sets his day a little off kilter.

When we visit my daughter in Illinois for longer stays, Tiffany will make it a point to order the morning delivery of the Chicago Tribune so her dad can read the paper there too.  One of the things Art missed when we moved to Hawaii was the much thicker, more comprehensive Chicago Tribune.  However, he's adapted.

Our children Tiffany and Jonathan don't feel the need to have a hard copy newspaper.  They are perfectly comfortable with getting their news online.  This is even though Jon's Sarah was an investigative reporter for a print newspaper in New Mexico. 

One of Art's quirks is that he likes to read the paper systematically without anyone messing up his reading order.  He gives me the comics, crosswords and Jumble because he knows that will keep me occupied for a while as he memorizes the front page.

The funny thing is, he'll also get news online.  However, there seems to be nothing more comforting than that morning paper and cup of green tea or sometimes coffee.  How do you get your news?

POSTSCRIPT:  Several of you mentioned The Daily Show.  We don't have cable and I always forget to watch him online.   However, I just looked it up on my iPad and found that there is an app for it.  I installed it and now Jon Stewart is just a click away.  Woo hoo!  And this is another reason I love blogging.

Two Months of Bad News

It's getting so I'm almost afraid to pick up the phone when it rings.  Each ring seems like a harbinger of bad news.

In the last TWO months we've had too many crises... one after the other.

Art's cousin, Ethel passed away and we attended the funeral.
Art lost two of his high school classmates on the same day.
My cousin, Joan had a stroke and I'm relieved and ecstatic that she is recovering well.
My cousin, Janice who is about the same age as me passed away from a heart attack.
One of Art's nicest cousins, Sarah passed away after a long illness. 
My cousin's husband, Paul passed away suddenly last week.

The interesting thing is that each death has brought us in contact with family members and friends we haven't seen in a long, long time and helped us to reconnect.

It is a terrible anguish, but I like to think of our departed loved ones smiling to know that everyone came together again in their remembrance.

I'm hoping desperately that with spring now here, winter sadness can begin to melt away.

POSTSCRIPT:  Thank you so much for all your kind words, everybody.  Mom says it's not over yet since I have several more relatives in ill health right now.  It's a very somber time for us.

April Fool's Day!

I'm remembering my years of teaching first grade.  On April 1st I would write a message on the blackboard for my class so they could see it when they came in the morning and sat at their desk.

1.  There will be no recess today.
2.  Write a 10 page story about your favorite animal.
3.  Write a 20 page story about what you plan to do tonight.
4.  Lunch will be after school.
5.  You may not talk all day.
6.  School will end at 6:00 today.

It was so funny to see their expressions. At first their eyes would get round, then puzzled, then doubtful.  Then there would be mumbling as they talked to their neighbors. Finally they would look at me and say, "You're joking, right?"

That would unleash a roomful of chuckles and noisy laughter.

Whatever the case, I'm sure that if they had to write such a long story, they could do what my granddaughter showed me.

I did have a rule with my class that they could only have one "very" or "so" or whatever.

However, I believe my granddaughter will get a pass this time for her thank you note to the neighbors who had given her a gift.  They will probably get a chuckle out of it too.

Did you fool anyone today... or were you fooled?

Celebrating Easter

We may be Buddhists, but we do celebrate Easter.  In fact we celebrate almost everything, especially if it's fun, happy and peaceful.

When our children were little they always participated in Easter Egg Hunts, often ate ham, had fun dying eggs and maybe made an Easter hat or two.

In this photo our very thoughtful and generous neighbor had given our kids these HUGE pizza-sized Easter cookies with their names on them.

Along with the resurrection of Christ, Easter feels like a holiday of new beginnings and spring excitement.  Art says he attended a sunrise service with an officer friend of his when he was in the Air Force.

Now that we're in Hawaii, Easter means dinner with family.  Unfortunately, our family is working this year so we'll be having Easter dinner with friends.  I'll be making a big healthy, carb free salad to bring over.

Art made this Easter card for our granddaughter, KC.

This is the front of the card.

 This is the inside.

Art actually drew this card over a month ago and mailed it to KC who has probably opened it this morning to see the first card that grandpa has ever made for her.

Unless it rains Art will be out doing an Easter sunrise jog.

I plan to enjoy a peaceful morning and would like to wish all of you a very Happy and wonderful Easter!

How will you be spending this lovely day?

False Alarm

My nurse practitioner, Kathy called to tell me that the REtest that she ordered of my blood work had come in.  What a relief!  I'm not diabetic after all.

The hospital lab had been having trouble with some of their results.  Kathy decided to be cautious when she heard other health care providers telling her they were getting some strange readings for their patients.

Meanwhile, Art had been watching what I eat like a hawk and telling me I should start jogging.

Now I can relax a bit.  I'm back at the PRE (diabetic) stage again.

Woo hoo!  It's true I'm not overweight, but I am predisposed to getting Type 2 diabetes.  There is a family history.  My mother and brother are both pre-diabetic also.

No, I'm not jogging, but I'll walk.

No, I'm not going to eat only vegetables, but I will be more careful about my sweets because my triglycerides are still somewhat high.

I feel like a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders.

And speaking of my sore shoulders....  (that will be another post).

Too Many Kindle Books to Handle

I'm writing a post a day just because it's a  personal challenge to see how long I can keep my brain moving.  However, it's been very difficult to do this and regularly see all the interesting things everybody else is up to.

Aside from all the everyday things that I need to do, I've had too many books to read on my Kindle and it's taking up too much of my time.  I put a bunch of books on hold at the Hawaii State Public Library and suddenly they're all coming up for borrowing every couple of days.  I'm uploading them onto the Kindle, but can't  keep up.  You do have to finish reading in 3 weeks.

I'm not putting any more books on hold for a good long while.  However, I have put a bunch of science fiction books on hold for Art.

Hmmm... Is that why his baseboard home renovation project is suddenly stalled?

Oops!

Bad News

Art and I went to Tripler Hospital for our check-up with our nurse practitioner today.

Kathy looked at my blood work and was not happy.  My cholesterol and triglycerides had gone up but the worst part was that my A1C had gone up to 6.7.

The A1C is the average of two to three months worth of glucose in your blood.  Acceptable is between 4.0 - 6.0.  This put me right into the diabetic range with no PRE attached to it.

My scores have been in the 5.7 to 6.1 range for a while.  I was overconfident and started getting sloppy with what I've been eating.  Art reminded me that while he was carbing up for his Half Marathon, we'd all been eating the same food which was very bad for me.

I've got to stay away from too many sweets and carbs, avoid fried foods, and sigh... anything that tastes good.  Just kidding.  I love veggies.

I'm feeling a bit depressed by this, but am resolved to get myself better again.  I know I can do it.  I've done it before and I'll do it again.  This was a wake up call.

I just wish it wasn't so jarring.