Dad, family

I received word Friday that my dad in PA had suffered a heart attack, so spent a restless night waiting for word. He had been doing some work outside the house and started to suffer extreme shortness of breath and profuse sweating. Fortunately, my niece - who's a CNA - was there and knew just what to do. She gave him piece of an aspirin and convinced him to get to a hospital.

He underwent surgery Saturday morning and today was sitting in a chair, off the respirator. He's still on oxygen and very weak, but coming along as expected.

It's hard to think of my parents as getting older. I don't get down there as often as I'd like and the changes I see in them when I do visit seem drastic. My mother seems to have shrunk. She seems frailer and smaller than a few years ago. She has suffered several broken bones in the past two years, one the ball of her left shoulder and the other - just last month - her right wrist.

My dad also seems smaller, and has started moving much more slowly than he did just a few years ago.

I always counted on their strength and can see it waning now. I hate being this far away from them. I was planning a trip down to see them in October, part flying and part Amtrak. I've now shelved the Amtrak trip and will fly down earlier. I want to wait until he's released from the hospital and rehab, so am waiting to hear what will be a good time to get there.

They raised six kids in rural Pennsylvania. We lived a simple life, growing up in the country. They taught us ethics, how to live a good and moral life. Mother taught us how to cook, clean and take care of each other. Dad taught us about nature through walks in the woods just across the yard. We had walnut trees, raspberry bushes and cherry trees just outside the door. We ate game - rabbit, squirrel and venison, among others, that Dad shot. We fished and swam in the Susquehanna River just across the highway.

I miss that simple life now, and especially miss being near all of my family. It will be good to see them all again.

Hawaii

It's so good to be home after two weeks in Hawaii.

I went to Schofield Barracks where I was an observer/controller for an exercise they were doing there. It was good to connect with my Hawaii counterparts and to see that we all do things in pretty much the same way in a crisis - kind of validates our own activities.

There were a total of six of us from our garrison, and we had a fair amount of free time to visit the island, taste the Hawaiian cuisine and take photos. I had some very good Thai-style fried rice with shrimp and pineapple from a camper in a parking lot and fresh seafood at other locations. Most of the food was mediocre, however, or disappointing (the seafood platter, a bit pricy, had just one piece of ahi tuna, two shrimp and two scallops). The fried rice and the rib-eye steak at Sizzler were the two best meals of the entire two weeks.

I was able to link up with Tracey, who worked for me several years ago. Her mother was visiting from Florida, which was very nice. I had the pleasure of meeting her almost six years ago when Tracey's son was born prematurely. Connor is an active little boy, a huge fan of "Star Wars." His little sister Amelia is a smiling good-natured baby. Tracey's husband is deployed and due to return this month. I know she will be glad to have him back home.

Tracey was good enough to take me for a ride on the North Shore, where we visited several beaches and saw Sunset Beach and the Pipeline.

A sea turtle had hauled out on one of the beaches. It's illegal to bother or touch them, so volunteers stay nearby to keep the tourists at bay.

We could other turtles pop their heads out of the water, then almost instantly submerge again. They were so fast I couldn't get a photo of them.

We all spent some time in the town of Hale Iwa, a terrific little surfing town. The shops were rustic and the pace slow. We had lunch (very good) at Hale Iwa Joe's and shave ice on the way out of town. Although I thought it would be a big snow-cone, it was surprisingly good. I had one with mixed flavors (banana, pineapple and something else - I don't remember) and ice cream in the bottom of the cone. Very good.

It was great to see Tracey and her family doing so well. And I truly appreciated her hospitality. She showed me her home, one of the historic ones on Schofield Barracks and took time out of a busy schedule to play tour guide and have dinner another evening.

Our next to last evening we had dinner on the lanai at a restaurant across the road from another beach. The sun was starting to set and I was able to get a few shots, some with outrigger canoes that were paddling back and forth.

I enjoyed watching the birds and seeing the gorgeous flowers. These Brazilian cardinals are among my favorites. Their brilliant red heads are really set off by the white, gray and black.

I truly love seeing tropical plants. I love palm trees and brightly colored flowers. The hotel on Schofield was beautifully landscaped, with plenty of both. I especially liked the Hawaiian red ginger.



This was the first time I'd ever seen the hanging crab claw:

Although the hibiscus and rainbow shower trees (and everything else) was beautiful, I think my favorite is the bird of paradise.

We had good weather, not too hot and plenty of nice breeze. While it was a good trip, the actual travel part was brutal - 5 1/2 hours from Honolulu to Seattle, a short layover, and 3 1/2 hours to Fairbanks.

I'm very happy to be home. May/June is not the time to leave Fairbanks. It's green, warm and so pleasant - my very favorite time of year.

Happy summer everyone.