December 11, 2004

Back to Paradise

photo the verdant field... Our back yard

"Well, we have some issues to discuss when you get home but don't worry about it now. Its all going to work out and will be fine..."

When Woody says things like this to me I break out in a cold sweat... He wouldn't budge on the phone about things that were happening... All he would say was that the kitties were fine, the house and the store hadn't burned down.

Woody has undergone a change in recent months. He really is taking the bull by the horns as far as life goes. I just let him and say as little as possible and its working out. Answer to prayer, perhaps. I know that its a huge relief to me and makes me a lot less nervous to let go and not be the lone ranger all the time. This is true of nearly every area but one, and I guess I should just be thankful for what I've got.

But we do have some issues as it turns out. Woody's car died in our driveway last week and we will have the cash potion of the inheritance in a few more "business days", so can afford to have it towed the 25 miles to the Toyota dealership... My car's tire may have been slashed and again through Gods hand, it blew Thursday night as we rolled into the driveway. So we were closed yesterday as I was so ill ( but better today) and there was no way for us to go in. Woody managed to get my spare out and get it on my huge car,(he was practically beating his chest like Tarzan over it... Way to go!) and take it into Pahoa to Lex Brodie and they had a replacement tire for us and Woody had just enough cash on him to pay for that and get some lunch. The guys at Brodies said it looked to them like vandalism... And it well could be..

Woody had trouble with vagrants at the store all week. We know we have a guy that sleeps on the stoop in the back alley of the store. We came in early a few weeks ago and found him and asked him not to "live there" He got really angry. He now uses the area for a toilet. The landlord is not sure what he can do as the owner wont pay for a guard at night. Woody thinks hes the slasher. So we wont be using our parking space at the store anymore, both an inconvenience and a danger, but its going to be a problem to put a new tire on all the time.

The car problem has made it impossible for Woody to take work from the guard company... hes been getting a bit of work here and there. It allows him to keep his unemployment, but once he stops taking work that will end. I am very glad to have him in the shop as he is selling well and likes the "pressure of having to make the sale." At this point he knows that he can sell and discount to the max to get the deal done, and he did ok last week, but its not even close to what we expected for the holidays... We didn't get enough business in November to pay the bills for the month, and it looks like December will be the same. The other shops report the same and the local business report was talking "crisis" for local businesses if holiday sales don't improve. I know of four stores, as well as us, that will close in the downtown area if things don't pick up. One has been here for 20 years... Sad.

Woody was on the phone trying to sell the shop for improvements this week. He thinks we should sell it on eBay. Not a bad idea.

I have a foot high stack of mail to go through that I am dreading but will go to my office and deal with as soon as Mom and Dad Bandpeople stop the noise pollution next door. That room is the closest to their house...

My kitties are lovey dovey and cuddly. Woody said they were all over him while I was away. They know, don't they, when things aren't right. I could tell that they missed me at lot.

My cold is settling into the ugly wet and messy stage, but thankfully the dreaded cough is not worsening. July of 2003 I had the flu so bad it was a month getting over it, and the cough was so wrenching that Id cough till I threw up. No cough syrup would touch it. Thank You Lord for keeping that away from me this time around.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and support as I made the journey to see my Mom. Yes I would say that the trip was a success. There were things I needed to do that didn't get done. Other things, like being sure that Mom knew that it was her cousin Norma that had died, were handled. She was over the first shock by the time I got there. That was a dreadful loss for her and lent weight to her thoughts on death and dying and why God takes some people the way He does and others linger on...

I regret that my brother wasn't ready to see me. With the move to Ohio or some point in that area I may not see him again in this life...One never knows. I don't know...Some breaches cannot be repaired especially those that are manufactured in the mind...

My Hawaii is so lovely and I was taken aback by that again as I sat in the Interisland terminal at Honolulu airport. Blue Skies and green mountains... The Aina smiles to the returning traveler and says "Welcome back to Paradise"