February 27, 2004

Coming Full Circle

I sent Woody home and I am blogging in the new store. This feels like it was always supposed to feel. Like a part of my home slightly detached from the rest. The place actually looks like a jewelry store... a bit bare and incomplete, but none the less the image of what it will be...

Its peaceful here. Friday night and people are going home, I can hear them in the hall ways and on the flight of wooden stairs. The storm is coming and I need to go home too.

I wanted to write...Its the birthday season for my family. My Father would have been 77 today. Twelve years dead and yet, not dead in my heart. He asked as he was dying to not be forgotten. For him and for me, as long as someone remembers you fondly, love exists.... I remember...

Lent has begun. I have been so busy that Its been a blur, and I made no renunciations for this time... The obvious ones are things I do already... No TV, or chocolate, I eat little meat, I think that I want to start thinking about a return to corporate worship... Perhaps this is the time...

Some of you know that I was very involved in the Calvary Chapel movement up until 1998 ( funny, the year I discovered Hawaii lol) needed to move on after some major unhappinesses... Led Worship for many years, miss singing very much. Miss the contact of other Believers, but really don't want to go down the road of commitment to a Body, only to get kicked in the chops again by self righteous pastors who think they got the pipeline to God....Brother let me tell you God speaks to people out side the movement, sorry that you didn't know that.

The electrician that put in our lighting these past few days turned out to be a Believer. He went to the New Hope church, (Four Square... Very big here), but he felt that he needed to get out of that Big Church and "go Home"so he and his family have returned to the Catholic Church here in Hilo. He asked if I perhaps needed to go home too...

Funny thing. My next door neighbor across the street is Calvary Chapel of Hilo... Perhaps Ivan the wireman had a word for me.....

Think I will pray about it.

The big storm is comming... it has begun to rain...

Friday Five Reprise 2-20-04

When was the last time you...

1. ...went to the doctor?
Doctor??? What is that??I have had so many doctors appointments in the last decade that I used up my quota.

2. ...went to the dentist?
A few weeks ago, I need a root canal, and reworks on two crowns...fun

3. ...filled your gas tank?
last week. todays gasoline price in downtown Hilo, $2.12 per gallon Chevron

4. ...got enough sleep?
making myself go to bed at 9:30pm, or as soon as possible thereafter. I am doing so much physical activity these days that I am in pain most of the time and my body needs the rest..

5. ...backed up your computer?
You would think after the bloody XP crash that I would do that... well Ive not done anything about it yet. Most likely will live to regret it..... again. By the way home computer is still dead after 5 weeks... Dont you just love Dell???

February 26, 2004

Just in case you thought that I died or something...

Im here... Lots to tell you and I hope that my temporary dial up connection lasts long enough to post something.

First we are moved in and the fianl touches..(ahem!...yea all the stuff that you have to do when you move somewhere...) are being done. I had everything going at a good clip last week, but this week has been an up hill battle. Its really hard to get people to understand that I have a business that I need to run and that I need to get open so I can pay them! Others like my land lord think..."Well just open like you are...this is Hilo and no one cares if things look unfinished." Hello! this is my Image we are talking about, and after all of this sweat debt and mayhem, why be half baked? Do things right....

I love the new location. Its spacious and full of light. Now, I will have to have the doors shut during business hours but right now I have the front and the back door open. There is evening traffic noise as Waianuenue is a busy street, but its not bad. The Bayfront is a short distance away and the breeze is blowing in. Id say that its 5 degrees cooler her than on Haili street where I was.

I have gone to an Asian theme and have moved antique replica pieces from my home into the store. They get a lot of attention sitting here, and I have had several offers to buy them. The "WOW" factor is in full swing... All the built ins are here and in and the lighting is being installed today and tomarrow should fininsh up. I want to be open on Tuesday, March 2

There is a major storm moving into the islands tonight. This is worrisome as my roof leaks. Not inside the shop thank you Lord, but the awnings are holding water and the gutters have not been cleaned out since the building was built (about 1965 or so). They are filled with leaves, so the water is comming in through the wall and all over the front window where my showcases are and it ruined the carpets and the paint on the woodwork. A strong wind is blowing through here. All ready, I had to take my sign down as it was swinging wildly and broke loose. Very minor damage to it, and I am grateful to my neighbor that has a cel phone shop, He and the electrician ran out to rescue me and my front window from the wayward sign.

Its been an eventfull two weeks. Valentines Day was a bit of a ho hum-mmer, sales wise... top it off by getting rear ended while trying to go to the post office. Minor damage to Johns car and to me, a little sore in the neck, but all in all im ok. I think that the very young lady that hit me was more shaken up than I was.

John is still working at Hilo Self Storage, on his temporary job. Nothing has come of his job hunting. There was a report that more people are working in Hawaii than ever before....Amazing. I know that he is trying, but its really hard to watch him flounder around and not seem to get anywhere

February 13, 2004

The Friday Five 2-13-04

1. Are you superstitious? NO


2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition? Not flying or going out on certain days or not conducting business. I have worked with many people from the Far East, where they have many such beliefs

3. Believer or not, what's your favorite superstition? There are many in the jewelry business, and regarding gems in general. I like the one about the owning and wearing of Opals. Opal is the birthstone for October and it is said that only those born in october should wear them as they are unlucky for others... Yes, perhaps this is true. I have seen more broken opals, I think some people take better care of them than others.

4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual? Luck???what is that ??? no I only believe that some people are better at exploiting their opportunities than others

5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not? No...How can what someone has written in a syndicated column for millions of readers have any validity in my life. Horoscopes are idiotic. There is nothing to prove that they are any better in telling your future and events regarding your life than any other thing, including the lines on your hand or cards or any other such nonsense.

I Can See Clearly Now....

This song is a joke here as "the rain is gone.." Never quite happens. Right now the sky is an iron grey... If I didn't know better it looks like snow.

Floors are down at #60, looks a bit stark actually. The carpet is a dark grey almost black and the walls are white....But the carpet and the cobblestone looking vinyl that I had laid in the bath room looks 1000 times better than the crummy (cruddy) tile and vinyl that was there.

As usual I have take the easy way out when it comes to decorating. I think that the walls and floors are a canvas that you display your treasures against. I get the feeling that for the most part that your walls and floors are supposed to make a "statement" I see all the fancy washings and colors and know in my heart that I would tire of looking at terracotta walls and messy looking spongings. Give me clean and uncluttered. I will provide the clutter in the space for myself.

I have had a bit of business, still not what I had hoped for but then its was the last minute people at Christmas that made it for us and could be that way tomorrow. We shall see.

I have the opportunity to apply for a small loan with the Big Island Microenterprise Corp. Will see about this next week. I wrote a letter and have my cash flow, and projection charts... Business Plan went the way of XP with my computer crash. But the letter was sort of a mini one and Kathy Hammes looked it over... Need to redo the biz Plan anyway... In my spare time lol

I likely wont be posting again for a bit. Will be taking this hard drive home and plugging it in for the duration. The Dell reps were calling and we will get the other HD repaired perhaps.

More Valentines shoppers got to go

February 10, 2004

All You Need is Love... And a Lot of Money....

I feel like the old "Money" song... You know the one where you hear the cash register ch-chinging in the background... Not that I have a lot of money or sales..frankly the sales are dismal for the season... and this is when I certainly need them. But its all the funds going out of here and nothing coming in. Its a mess, a scary mess.

Everything is running into over budget...But I know that this is the way of it and that eventually it will all come back to me. But its very scary to me the control freak...Yet like my ad sales guy said when he came in to pick up his layaway, "You have to move and get out of this place... Business will increase 10 fold..." I hope that he is right.

My floor guy had a communication problem, so when I didn't hear from him at noon yesterday, I called and found another guy and he met us at the store...Wonder of wonders...EARLY... Never happens and I will blow the guys cover and tell the whole town how Ray broke ranks and was on time to an appointment. He found more trouble, a broken toilet that had slowly leaked and ruined the subfloor...more work for the landlord but I am ordering the work and we will work out the details later.

This build out is going faster than an LA Taco Bell... ( they go from ground breaking to the first order going out, in two weeks...) The contractors here cant make up their minds that quickly... They don't understand that time is money and you cant wait around for the other guy.

I need about 3000.00 more than I have. Need some big sales, today!

Had a setback. Sam and Sue Lorch came to the store on Saturday. Seems that Sue was out of line to say anything to us as HE has his own ideas... like he wants to open his own "repair factory" out of their house. Pick up repairs from jewelers, do the work and return it. No customer connection at all... OK but that's not creative or anything, but that's what he wants, what she wants (which was, she said to work in a small shop in a creative way...) is not important... Feels like he can come in and undercut the current "guy that does this" Well that "current guy" is John Adair, the owner of a well respected business that I admire and know he spent a long time developing trust... You don't just rush in and get that...I wont support that.

People now take their work to John Adair, who they know is working out of his home as he lost his lease to his retail store and didn't have the money to make a move. For 15 years his store Thundering Seas Jewelers, was a staple here. He does a lot of more modern creative stuff, and has a following. His retail demise led me to open my place. People trust him and he has a repair/custom work following as well . Takes time to develop that. ( check out his code of ethics would that we all have that...)Sam wont get that over night...

I have a vision of being a place where people can bring their treasures, like grandma's wedding rings and have them lovingly worked on and restored. You would always know where your piece was, because it isn't leaving the store. You would have jeweler to talk to and a place to sit and people you know to deal with... Sort of like it was not so long ago... This is how craftsmen do business. I want someone who feels this way . Ya you wont get rich but you will have the satisfaction of doing a beautiful thing the best most loving way possible... That is the essence of Aloha.

One concern is that they don't want to teach anyone.I guess they got ripped off by people that didn't stay after they were trained. .. I only want to learn so that I can be a good business person and that is another criteria, be willing to show me how, not so I can do your job, but so that I can understand what is being done and be an educated person. I am studying the business end of the jewelry business more than the manufacturing end anyway.

If I had a nickel for everytime I said to myself how much I love the jewelry trade Id be a rich woman. If good intentions were a line of credit or that desire to be the best was a negotiable instrument, Id have wealth to do what I feel I need to do, But for now what I have is what I have and I can only be thankful that there is that much and more to come.

All you need is love... and a bit of faith... cash helps too

February 09, 2004

Monday Madness 2-9-04

1. On Sunday afternoon, I like to just... Lay around and catch up on my mail

2. I'm behind someone at a traffic light, the light turns green and they just sit there, I... NEVER HONK (formerly from LA, where they shoot first ask questions later) wait paitently after all arent we all on aloha time??

3. My immediate reaction to someone making a nasty remark to me is... stand there with my mouth open... hopefully I wont put my foot into it by retorting with my own nasty remark. Getting better at ignoring such trash

4. If I had to live in a state/country where it was cold most of the year, I would...
I suppose that the word HAD is the operative... ummm I would not "have" to do anything...I would move. The Dakotas are my idea of weather hell... two winters, a green one and a white one...

5. When the weather outside is hot and humid, I prefer to... bask in it....rains 355 days a year here, average temperature 80f, average humidity 75%...

6. My favorite 'comfy' clothes to wear around the house is... a mu'u mu'u...

7. If given a deadline at work/school to finish a project, I usually... make it... These days I only have dead lines of my own choosing....

8. If someone gave me a pet for my birthday, I would... Depends on what the creature is. Fish...thank you...bird... Mak and Nani thank you for the exotic snack...an always tiny fluffy puppy, (want a maltese, chin, peke-a-poo, or yorkie...birthday is march 6) thank you...maybe....a kitten, I would love it but Mak and Nani would find that highly irritating. Come to think of it, the puppy will drive them crazy too...

9. As far as watching the clock on weekends, I...watch the sun that is clock enough

10. I usually wash my car about every... hardly ever... not needed

February 06, 2004

So... Call Me a Cat Herder...

Im hearding cats... and things are going well. The new shop was painted ceiling to floor, and I was able to get a plumber to cap off the water and pull the hot water heater and sink out. A carpet guy frind of Ken the Contractor wants to know what all the fuss is about with the floor...you take Fixall, make a paste, fill the grout lines and you have a smooth floor, no padding needed and just lay the carpet, using an adhesive. no biggie. Im sure that hell do it next week.

My mentor Kathy Hammes of the SBDC is comming to help me pack up on the 16th, on the 17th, a moving company is slated to move the big stuff and the 18th is the phone alarm and glazing the front door with clear glass so that I can see what is going on before I open the door...the 19th new door locks.....

Contractor to demo after the 17th... I may be able to open prior to march first...but I am not pressing my luck. the electrician is due that last week sometime. He is the last thing.

I can hardly believe it and yes it gets better.

In Sept. 2002 when I first was thinking about doing this whole jewelry store thing, while working nights at the Black Pearl Gallery. A lady walked in and we talked for the whole evening and it was as though we had been friends forever. Her name was Sue and she and her husband Sam were the owners of Gem Safari, a freestanding, independent jewelry store in Toledo Ohio. She was firming up buying some land to build a home and move here cause they knew that this was what God had told them to do. Selling Gem Safari wasnt so easy and that took a lot longer than they thought it would. So at last email, they were still in Ohio, not sure when the migration would take place.

In Sue walked into the store last night saying that she was ready to go to work doing my repairs and helping.....Amazing....How I need a bench person and we are now ready to set that all up. If we only get the people that walk into the store looking for a repair person, it will be plenty to pay the extra rent....

It comming together... Thank you God and thanks to everyone that says yes to me when I ask for something. We live in a NO NO NO world so much....

Woody is helping as all of the trades people seem to have a office and storage place where he is working. I believe that was all planned too... I am so thankful for that.

We had a 4.1 magnatude earthquake last night, epicentered 6 miles northwest of Kalapana...or pretty darn nearly in our backyard. Felt like a truck hit the house. The earthquakes here seem to be more jerky and that to me is more dangerous as they are shorter and you cant get into a safe place to ride it out. For those of us like myself who are some what earthquake riding experts, the closer you are to the epicenter the worse the ride, a 2.3 is not very big but if its under you watch out!!!. I have friends that were on top of the epicenter of the Northridge earthquake in southern California 10 years ago and they discribed the incredible roaring noise that drowned out the sound of your house colapsing around you. Just amazing...

Likely linked to the heavy snowfall we had last night on Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, the mountains had a beautiful blanket of fresh white snow on their tops... Remember the legend...lol

The Friday Five 2-6-04

1. What's the most daring thing you've ever done?
Twice in my life, Ive stood down a armed (with a gun) person... I knew that lives were at stake, and that the perps involved were demented.



2. What one thing would you like to try that your mother/friend/significant other would never approve of?
I have done way too much stuff in my life that nobody approves of. I have faced dying a number of times and have learned that I will never gain the approval of those that I desperately wanted to approve of me. so I take chances and try things...At this point in my life, I only require God's approval. If I stand on that solid ground, that makes me invincible


3. On a scale of 1-10, what's your risk factor? (1=never take
risks, 10=it's a lifestyle)

No pain=No Gain

Nothing ventured=Nothing gained

Real Living=Risk

"He is no fool to give that which he cannot keep, to save that which he cannot lose..." Jim Elliot, missionary martyr, 1949

so count me a 10


4. What's the best thing that's ever happened to you as a result of being bold/risky?

Things...Best things

I have lived to see nearly my 42nd birthday

Others have lived longer, as they were not shot by a wacko

I now live in one of the most beautiful places on earth

I borrowed against my future, and now Im a business owner

I didn't commit suicide when 15 years ago my ex told me as he was leaving that I wouldn't last a year and I would have to sell myself to survive as that was all I was good for.

I said yes, after 20 years of running away from God, to Jesus Christ and a life of following after Him. I have gained so much in this life and Eternity as a bonus...

5. ... and what's the worst?

I have few regrets, most of them petty and not worth the effort to type them. It may be that the most recent risk of dumping my hard drive to try to resurrect it was a dismal mistake.


Real Risk, is choosing to live without God...

13 Quotes for Life

Again, I have to thank my cousin, Lyn, for this. I cracked up when I read this, however there are some pearls of wisdom here..

Read on....

13. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

12. Life is sexually transmitted.

11. Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

10. Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection make him a sandwich!

9. Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.

8. Some people are like Slinkies ... . Not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.

7. Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

6. Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

5. All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

4. Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents?

3. In the 60's people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

2. Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

AND THE # 1 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
You read about all these Terrorists most of them came here legally, but they hung around on these expired visas, some for as long as 10-15 years. Now, compare that to Blockbuster; If you are two days late with a video those people are all over your case. I think we should put Blockbuster in charge of immigration.

February 05, 2004

Let the Games Begin! an update....

Lease was signed officially yesterday. I also gave notice to the Cunningham yesterday. Was so happy I could just scream.

Now the fun begins. Does anyone remember a few years ago the Superbowl commercial from etrade.com? A bunch of cowboys were hearding cats, insted of cows? Pretty funny and if you know anything about cats, herding them is just about impossible. Same with building or remodeling here in Hawaii. The process is a maze of crazy the likes of which, well, it rivals the beaurocracy of India, and the "throw up your hands cant do a thing about it with out a payoff" madness of any third world country where corruption rules...Hawaii is a third world country in that regard... Getting everyone working on the same page is like hearding cats.

There is a building boom going on here the likes of which has never been seen. It reminds the older folks of after WWII and all the housing that went up. Pretty darn amazing. Getting a contractor (and you have to have one) is almost impossible. I am so fortunate that I was able to get the guy that did the build out for me last year to help me rip out all of that and move it to the new location. Its all the little things that have to happen...

Like getting someone to lay the floor... Still a lot of debate about the tile subfloor and all that. I just want it done....Now we need a plumber to rip out the bootleged water heater and stand sink in the back room that may take some doing as plumbers are the most in demand trade in East Hawaii. Bother. But it has to be done.

there are the electricians, movers and locksmiths. Alarm guy and dear friends that want to help. Getting this coordinated is enough to give me a headache.

Woody is doing well at his little job and while its not anything like he needs its something and Im glad of it. I do miss him being here so that I could be free to do stuff and facilitate the move....

No word from Dell. I should have my vid card soon and I will have the tech re install the drivers and stuff to my system. Uggh.

Sales have tapered off a bit. Hilo is the town of the last minute shopper. Valentines day approcheth, guys. Do the deed now before its too late!

February 03, 2004

Monday Madness 02-02-04

1. I probably spend about _3-5 hours_____ on the computer every day.

2. It always takes me __45__ minutes to get ready in the morning.

3. I would rather go to the dentist than go to __Dentist is the worst_______.

4. My favorite dessert is __Ice Cream Something just give me chocolate anything______.

5. When I go to the store for one item, I always walk out with about _10___.

6. If the statement, 'You are what you eat' was true, I would be a coffee chocolate covered Mac Nut_______.

7. I set my thermostat to _____ in the summer and _____ in the winter.
no such thing in Hawaii

8. My favorite outdoor activity is __walking or biking_______.

9. My favorite indoor activity is __reading or writing (either the old fashioned way or on/with a computer)_______.

10. When I'm feeling down, I usually __Write more_______.

Rest In Peace, my old PC

I was posting to the Blog on Sunday when my computer froze up. A slight grinding sound could be heard as everything came to a halt. The screen looked like a test pattern and then black. When I tried to boot up again, it would never go to a sign on screen, but would shut off and on boot and re-boot in a helpless frenzied despair.

I was in trouble before this. I couldn't get my CD writer to work, and we have had a lot of power surges. Even with the mondo surge protector that I have it likely wasn't enough.

I spent 10 (count em') 10 hours on the phone with Dell trying to fix the problem. It was agreed that XP had royally crashed taking with it two years of research for the business, 500 links, and perhaps 1000 photos ( was in the process of placing them on disc) my vid card is trash too. Not to mention the program's that I paid for that were only downloads... Not sure what to do about that. Just a lot of wasted time which really bugs me.

Here we go... Now to count your blessings time...

1. My inventory was backed up

2. My photo collection was half backed up. I lost most of the pics I shot in 2003, but I do have the early ones, especially the baby picks of Mak and Nani and early stuff from the early days on the island

3. I wasn't injured yesterday as I bent and twisted to get the hard drive in and out of the lovely but totally non functional computer desk that I have in the living room. Also that i wasn't electrocuted as I did all sorts of technical things with the system some of which had to be done while plugged in.

didn't know that PC's have back up program's. I manually, one file at a time backed up Azure Seas Inventory on to floppies a few days ago, thank God for that reconstructing that would have been a nightmare...

We are pretty sure that we couldn't have saved the system, If we could have don't tell me I will only cry harder.

Its going to be a few days before a tech can get the card then we bring the HD to their shop. buying a new hard drive will require a substantial investment as it is two years old and Dell pro-rates. I wonder if they will even cover it as its a "softwear" problem (that they installed)...Uggh..

Things are progressing with the move. I was posting on Sunday about my indecision regarding the flooring of the new store.(title was "Help Help, is there a Decorator in the house!!!") Currently, there is very worn, filthy, (scary since it was formerly a tattoo parlour) mossy green ceramic tile. I cannot rip this out. Cant afford to demo it and I may not be able to lay carpet over it, as there is no way to secure the carpet to the floor, other than drilling holes in the tile. Tile is not my choice as it is so unforgiving to dropped objects. We have gorgeous white ceramic tile in our house wall to wall and Woody has dropped and broken two pairs of glasses. Also he has had two slip and falls, and as he says at his age his slip and fall capacity is getting more and more limited. Hes being more careful and we do have slip proof rugs down for traffic areas...In a jewelry store, fragile things like, lets say, Opals are toast, when they come into sudden direct contact with a hard surface. Shatter into dust...

I think I can cover the floor with carpet and using quarter round molding, tack the carpet to the walls. We shall see.

I also want to incorporate some pieces of furniture from my home into the store. Both are black and Gold lacquer Chinese pieces a writing desk and a round table and chairs for a social area for selecting special order pieces and to work on custom designs. The current store motif is a bit tech, white Formica cases, mirrored glass. The lighting is hand made Italian glass trumpet shaped globes on chrome pendants. These were screamingly expensive and if I don't use them Woody will flip!!! I used a blue Aloha print fabric to soften this all up and give it a Hilo feel of laid back Hawaii... and I will change the fabric to try to tie the elements together. I also will be changing the carpet from blue to charcoal which will help too, ( not to mention that its cheap and there are the requisite 50 yards that I need already in Hilo and on hold...Sometimes we must sacrifice style for expedience)

Im still looking for that decorating help, so if any of you have ideas, I hope to take pics of the furniture and the shop and get them on the site.

Does anyone on know about back up programs for a PC? Do I need a second Hard drive? would like to know.

Thank you one and all for your support and your comments. I appreciate each and everyone.

February 01, 2004

In Memoriam

Its been a year since the Columbia disaster....I cant hardly believe it . I remember clearly my Mother calling me from California telling me to get the news on...What I saw numbed me as this was the very thing my Father gave the best years of his life to prevent. The loss of the precious payload of human potential...The best and the brightest of our and now other nation's people... In a space accident.

For those of us that are or have been connected to NASA. (My Father worked for NASA from 1963 to his early retirement in 1971) our hearts go out to all who might read this that may have had family or friends lost in this terrible disaster. ..

What the "space program" is today and what it was 30 years ago I think is different. Then, nothing would have been left to chance. My Father watched the three astronauts burn to death in Apollo 1, and swore that wouldn't happen again. As a senior Staff Project engineer on the environmental Systems end, he wrote an number of memos stating the dangers of a pure oxygen atmosphere that ultimately cost the lives of Three astronauts. He like those engineers that saw that chunk of foam fly off and mash Columbia's wing felt he hadn't done enough, fought hard enough to save the lives of the crew...Later,due to other sorts of bureaucratic problems, Apollo13 was placed in harms way. He was one of the people that volunteered to go on a one way mission to rescue Apollo 13, thankfully that wasn't needed. It has always been drilled into my heart that the crew was THE most important consideration no matter what.

I think we failed those brave people. I think we have spent too much money on garbage, and not enough on the Space Endevour that would have been a boon to mankind. The Shuttles have run too many years and are totally outdated. But we have nothing to back them up. Shear foolishness on the part of NASA and others

I had a friend that asked why we aren't sending men to Mars? Its one thing to send them up and quite another thing for them to come home safely. A two year round trip is out of the question and that is too bad Had we as a nation stayed the course, we'd be there by now...

I salute those that have perished in the effort to explore space, as well as those that continue to train, to risk to expand our knowledge of what is around us....

Makoa's Song

I love just about everything about Hawaii that has to do with the wildness of it. The incredible raging storms and the sun showers that come out of nowhere, like a blessing from heaven. The Wide Blue Seas, so calm that even in the low light of nightfall, clouds reflect of the mirror surface. that same seas may in a short time become a tempestuous, churning fury of howling winds and raging surf...

There are times when I lay in bed at night and listen to the pelting rain, it comes from the seas a mile or so away and you can hear the roar in the distance... It rolls in and first there is this puff of breeze that smells very good then this rush of air and right behind this is a loud downpour of rain. In waves it comes. This is a blessing that so much of the world would love to have and a great gift it is.

Some other creatures respond to it. The tiny couqui frog, no bigger than a dime, has a very loud call and is considered a pest by most. (its a invader alien species, as are all of the creatures mentioned in this post including me, Im afraid lol)) The Indian Mynah bird calls in the aftermath of the rain as does the flock of wild Portuguese Fighting Chickens that hang out in our yard (look like peacocks the roosters do. they are very noisy)As the rain subsides, these break out in song, sometimes together and sometimes one or two at a time. The closer to dawn, the louder it is, or so it seems.

And there is another night singer, my boy kitty, Makoa. He seems to know that the rain would bring his favorite prey out, a rat or mouse, so he grabs a toy mouse and brings it into our bedroom and begins to sing along with the other creatures of the night. He lays on a rug with the toy and meows in time to the chickens and the frogs, a part of Gods choir of praise. Im sure that I sleep through it often, but times like last night when I was awakened by the rain coming down so hard, I praise him for "catching the mouse" and he jumps up on the bed, still calling in a little voice. Purring very loudly, he snuggles up for a rub on the belly and cuddle with "Mom". So easy to please and thankful for the bit of praise.

Makoa's song reminds me that God cares about the Great and the Small, and I need to praise and be thankful for the great and the small, just like my kitty and the other creatures of the Hawaiian Night.

Thank you all for your kind words... some have posted comments.... others have emailed. Your aloha has touched me greatly.