PEARL HARBOR 1941

My friend Eldon sent me this photo discovered years after the fact in a sailor's camera...the picture was still in the old camera years after the attack. He wanted to share the picture since we are taking all our guest for the Pearl Harbor tour.....thanks Eldon

Thanks Eldon

Meeting Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) ** LOST

Guess who I met today?

Today as i was walking back from the beach with my float in hand..i met a face I recognized meeting me on the sidewalk. It was MICHAEL EMERSON who plays Ben Linus on the hit TV show filmed here on Oahu "LOST".. I told him that my wife and I were big fans of the show..he was very nice. We chatted for about 5 minutes. They started production again this week. He asked where i lived on the mainland and when I told him he has visited Nashville and really enjoyed the city. He told me that the actors really loved Oahu and they all mingled around so I would probably see other's during my visit. Although he is the only one living in our neighborhood. He had on the "Harry Potter" glasses and looks exactly like he does on TV except is younger looking in person. He had been to the same neighborhood food pantry we use for small shopping items...he was carring a 12 pack of Pepsi.....a very down to earth star!

Island Friends

We are meeting so many nice friends living here at the Waipuna. We had dinner last evening with Ron and Diane from Nevada and our neighbors (underneath our unit) Jim and Ann that moved here 10 years ago from northern California. This morning as Queenie and I were going out for breakfast we got on the elevator with Senator Daniel Inouye who has lived at the Waipuna for 25 years. He was very nice and said he was leaving to go back to Washington for Senator Kennedy's funeral. He is very popular in the islands since he gets huge funding for all the military here as well as "pork" projects all over the islands. He was very friendly although I was not lured into being a democrat... very fun and interesting all the people we are seeing from around the world....but we love and miss all our wonderful "Mainland Friends"....be safe everyone....ray

For a fun video of the fam in the Phillipines follow this link!

Young people can do such AMAZING things! Here's a link to a video prepared by Mary and Reed (Bruce's son) on their recent trip to the Phillipines!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93_pnACKIqo

Dogs and Puppies

This place has the cutest dogs! When I see a cute one, I don't hesitate to act like the owner is my long lost sister who wants to talk to me. Yesterday I saw the cutest weinner ever! I wanted that dog! If they didn't have such atrocious toileting habits, I'd be sneaking one into the Wiapuna Condo and let the chips fall where they may. "Gunter" was a tiny little dachshund-cuter than this picture if you can imagine. He was licking my fingers and seemed to want me as his owner. (I had just eaten a few Doritos.) He was soft and cuddly and if you've ever owned a weinner, you know there's nothing like them. Now that brings me to another dog who lives in our building...Cujo. I think his real name is Fluffy or something, but he is not a Fluffy. He is the size of a small pony, strains at the leash, and I think I've even seen a tiny bit of foam. His owner is frail and gray and over 80. Behind her walks the daughter who is at least 70 and together they are both struggling. Cujo especially hates Ray. Everytime we enter or leave the building, Cujo is on the elevator straining and snarling, and Ray cups his privates with his hands. Last time we saw him his owner said, "He's a good dog, just dislikes men." Ray ever trying to be polite, didn't quite know what to say as he gently removed his right testicle from Cujo's mouth.

We are about 1 and 1/2 miles from one of the most fabulous shopping centers on the face of the earth. It has a food court with every conceivable type food. It has an entire level devoted to my favorite restaurants. I can't even begin to describe the stores it includes such as Macy's and Neiman Marcus. The others don't sell anything I really want or can afford. I think Ray would draw the line at the $3,000 purses. Steve the hairdresser is about at the margin of his endurance. That leads me to my question: How can a man who can spend days in a glittering casino pushing a button on a machine watching for the 3 red sevens, not have an attention span longer than 20 minutes in the mall??????? (This includes the time spent eating at the food court.) He literally is sauntering around asking me if "I'm about ready to go" before I find the department I want to shop in. I almost panic and shut down because I know I have such limited time.. He also has esp. I have never checked out of a store in my entire life without the phone ringing. He must have put some sort of alarm on my wallet. Anyway, I am going to start going without him, but will probably need a map of the mall and have to end up calling him to come get me out. It would be so embarrasing.

QUEENIE TAKES RETIREMENT IN STRIDE

Yes as the school children returned to Nolensville for the 2009-10 season I could tell Queenie was missing the excitement of the first day of school ....but after a day at the beach and a great dinner at Outback (thanks to a retirement gift) she seemed to get over it! ha

Important to follow the rules

People, we have been to the big island! It was not as I imagined! I thought it would be like Oahu, just bigger and with, of course, the volcano. First a little lesson, as school started at NES today, and I didn't get to teach. Here's how the big island is shaped: make a fist with your right hand and turn it in slightly to the left and stick your pointer finger out. That's the basic shape, then right in the middle toward the top third and bottom third are two vast mountains called Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa...( L for lower), so it's at the bottom. Kilauea is to the right of Mauna Loa. The rim was closed due to the sulfer dixoide known as "vog"--smog and volcanic smoke... (they said stay in your car with the windows rolled up, but there were people out frolicking and making pictures...) We got to look into the caldera from the area near the famous "Volcano House." How this hotel has survived all these years of eruptions is beyond me. It is really a small inn or hotel with a fireplace that has been burning for over a hundred years. (I think it's probably gone out at some point, surely, and they didn't tell anyone.) The caldera is a huge crater with a smaller crater inside that is smoking. The lava is not coming out there at this time, but out vents in the sides that spray into the sea creating a huge plume. I have always wanted to see a black sand beach, and we got to see one...(actually two, one from a great distance though). It was the coolest thing. No one is actually laying out on it because it's near the lava flows plumes and lava fields. The ocean is churning too. Actually, most of the whole coast of the big island is craigy cliffs and a boiling, churning sea. There is something unsettling about seeing and being so near that upheaval of the earth. The most amazing things to me were the lava fields. I had always invisioned a few sections of black, cooled lava... but there are acres and acres and unending acres with the road silently, desolately running through them. The whole island pretty much seemed quiet with some tourists, but not what you'd expect for such major sites. The second most amazing thing was the drive to the top of Mauna Kea with sheer drop-offs for thousands of feet near the sides of the car. It goes up and up and up and is mostly smooth and devoid of vegetation and reddish sand like I picture the moon or Mars. Half way up is the the ranger station where they give you so many warnings about the thin atmosphere that you don't want to go any farther, but Ray made us. They warn of dizziness, nausea, losing your thinking process, becoming disoriented... Ray said I already have most of those so he wasn't really worried. At the top it's lonely and quiet with all the observatories sitting quietly with a few land rovers parked around. I thought there were only a couple observatories, but there's about 15! I so wanted to look through one of those telescopes! We spent every day touring with Bruce and Vanessa who were such great tour guides. Vanessa did a wonderful job planning and making all our arrangements. We got to visit with and meet some of their friends. One of their friends had the most unusual chicken as a pet. It is called a "silky." I'm going to upload a picture. We said it should be called a "chickapoo" because it was a chicken with poodle hair! Here come the pictures!! First a happy birthday to our friends Pat, Michelle, and Richard! Love you guys! Happy starting of the new school year to all my NES friends! I am really thinking about you.

BIG ISLAND VACATION

Wow! Awesome, incredible, sights from the "Big Island"...We returned last night from a six day excursion on the Big Island of Hawaii. Cousin Bruce and Vanessa were our tour guides. They had their honeymoon on the Kona Coast years ago and although they have business on the Island it was fun for them to just "Vacation"

We flew to Kona and traveled around the island to Hilo. We stayed at the Hilo Hawaiian which was beautiful and "open air" . The scenes were beautiful and with no insects in the islands the open air environment is awesome. On the way we visited Mauna Kea and the various observatories with incredible views. The ranger station is at 9500 ft elevation. You stop and rest at this elevation to get use to the altitude for 30 minutes before traveling to the top which is by dirt road and is 13,680 ft above sea level. When on the summit it is like being on another planet or the moon. (perhaps this was where Neal Armstrong really landed).

After spending two days in Hilo and visiting the Akaka Falls and Rainbow Falls we traveled to Lava Tree State Park and could see the lava flowing into the sea and also played on a "Black Sand Beach" We went to open air markets and ate some really great food at Kens Restaurant a real favorite in Hilo...everything on the menu was incredible.

We spent a day viewing and hiking at Kilauea Volcano. This Volcano really demonstrates how awesome mother nature can be and with all the sulfur dioxide spewing it makes Al Gores warming theory seem "CRAZY"..LIKE WE CAN SOMEHOW CONTROL PELE . This volcano has had 2500 degree rivulets pour into the 78 degree ocean waters since January 3, 1983 with this last eruption.

We visited the Parker Ranch which is the largest cattle ranch in the USA or maybe the world..(not sure) We stayed in Kona at the Outrigger Royal Sea Cliff. This condo was incredible with wonderful pools and views of the lava fields on the beautiful Kona Coastline. We saw where Captain Cook landed and also died. Queenie and Vanessa spent some time in the Hilton at the site of "DOGS WEDDING"...truly a national landmark.

A real highlight was meeting Jim and JD (JD is Allen's mom) Allen is dating Bruce and Vanessa's beautiful daughter Kanoe. Anyway we went to a house they own for wine and to watch the sunset. The house is high atop a mountain in Kona..the house is in a gated community and the guards not only check your ID but actually call the residence for permission before you can enter. The structure is unbelievable ..the house has been written up in magazines as the "Dolphin House" there is a huge statute of dolphins swimming in the "open air entrance foyer..u then see through the living room into a infinity pool that overlooks the Pacific Ocean at 4000 ft above sea level....because the structure has total privacy the house has been rented at times to notables such as Bruce & Demi Moore, and several professional athletes (Admiral Robinson Houston)...Charles Barkley etc......unbelievable!! We then dined at an unbelievable French Resturant La Bourge.

Sunday we attended church at the Mokuaikaua Church in Kailua-Kona Hawaii. This was the first christian church established in Hawaii. It was founded in April 1820. It was a very inspiring service...the people are so very nice. The beauty of the Hawaiian Islands make a person know a God had to have created this paradise.

Another great local restaurant where we dined was Likeke's located at 75-5909 Ali'i Drive Kailua Kona..We talked with the owner who established the restaurant in loving memory of his son Ricky..who now rest in Paradise.

Its hard to describe all the sights and beauty of this island but we will try and include photos for some examples...

We thank Bruce and Vanessa for all the fellowship and fun on our trip....it was incredible!

Connie and I are now back in Honolulu and getting ready for tomorrow's "tropical storm" Queenie seems to be getting into this "Retirement GIG"

ALOHA DEAR FRIENDS: