WITH LOVE...

FROM GREECE

I received this postcard from my sweetheart, Alissa (a/k/a/: Wiskers) yesterday.
She has spent a good portion of this month in Greece. The Fates willing, she and her family should be here sometime in April. I can hardly wait. I miss her so much. I'll also be able to meet Queen Nora for the first time. She'll be 1 year old and probably walking by then. Gosh, time flies so fast.

***

Picked up my Saturday Night Special again. This time I took Ray and Pat out to the Seawatch Restaurant at the Wailea Gold & Emerald Golf Courses. It is located in the clubhouse. On the way back I asked if Pat still owned her boutique, she doesn't, and what Ray did for a living before he retired. Oops. He hasn't retired, yet. He owns a construction engineering firm that builds those really big structures around the world. Not as active as he once was, he delagates a lot now, but still has his finger on the pulse, so to speak. They had called at home before I started my night, so I had a better than average start.

After I delivered them, I sat for over an hour until my next fare. What could I expect? Considering just how bad it has been I was actually surprised that I only had that much down-time. The second run was a money maker: Kea Lani to OGG. Sweet!! And I made it back in time to cover Ray and Pat's return to their condo. Timing was excellent. Cleared that and another "special" called, needing a ride home from work at the Four Seasons. I told her that I would be there in about 15 minutes, I was at the Long's Shopping Center. She asked if I could purchase a couple of bottles of wine for her, since she was out and we wouldn't make it to a store before package sales of alcohol ended at 11:00 PM. Made the purchase, made the pick-up and made the drop-off. For a Wednesday, things were beginning to look prosperous.

The rest of the night continued in that vein and even my dog-watch hours added nicely to the "kitty"

Both of my reliefs were in before 4:00 AM and I was "pau hana" by 4:30 AM.

Last night I was finally the pigeon rather than the statue. Thats rare. No one else even came close to me in quantity or meter.

***

It is still "cold" here. The high temp at the airport, where the NWS meteorlogical station is located, never got above 68ºf. It was brushing 59º/60º when I came home. For Kihei, that is extremely cold. We should see a change back to normal this weekend. Hopefully.

11 fares / 120 miles / 4th quarter $100 bracket

Oh, and my body bitched all night long.

Lets get together again tomorrow. Okay?

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

***

Over The Limit?
UNDER ARREST!
Please don't drink and drive

"Let's all be careful out there!"

ON TOP OF OL' SMOKEY...

ALL COVERED WITH SNOW




Photos from The Maui News,

Story

Over The Limit?
UNDER ARREST!
Please don't drink and drive

"Let's all be careful out there!"

IT SNOWED!!!

ON HALEAKALA!!


The National Park Service shut down the road to the summit, at the 7,000 foot level, due to high winds and icy conditions. It usually snows up there at least once a year but its a little early this time around. It doesn't get very deep, just a couple of inches, but lets face it, people here don't have the proper tires or experience to negotiate those conditions.

This also explains why my body is aching beyond belief. I don't handle "low-pressure" systems very well anymore. The muscles tighten up, the joints refuse to work and just a general case of malaise.

I know. I am just a wuz.

So, about 3:30 PM I was awake and just called off. It was hard enough being out of bed, let alone sitting in a cab all night. Besides, it was Tuesday night and, as you've read here, Tuesdays have been really shitty of late.

***

If I would have stayed married, yesterday would have been my 40th wedding anniversary. Instead, this summer will mark 20 years of being single. I think both the ex and I are happier this way. Now we can be friends rather than enemies.

***

My son Rob called last night on his way home from the gym. Thats the nice thing about cell phones, long distance calls are free. He and the family are doing great. He told me that the weather in the Central Valley of California has been very wet and very cold. I remember those days, without longing. The city he lives in has very poor storm drainage. No run-off system, just reverse dry wells. This means if they get more than ¼ inch of rain in a 24 hour period the streets flood. Well, most of the storms that have pummeled California this year have greatly exceeded that. Which means that the roadways and intersections in town are great big swimming ponds. I don't miss that at all.

***

My good friend, DogBait and his wife, Linda, have finally retired from their respective jobs.

CONGRATULATIONS!

They'll be heading back to Nepal, in October, to do a little trekking of the mountains. I am so happy for them.

***

Well, fearless leader has given his final State of the Union address to Congress. As usual, he either misrepresented the facts or, maybe, he exists on a different reality plane from the rest of us. He has lied and cheated since day one of his campaign to become President and I can hardly wait for him to become history. And History will not be kind in its evaluation of his legacy. The worst President we've had in my memory. He even made Richard ("I am not a crook") Nixon and Ronald ("Whats my line again?") Reagan look good. In my lifetime the 2 best men that have held that office were Harry ("The buck stops here") Truman and Gerald ("Watch out for that tree") Ford. Both took office in troubled times and under difficult circumstances and put the needs of the country before their own political ambitions. A rare breed of politician.

I really don't care who our next President is. Just cats of a different stripe from what I can tell. Regardless of political affiliation. They'll promise us the moon and won't deliver on diddly-squat. Each candidate's rhetoric is empty and without substance or detail.

Oh, well. We get what we vote for and probably what we deserve.

***

Have a great day. I'll be back tomorrow. Hope to see you then.

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

***

Over The Limit?
UNDER ARREST!
Please don't drink and drive

"Let's all be careful out there!"

A LITTLE BIT O' THIS...

A LITTLE BIT O' THAT

Only in America:

........do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke.

.......do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.

........do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

........do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.

........do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well:

'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.

.......do they have drive-up ATMs with Braille lettering.

***

EVER WONDER ....

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline

Psychic Wins Lottery

Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a "broker"?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called "rush hour"?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat
food?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

***

Entries for an art contest at the Hirshorn Modern Art Gallery in DC

The rule was that the artist could use only one sheet of paper.

***

Have a great day! I'll be back after work, tomorrow morning (my time).

Mahalo

Aloha

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THE PICTURE GALLERY

***

Over The Limit?
UNDER ARREST!
Please don't drink and drive

"Let's all be careful out there!"