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Corabelle |
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COMSUBBBS Posts: 2561 Location: Rapid City, SD | Subject: Alo - ha! After an all-night flight night before last, we arrived safe and sound back home! There is much to tell, so I'll only cover a couple things now. I still haven't completely recovered from this last long flight home. I did not tour the WWII sub, but Cam did. And he took quite a few pictures for me. One, of course, was the Radio Shack. It seemed like a good picture; I could visualize Elmer typing away in there on the really old-looking typewriter. Why I didn't go on the Bowfin: Since I walk with a cane (sometimes, even a walker), my cousin's son (they live in Waimanalo) thought that I probably wouldn't be able to manage the vertical ladder going down the hatch. When we got to the boat, I asked again at the ticket counter, and was (again) advised that it probably would be difficult to maneuver. Apparently, the Bowfin has not been modified for visitors as the Pampanito has. I asked if there were many WWII veterans visiting the boat. I was told that there were. How they manage the difficult entry is not understandable to me. So, Cam was my ambassador. He said that he thought I could have manipulated the ladder, but maybe not the water tight doors. Six years ago (god, has it been that long?) I was able to manage the passage through those doors on the Pamp better than my brother. Oh, well..... Ric - can I send you a couple pictures of the trip to post for me? The Hawaiian experience was dampaned a bit for me when I returned home. But first I have to tell you a couple instances where Cam displayed his true colors. Remember, he was traveling with his decrepit old grandmother and his almost-sixty-year-old aunt. Probably not the funnest traveling companions for an eighteen-year-old guy. Instance #1. We were still in the Rapid City airport, going from check-in up the excalator to the restaurant area to have breakfast. Cathy (my daughter) led off. About halfway up, she turned to check if I had negotiated the "step-on" to the moving stairs. She lost her balance and fell backwards into me. In turn, I was shoved into Cam and his mother, who were behind us. Cathy dropped her carry-on bag AND all of our boarding passes. The six passes flew everywhere. Three were our passes from Rapid to Salt Lake, and three were from Salt Lake to Honolulu. Cam (and me - sorta) grabbed for the paper work. He caught five of the six pieces of paper; his leg shot out ahead of both Cathy and me, and kicked her bag clear of the escalator, and it landed on the floor ahead of us. What a guy! Cathy was stuggling to regain her uprightness (?), not an easy task when she was on her back on a moving stairway). When we were all safely on the second floor, my daughter took inventory of the boarding passes, and found that her nephew had saved all three of the passes from R.C. to S.L., but only two from S.L. to Honolulu. Apparently the escalater had eaten one of them. My daughter-in-law went back down to the check-in, cut into the long line, grabbed a boarding pass that was laying on the counter-top, told the clerk what happened, and brought this pass up to us. I don't understand yet, how she could do this, because there are cities of origin and destination; seat assignments, and our names on these passes. Mary (daughter-in-law and Cam's mom) is gone to Boy Scout Camp for a week with Cam's younger brother, so I will have to ask again how (or if) all this information got on the pass that she picked up off the desk. Not to be outdone - however a little anti-climatical (made that word up), I dislocated my little toe that same evening while we were settling into our hotel room. I was walking around barefoot (always a challenge for me), when I slammed my foot either into the edge of the door-or the door frame of the bathroom. When I looked at down at the injured foot, I saw that the toe was now at an absolute right-angle to my foot. I sat down and attempted to put it back where it belonged. It sorta worked. Just sorta. It seemed to not want a close association to the foot that owned it. Took some pain meds - it hurt - a lot - and went to bed. The next day, the toe was solidly black. The day after that, its three adjacent neighbors were also black, and the big toe was just a little black. Cathy and I noted that Cam seemed to sigh a lot when ever he looked at us. What do you do when you're in Hawaii for the first time in your life, and your foot hurts (did I mention - a lot?), and you have a great deal of walking to do to get you where you need to be to go on the tours you want to see? You suck it up and walk on it. Besides seeing all the touristy sights we wanted to see, we spent part of the first and last days that we were there, with my almost-ninety-one-year-old cousin, who served 30 years in the Navy, but not on submarines. He gave me a history of the boats he served on, but I haven't had a chance to study his Naval autobiography yet. But what an interesting man he is. I wouldn't have missed the time I spent there with him. I'm sure neither he nor I will be doing such a lengthy trip again; will probably never see each other again in this life. What a dear man he is. Now - I knew that I was having serious automobile problems before I left, but decided not to dwell on this problem while we were vacationing. Today (first full day back) I took the car to the garage. The verdict seems to be that my engine is shot. Replacement engine and installation will be over $5,000.00. I called my son to tell him of this. He said, "I can't believe that you blew the engine; I'll be in to take a look at it." After he examined the car, he said, "Yes, the engine is gone, and the car (a 1997 Buick LeSabre) is not worth putting that much money into." Or words to that effect. Sad fact: I drained my savings account to make this trip. Second sad fact: Since I'm living on Social Security and a small pension - and - already have a mortgage, there's no way I can make car payments. Third sad fact: even if I could make car payments (which, I can't) I believe that the condition of my car makes it worthless as a down payment. Since my daughter-in-law is gone for a week, I guess I can borrow her car for that period of time, so that I will have temporary transportaion. In the meantime, my son said he would make some inquiries into trying to find a used engine for my car that won't be so costly. Guess, like Scarlett O'Hara, I will worry about all this tomorrow. Because, as we all know, "Tomorrow is another day." Enough. Cora | ||
| Ric |
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Plankowner Posts: 9165 Location: Upper lefthand corner of the map. | Subject: RE: Alo - ha! Cora. Please feel free to send the pics. I will get them up as soon as I can. Having a busy weekend but will post them for you. Ric | ||
| dex armstrong |
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COMSUBBBS Posts: 3202 Location: Alexandria, Virginia | Subject: RE: Alo - ha! I serve on a ROTARY CLUB Scholarship Selection Committee that awards continuing education scholarships to worthy industrial arts young men and women. The local high school (Thomas Edison has a subsidary element known as The Thomas Edison Academy). One of the disciplinhes taught there is VEHICLE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE. The Director of the vehicle repair shop, looks to the community to provide vehicles for maintenance and repair that belong to senior citizens struggling to make ends meet on barely subsistance level incomes. These people are referred to him by a network of ministers and geriatric support organizations. Here's how it works...The school works with local auto salvage yards where say a compatible engine would be located by the salvage yard owner...a Certified Mechanic Instructor, would visit the yard, determine the suitability of the engine or replacement part, arrange for delivery and the vehicle owner would pay the expense of the purchase and delivery. In some instances, depending on percieved level of need salvage yard owners have been known to make a "good will" donation of the engine and parts since they don't make a big difference in collective "crushed vehicle" weigh outs. Once the necessary parts are available, the repair or replacement work takes place under the direct supervision of an expert FACTORY CERTIFIED master mechanic and comes with a two year guarantee underwritten by the county shool system. You might want to check with your local school system to find out if a similar system exists or if they would be interested in starting one. Just don't mention your recent trip or approach anyone you shared an airport limo with...who works in the school board administrative office. DEX | ||
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