Today is Tuesday Wending and Winding its Way to Wednesday,

August 21, 2012.

The “doldrums” is something of a nautical term for those areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans where nothing much is happening. The winds are not blowing, the seas are calm, and you just sit there in your old-time sailing vessel waiting for something to happen, for the wind to blow so you can get on your way.

Today is something like that. It’s in the in-between time, the space between summer and vacation ending and school and fall starting. Nothing really too much is happening. There is a lot of expectation and buying school supplies and registering and waiting, and things are about to get going, but they’re not going yet, and they will, but, “Oh, well.”

What did happen on August 21. A lot if you check, but nothing really memorable. At the end of the list on the Internet is this entry for this day, after quite a few baseball scores, for the year 959: “Erachus becomes bishop of Luik.” I think that says it well. Perhaps Erachus felt the same way. Let’s get the waiting over and the doing going.

For your information, “Luik” is the Dutch version of “Liege.” Liege is a major city in the French-speaking region of Belgium, located in the Meuse River Valley near the borders with the Netherlands and Germany. The city is quite old and very successful. It is the third most populous city in Belgium, with a rich history dating back to before Roman times. During the Middle Ages, the city was the capital of a Prince-Bishopric. It was an intellectual and cultural center whose musicians performed for the Pope and helped to promote polyphony, a many-leveled and dynamic music that introduced a new and exciting vibrancy to complement the more monotone chant of the Gregorian monks and to move Church music forward into new realms. The city is still known for its music and its folk festivals. In fact, we just missed a big one on August 15th. They look like fun, crowded and very alive events in a fun, busy and very alive city. I am sure Bishop Erachus of Luik contributed much to his city’s history and its present vibrancy, and I am sure he would very much enjoy walking the festival streets and enjoying the music today.

That’s what’s really happening in Luik. Unfortunately, it’s not what’s happening today. But it may be what will happen tomorrow and the tomorrows after that. There’s the excitement in today. That’s the fun of it. This is the getting ready time, the preparation, the building of the energy, the stir and twist, and then “Here it starts!” Wow, and off you go.

Sometimes I think we think too much of a day. We set the bar a little higher than it needs to be. Sometimes it’s okay for not too much to be happening. So, we can save our energy, collect our thoughts and start the jump forward to those really memorable times, activities and events.

Take your time today and get ready to enjoy tomorrow,

Grandpa Jim

A Magnificent Monday introducing the Waiting Week soon Turning to a Terrific Tuesday,

They used to put you in this big box with over-sized earphones and a clicker to push when you heard sounds. This was called a hearing test. Some corporations and military organization would give these regularly. Such gratuitous regularity has been greatly diminished by the rising costs of medical care and procedures. Today, we know of the availability of such tests by visiting the local discount center or receiving fliers in the mail. Hearing tests are still a very good idea, because it is good to hear when you are being spoken to and about.

“Oto” is an introductory or prefix phraseology that refers to the “ear.” Otology is that area of medicine that listens most closely to matters of hearing and the ear. The hearing test in that sound-proof booth is administered by an audiologist using an audiometer to measure the subject’s hearing perception. “Audio” is a word prefix for “sound.”

After that test in the box, if you need a super specialist to listen even more closely, you may be sent to a “otolaryngologist,” which is one of my favorite words. Otolaryngologists are physicians that treat the ear, nose and throat (referred to by the acronym “ENT”). These doctors are also called ENT physicians. I like “otolaryngologists.” The term is much more impressive, is definitely harder to spell and is one great sounding word.

By the way, otolaryngology is said by at least one source to be the oldest medical specialty in the United States. Family or general medicine is arguably the oldest medical specialty because it addresses all of the person and all of the family, but it seems to ring somewhat true that in the US we would be most concerned with what we say, how it is said and what did you hear?

If you didn’t hear that, so to speak, you may have “presbycusis,” another of my favorite words. Presbycusis is from the Greek “presbys” for elder and “akousis” for hearing. You figured it out. The term describes age-related hearing loss. We will all have presbycusis as we progress forward in our lives. It is a very normal part of our aging process as humans and it should not concern us that it occurs, but we may want to listen for it and manage it when it does.

To hear if you may have presbycusis, listen if you seem not to hear as well bilaterally (it sounds softer in both ears) and symmetrically (it sounds about the same softer in both ears). Presbycusis is bilateral and symmetrical. It is also most common in the higher frequency ranges (high-pitched tones), which may explain why I sometimes have trouble hearing Mary – women’s voices are higher pitched than men’s. This is a very important for men to hear, because those lady voices are probably the ones you want to hear the very best and listen to the closest.

So, if you find yourself rubbing that ear and wondering what she said, pop on over to your friendly audiologist’s office and have a hearing test — just to be sure. While you’re there, be sure to drop the terms “presbycusis” and “otolaryngologist.” Hearing folks love the sound of those words. They will laugh, you will relax, and both of you will have a great hearing test.

Enjoy the day listening to those around you and hearing what they say, especially the ladies in your life,

Grandpa Jim

Finding Friday Fair Faced Suggests a Safe Saturday and a Well Weekend,

I heard the planes fly over at about 10 pm last night. About 300 feet above the ground, they buzzed the house spraying for mosquitoes. For the first time in over 40 years, Dallas is fighting mosquitoes from the air.

Birds carry the potentially deadly West Nile Virus. A mosquito bites an infected bird and then buzzes away and bites a person. The virus enters the person’s blood stream from the contaminated stinger of the disease-carrying mosquito. About 20% (1 in 5) of the people bitten by the dangerous mosquitoes experience flu-like symptoms (fever, headache, muscle pain). Of those that get sick, about 0.5% (1 in 150) get much sicker with a potentially fatal brain inflammation. Some of those people die.

This year, Dallas, Texas is the epicenter of the virus attack. 25% of the US cases have occurred in Dallas. In Dallas County where I live, over 200 people have been diagnosed with West Nile Virus and 10 people have died.

In 1999, the virus first appeared in the US with 62 confirmed cases in the state of New York. Last year, the virus had traveled to about 25 states with Colorado, California, Nebraska and Texas (#4) having the most cases. This year, about 32 states have documented cases of the disease, with Texas experiencing the worst outbreak.

I no longer go out to water the plants in the mornings or evenings, reserving those activities to the mid-day heat when the mosquitoes are dormant. When I do go out, I wear long pants and socks, and I spray exposed areas of my skin with a repellent.

There is not much standing water about because we have been dry for much of the summer, but many people and businesses have sprinkler systems to maintain landscaping. I guess there has been enough water to maintain the mosquito population. There are a lot of birds. Now that I think about it, I did find a dead bird about a month ago. The virus is out there. That’s why the planes were overhead last night. Spraying will help, but aerial spraying is only 60-90% effective in controlling the mosquito population, and mosquitoes are prevalent and active in this area well into the fall.

The virus arrived by air beneath the wings of birds who somehow found their way to New York in 1999. Hopefully, the spread of the virus will be stopped beneath the wings of planes spraying the fine mist of synthetic pyrethroids. It is a pesticide generally considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency. No one wants to spray, but the virus must be stopped. Keep us in your prayers.

Be careful, take precautions for where you’re at and what you might encounter, and have a safe and enjoyable weekend,

Grandpa Jim

Hawaiian Sun on Sunday traveling overnight to a California Morning and Texas Mid-day on Monday,

Our flight fights the night overnight to catch Monday morning moving this way. So, my lucidity level after a night on an airplane may not be conducive to blogging tomorrow morning in Los Angeles airport waiting to catch a ride to Texas. Hawaii has been a surprising and delightful experience, and I will miss the island temperatures, which are all over the place, from freezing on top of the volcano to the low 90’s F (30’s C) at the coast, but none as high as Dallas in August. I still look forward to home.

A surprise is on the way to you. A brand new never been read by anyone else, except a trio of editors and me of course, story is almost finished and completed, except for a few minor edits I couldn’t get to before the trip to the islands of Hawaii. Wednesday, August 15th, at 9 AM CST (be sure to keep track of those pesky time zones) will witness the world debut of a story that is not an Uncle Joe story and is not an Mary story and is sure to surprise. I am still surprised and I think I wrote it, I think. You’ll see what I mean when you read this new story. What will you see? Wait and see.

No need to stay up all night wondering, I’ll do that for you.

Enjoy the anticipation,

Grandpa Jim

Aloha on a Super Saturday on the way to a Shiny Sunday,

Hawaii is the only state with an official state language, Hawaiian. When the first missionaries arrived, take for example David and Sarah Lyman who landed in Hilo in 1839 from New England, they stayed in one-room grass huts and learned the language by listening to the native Hawaiians. There was no written language. David and others developed the written form of the speech that is used today, and they used the written words to translate the Old and New Testaments. Those missionaries were surprised how quickly the Hawaiians could memorize parts of and even the whole of the translated texts, which may not be that surprising when you realize the original language is an oral tradition in mnemonic form to remember the past. Our tour guide in O’ahu said his Hawaiian name tells the story of the men in his family back seven generations on his father’s side. The names of the women chronicle as far back, but on the mother’s side. As you might imagine, those are some very long names. The guide’s mission name is Taevita, which is the anglicized form in new Hawaiian of “David.”

20 years ago the Hawaiian language “was teetering on the brink of extinction.” I read that in one of the tour magazines. And, then it was saved. In 1984, Hawai’i began opening Hawaiian-language pre-schools, immersion schools and public charter schools all across the islands. The names on signs of streets, towns and establishments were changed to Hawaiian words. It is a full-fledged revival and everyone is speaking it, even the tourists. Mahalo, thank you.

The language itself is quite interesting. There are the five vowels (a, e, i, o, u), but only eight consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p, w, and ‘ for a glottal stop like the breath stop between “oh-oh”). That makes a total of only thirteen letters for the whole language. So, some words can get quite long to communicate the proper word picture from the more ancient spoken tradition. My favorite Hawaiian word is that for the state fish, “humuhumunukunukuapua’a.” From the pictures, it is a gorgeous little reef triggerfish with a name that must go back seven generations, at least.

Aloha a hui hou kakou, goodby until we meet again, and Maholo, thank you for stopping by,

Grandpa Jim

Fantabulous Friday advancing to a Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Saturday,

Candy is great and chocolate is king. We seem to find candy factories. In Hilo, Hawaii, we found Big Island Candies, whose specialty is chocolate dipped macadamia nut shortbread cookies. Macadamia trees seem to grow wild on the island. I like to think of the shortbreads, which are quite tasty in themselves, as a holdover from the seafaring days of Hilo, which is the major port on The Big Island, because the tasty little cookies could travel the world in tin containers for the ship captains to offer to their guests. In addition to the chocolate shortbreads, we sampled chocolate dipped iso peanuts and the Hawaiian macadamia nut crunch. We also watched through the window as the confectioners made hand-dipped cuttlefish, called Ika, a Hawaiian local snack, which looked like chocolate tipped noodles. We were not brave enough to try these.

On the other side of the island, we found the Kailua Candy Company, whose specialties are Macadamia Nut Honus and Kona Coffee Swirls. “Honus” means turtle in Hawaiian and these chocolate versions are delectable morsels that disappear quickly when spotted by humans. The store owners also grow their own coffee beans just up the hill and blend the finely ground 100% Kona coffee with white and dark chocolate to make the swirls. These two chocolate concoctions melt in your mouth, because you and your mouth are at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 Celsius) and chocolate’s melting point is right at your body temperature. The owner reported that the highest reported temperature on the island was 96 F (36 C), so Hawaii is a perfect place to eat chocolate — it never gets too hot to melt that chocolate until it reaches your mouth. There is no need to put it in the fridge. If for some reason you do, that white dusty specking on the surface is from cold “shock” which causes the cocoa butter to rise to the surface of the chocolate and dry as a white powder. Shocking does not effect taste so close your eyes and enjoy your chocolate.

Keep your chocloate at Hawaiian temperatures, your eyes open and watching, and your taste buds primed and waiting,

Grandpa Jim

Aloha on this Thoughtful Thursday traveling to a Fantastic Friday,

By the time I get to blogging here today, it is almost tomorrow for many of you, so my opening salutation shall address two days for a couple of days more and perhaps more days than that.

December 7, 1941 is a day that is remembered by many. On that day, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu. 31 Japanese ships, including 6 aircraft carriers, had crept within 230 miles north of O’ahu.  From there, the dive bombers, zero fighters, torpedo bombers and high-level bombers took off early on the morning of December 7, 1941.

At 7:50 AM, the first wave of 183 planes bombed and strafed the harbor and air fields. 30 minutes later, the second wave of 167 planes pounded down with more bombs and bullets. 21 American vessels were sunk or heavily damaged, 323 aircraft were destroyed or damaged and 3,177 U.S. soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded. The Japanese Navy lost 55 airmen and 29 planes.

The battleship USS Arizona still lies today beneath the waters of Pearl Harbor. 1,177 of its crewman died. 900 of those could not be rescued from the sunken ship. They remain entombed there beneath a white memorial over the clear green water where you can see the rusting ship below and watch the black tears of oil reach and glisten on the surface those sailors never reached. Even with its many visitors, it is a quiet place with the silent salty water reaching many an eye watching that surface.

It is a place I always wanted to visit and am glad I could.

There is clarity in past memories, even though they may be sad, and a joy in seeing those around you remember too.

Have a great day, appreciate what you see around you and remember those who gave so much to make it so.

Grandpa Jim