The best way that I know how to describe Pa is to say that nobody sucked the marrow from the bones of life like Pa. Sure, he sometimes said inappropriate things at inappropriate times. He once stripped down to his purple briefs at the lunch table in order to show me his fresh bypass scars. I'm sure most of us in this room have similar stories. Though hopefully yours doesn't end with him in his underwear like mine.

But between these sometimes embarrassing moments lived a man with constant desire to learn, to experience and to live. He bounced from one hobby to another, always learning, always doing. Whether it was making cedar chests for the grandkids, reporting the local weather to the news station after tracking it on his own weather station, fishing for days on end, training his dog to jump through hoops or any of his other countless pursuits, the man just lived his life like no one else I've ever met.At 91, he was still welding and crawling under his house to check the pipes. At 93, he was using a cell phone, driving, answering email and staying active with the Masons. I even saw him on Facebook once.

I'm grateful for the last time I saw Pa. It was just after Thanksgiving. We stopped for a visit and dropped off some of my sister's chairs for him to recane. He didn't get a chance to start that project. His health faded fast. Or maybe it just seemed fast to me. I don't get home very often.

I always figured Pa would go to sleep in his own bed one night and just not wake up the next morning---unexpected and gentle, which is about the best that any of us could hope for. I still wish that could have happened for him, but I think the ending he got was nice all the same. Pa was surrounded by love, visited by family, aware that his presence on this earth made a difference. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll find my end to be similar.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 08:26 AM | Comments (0)

I’m beginning to not like Christmas all that much. I’m getting to the point where I wonder, “Who am I going to lose around the holidays this year?” I don’t think it’s a cursed season or destined to happen year after year. But for now Christmas leaves the bitter taste of melancholy in my mouth—a taste that I hope doesn’t sour any further. I am the dog, and my Pavlov is one twisted son of a bitch.

Nobody sucked the marrow from the bones of life like Pa. Sure, he sometimes said inappropriate things at inappropriate times. He once stripped down to his purple briefs at the lunch table in order to show me his fresh bypass scars. But between these embarrassing moments lived a man with constant desire to learn and experience. He bounced from one hobby to another, always learning, always doing. At 91, he was still welding and crawling under his house. At 93, using a cell phone, driving and answering email. I even saw him on Facebook once.

The last time I saw him, Pa was about to recane my sister’s chairs. He didn’t get a chance to even start that project. His health faded fast. Or maybe it just seemed fast to me. I don’t get home very often. I always figured Pa would go to sleep in his own bed one night and just not wake up the next morning—unexpected and gentle, which is about the best that any of us could hope for I think. I still wish that could have happened for him, but I think the ending he got was nice all the same. Pa was surrounded by love, visited by family, aware that his presence on this earth made a difference. Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll find my end to be similar.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 05:15 PM | Comments (2)

It’s been six years since I left Michigan and I still miss it. I miss having four solid seasons. I miss Lake Michigan. I miss the sandy, pine covered dirt of northern Michigan and the endless corn fields of mid-Michigan. I miss squirrels with big, bushy tails, snakes without venom, petoskey stones, flat accents, Faygo, trips to the Cider Mill, hunting with my father. Above all I miss being close to family and old friends. I can’t wait to come home for Thanksgiving, even if it’s just for a few days, to get a small sample of all the things I miss.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 09:11 AM | Comments (2)

We’ve had record high temperatures down here and a sustained heat index of well over 100 degrees for almost two weeks now. My Northern body can’t take this heat. The only time I spend outside is when I walk from my house to my car and from my car to the office. Running errands is brutal because in the short time I spend in a store, my car heats back up. The poor puppies haven’t had a walk in weeks because it’s so hot. They’re going stir crazy. I can’t wait for winter. I don’t even want fall. I want to go straight to sub zero temperatures, not that we get any of those here. Home for Thanksgiving will be my next real reprieve from this heat. I cannot wait.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 09:30 PM | Comments (1)

Final Entry

I got sick. Violently so, which caused me to put off the Kauai entries until now. Not sure what caused it, but I spent quite a while in the bathroom of our little cottage one night. Before that, however, we had spent the morning sitting in an outdoor pavilion enjoying the weather while Kathryn sketched and I poked around in the nearby shops. The next day was surfing. I woke up feeling better and we headed into town to meet Ian, our surfing instructor. Ian was a true surf bum, a good teacher and heck of a nice guy. Before we even got in the water we learned about how waves work and how to spot riptides by looking at the water. Unfortunately, during the lessons I started feeling bad again and we didn’t do much that afternoon. But we did have some nice relaxing time to enjoy our own little piece of Hawaiian heaven.

Our last day was one of the busiest. We took off early in the morning for Queen’s Bath, a prime snorkeling spot. But the tide was high and the waves were big, so instead we found a little waterfall and spent some time taking in the jungle around us. After that we went bag to the cottage to pack up. Then it was a trip into another town for last minute souvenir shopping and a visit to our favorite coffee shop. After that, we did our most touristy activity and took a cruise up river to the Fern Grotto. The way upriver was filled with interesting facts, but on the trip back down the river we were treated to traditional Hawaiian music and hula dancing. It was a great way to end the trip.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

Thick, dark clouds are rolling in over the mountains. Rain is coming and we have a long drive to the southern tip of the island.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 04:46 PM | Comments (2)

When I walked out onto the porch this morning I found a fresh coconut laying on the ground. So I grabbed the biggest knife in the kitchen and hacked it up. We had fresh coconut milk as an after-breakfast treat. Then we packed up and headed to the northern-most beach, Ke’e. This beach turned out to be perfect for snorkeling. A large reef blocked the ocean waves and created a tranquil pool between beach and ocean. All along its edges were tropical fish, live coral, sea cucumbers and other wildlife. Out of the water we read, people watched and kept an eye on the many wild chickens. We were even trampled by a rowdy family of chicks.

After the beach, we ate lunch and spent several hours exploring the town of Hanalei, which really meant shopping. Kathryn had far more stamina than me and I ended up grumpy and tired. But eventually we came home and I took a soak in the hot tub. Once rested, we back into town for tacos in the night air. After a short walk scouting possible restaurants and coffee shops for tomorrow, we came back to the cottage.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)

8:45 Hawaii time and already in bed. Still adjusting to the time change, but it’s been a good day. The thing I notice most here is that the people seem to have carved just enough space to live out of the wild vegetation. Everywhere we go is surrounded by jungle, ancient trees and blooming flowers. Towns end abruptly, giving way to seemingly untouched nature. Roads pass between massive trees. I get the feeing that if everyone left the island in a mass exodus, it would only be days before the jungle took over the small pieces of manmade architecture.

As for the day’s events, we got into town the town of Kapa’a this morning only to remember it was Sunday and that means everything opens late. So we spent some time at the beach, walking around collecting bits of corral and beach glass. We moved on to a second beach area and found a few dozen sea cucumbers waiting out the day in tide pools. Neither of us had seen one before. Then we found a coffee shop and I had an early lunch, made by a man with an amazing handlebar mustache, while Kathryn had a fruit smoothie. Next it was poking around little shops, looking for souvenirs. This was followed by a scenic drive out to a massive waterfall and then some snorkeling in the bay. Dinner was homemade fried SPAM sandwiches and garlic spinach. We tried to find live music but came up short. Instead we came back to the cottage and split a bottle of Champaign while sitting in the hot tub watching episodes of Bob’s Burgers. Now Kathryn is asleep next to me and I’m spending a little time surfing the net before drifting off to sleep myself.

Posted by Johnny Rockstar at 01:47 AM | Comments (0)