NBA

Okay, so the Celtics lost.

I grew up as a Lakers fanatic. Living in Los Angeles, of course, did not allow a choice in that matter. However, in 1978, I married a unswerving Celtic fan, who "stayed with Boston through all the thin years."

Thank goodness that was the year Larry Bird was signed on - otherwise, the marriage may never have lasted. I mean, if you don't have someone to really cheer for...

Well, Larry and Kevin McHale. Yeah, Lurch was my man. Love the legs.

Um, okay, back to the subject.

The Celtics lost.

But man, it was a good series of games, wasn't it?

HORSES, HEAT AND HEWLETT-PACKARD

Several rather obvious points which have popped up in the last few days:

-- My horse, Najale, will do almost ANYthing for either food or to get his stomach scratched. He will submit to flapping plastic bags, ropes whistling around his eyes, and/or food being dangled in front of his nose as long as he is CERTAIN that he WILL be rewarded. And trust me, when you weigh 1,200 lbs. or so, you generally DO get your reward.

-- Temperature is always relative. Today I was wearing a sweatshirt because it was ONLY in the low 90's. And my daughter posted photos of my two grandchildren wearing long-sleeves in San Diego in June - after Hawaii, any place on the mainland is cold.

-- There is a verifiable section on the Y chromosome which specifically blocks any male human from understanding the word "clean." A Facebook friend was posting today about her two sons never comprehending what mom could possibly mean by saying 'clean up!', and although my husband and son did their very best in 'cleaning' the house for my return, I am still, one week later, trying to undo the damage that they inflicted in that process.

-- The Internet is addictive, dangerous, and evil. I spent most of my time at my daughter's OFF the computer (when you are wrestling with someone who 1) owns the computer, 2) runs her profession from the computer, and 3) is a whole more stubborn that you are, you end up doing what THEY want), so I am jumping in with a bit of reckless abandon. So I am forcing myself to keep the computer OFF for at least 5-6 hours each day...

Man, is it tough.

OUCH

This has just put all of my petty, selfish and emotional responses for the past week in true perspective:

Wow. 

TWO MEN AND A HOUSE

What do you get when you leave two men alone in a house for six weeks?

1. A dishwasher which has been loaded by one person, assumed by the other person to have been put through the wash cycle and cleaned --  and so then unloaded all the dirty dishes and put them away... repeatedly. So every single pot, pan and dish used while I was gone is put neatly away in the cupboards... filthy.

2. The filter for the dryer has six weeks of lint, fiber, animal hair and the odd gum wrapper - approximately seven inches worth.

3. The vacuum cleaner was used at least once to clear the main walking paths in the living areas (probably an hour or so before my plane landed), but the canister had never been emptied. So today before anything could actually be vacuumed, I was forced to dismantle and wash all three filters, air dry, and then reassembled.

4. The poor cat's litter box had probably been cleaned once... or perhaps twice. It's a good thing that he is such a long-suffering feline who will put up with such circumstances.

However, every instance of a dog or cat having, er, shall we say stomach discomfort, was left pure and pristine to both dry in horrid clumps in random corners and to permanently stain the carpet.

Laundry was washed... just then left in piles on top of the dryer.

Food was consumed... evidenced by the crock pots now being a irreversible reddish-brown tint to the white porcelain.

And all animals were fat, healthy and happy... of course, only after the greyhound had an abscessed tooth removed, and the vet's hefty dental bill left conveniently on my desk for payment.

What, ME sound disgruntled?!

DEFINTIONS

Gary Coleman died this past week.

"Coleman was born with a congenital kidney disease which stunted his growth at an early age; as a result he is only 4' 8" tall. His height became his most distinguishing feature."

"He (had) congenital kidney disease caused by Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis. A Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis is an autoimmune disease where in there is destruction and alteration of the kidney which causes stunted growth. He had undergone kidney transplant and requires daily dialysis."

 

Yesterday my son-in-law claimed he was distinguished by his height - although in the reverse direction from Gary Coleman - Blake is 6'8".

 

I beg to differ... well, actually I'm not 'begging,' I SHOUT that THIS IS INCORRECT.

 

(Okay, Hope, go back to using an "inside" voice)

 

Some people are known for their physical traits - Andre the Giant wouldn't have gotten much attention if he was not a giant - Willie Shoemaker as an incredible jockey - Wilt Chamberlain would still have been a basketball great, I'll bet, but his height didn't hurt, right?

And if Elizabeth Taylor didn't have her face - Dolly Parton her chest measurements - well, it helps make them memorable at the very least. 

 

But for the majority of us, yes, we may be known as the "lady who brings brownies", or the "teacher who yells a lot" or even "the tall guy who works over in the next section." It may be a tag, an oddity, even, a way to point you out in a crowd,

But I doubt that unless your career, your corporal challenges in regular pubic situations are based on something you are physically, then it is NOT a "defining" term.

I await your apology, Blake.

THE LOOKING GLASS REVERSED

People see the exact same thing in many, many different ways.

An anorexia sees food in terms of possible weight gain. An addict is overwhelmed by the physical and/or mental dependency. An artist is attracted to color, form and contrast.

Okay, enough with the 'a' thing, girlfriend.

Some see the world "through a glass, darkly." My husband, for example, stares at all surroundings though pessimistic, cynical and paranoid glasses - shadowed by his own severe depression and his profession with anti-terrorism measures.

I have my own rose-colored-but-also-reality-tined ones.

This afternoon I accompanied my daughter to an abandoned egg farm in Wahiwa, Oahu for a photo shoot.

But I can't find photos that show the beauty there, so I'll see what I can add through words. Imagine:

- Rusting, paint-peeling tractors, with random vines and flowers creeping throughout, over and below

- Abandoned sheds with stacked wooden egg crates, rotting wood and yellow hibiscus blooming throughout

- Wild cats threading through labyrinths of corroded metal bars, rolls of chicken wire and barrels devoured by crawling tendrils of both trees and plants

- Impossibly tall banyan trees blocking sun, casting flickering shadows and brooding over muddy red pathways

The Buddha is quoted as saying, “If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.”

I don't understand botany at all, but I and my daughter saw so much beauty in this derelict graveyard of unconnected objects that I felt we were treading on holy ground.

POLITENESS IN TRAFFIC JAMS

The adage is do-unto-others-as-you-have-them-do-unto-you (actually, it is "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them", Matthew 7:12, but I can't quote that right off the top of my head).

And I do struggle to incorporate this in even dire, possibly life-changing situations - such as letting someone else merge into your lane while you are idling and sitting perfectly still in a massive traffic jam.

This evening, I took my daughter's car for an extended drive into the Hawaiian sunset for one pure and simple reason - to use up the gas in the tank.

Shipping automobiles is a regular concern for military families when you are stationed overseas - such as Hawaii (yes, I know it's a state, but both Alaska & Hawaii are both considered 'overseas' tours by the military). 

 And before they will take your car on-board, you must have less than a quarter tank of gasoline - safety reasons.

My son-in-law was willing to simply let the engine run until it got to the prescribed limit -- I figured it was better to go for a long drive.

And he was right.

Hawaiians, known for their aloha spirit, graceful manners and easy temperament turn into ogres at rush-hour. It may be in part because there is only one highway to get from Honolulu to any place eastward (H1), and only two ways to the windward side of the island (H3 or around Diamond Head).

And when the choice is between being polite and giving up your position in line by a few meters, it gets fairly nasty.

As if letting ONE car get ahead of you will make a more than nano-second change in the time you arrive home to watch television for the rest of the evening... when you have a DVR and are already recording anything you really want to see.

It got pretty nasty out there tonight.

But now, at least, there is very, very, VERY little gasoline left in the car.