Goodbye 2007...Welcome 08

I was on the beach in Hawaii for the sunset on 2007 and the sunrise of 2008. Here are two pics. Plus a bit of doggerel they inspired.

The old year slipped away as surely as a ruby sunset into the sea.










And the new dawned with an intensity as to awaken a white-light fire in a long dead volcano.

Random Things

One of the perks of having a kid when flying -- other than getting to preboard (if sitting in a small tube sooner can be considered a "perk") is getting to go into the cockpit. If I can get Eli to say "hi" or "thanks" to the Captain either before or after the flight it's a shoe-in. Even in the post-9/11 world. BTW, those cockpits look surprisingly 1970s in their technology. So do most of the pilots.

We have a new ghost at home. I think I've talked about our unseen resident here before; yesterday morning at about 4:30 am in the kitchen I heard someone (I presumed the LTR) walking in the kitchen behind me and "felt" somone walk in and heard a mumbled "Mornin'" and turned around to see no one -- and the sense that someone had come ambling in was so strong that I called out the LTR's name thinking he had to be there -- only he wasn't. I guess a mumbled "mornin'" is much better than a whispered emphatic "get out!"

I got a guest pass from the gym down the street here. It's called 24 Hour Fitness. I asked them what was the most common question they got from visitors. It was "what are your hours?" As I expected.

Said gym is on the second floor. The only way to get there is to take a moving escalator up to it. I guess they don't want you to wear yourself out before getting there.

I saw a beautiful, unexpected thing tonight. I went to the 6 pm hula show on the beach expecting to be repulsed by something so touristy (okay, okay, full disclosure, I went to get a photo of the loin-cloth-clad polynesian young men lighting the torches). Instead I was mesmerized by the Hula as performed by the "elders" -- a group of 60ish something Polynesian women joyfyully doing the Hula -- in this case a dance representing the natural beatuy of the island of Kuaii. The host admonished us for not applauding them enough and stressed that these were the (tribe's?) elders. They were all beautiful -- but the oldest looking one was stunning -- she had a smile on her face framed by gray hair and wrinkles that radiated joy and beauty. We shove our "elders" out of sight but here they were celebrating beauty by being beautiful -- and their age was no small part of their appeal. It's too bad the Hula has come to be considered tourist shlock for it is an amazingly beautiful dance that links humanity and nature.

Speaking of tourist shlock I bought a Greg Brady Hawaiian Tiki Idol. As someone who now seems to have two ghosts in his house we'll see what happens next.

Surf's up!