Living with cats

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I suppose it’s time to start a new series highlighting the daily twists, turns, and indignities of Living with Cats.

Here is last evening’s little episode.

It started at feeding time. The cats had been gathering for at least half an hour in anticipation, applying their usual not-too-subtle pressure. The four of them regularly share a single 3 oz. can of Fancy Feast Ocean Whitefish & Tuna Feast in Gravy. That’s three ounces of food split among 40+ combined pounds of adult cat. Somehow it satisfies them, probably because they know the kibble course follows shortly.

With the felines pacified, I turned my attention back to human dinner: a pan of homemade tomato sauce simmering on the stove, set to accompany some Costco ravioli. As the water reached a rolling boil, I realized I needed a timer. I wasn’t wearing my Apple Watch—my usual go-to—so I looked around for my phone.

I spotted my iPhone charging on the far side of the counter. Reaching over to grab it, I paused. There was a strange, textured splotch sitting on the screen. From a distance, I couldn’t quite make it out. A piece of cookie? Raw dough?

Moving closer revealed the truth: a fresh, wet, carefully placed dollop of Ocean Whitefish & Tuna cat barf.

The surgical precision was astounding. Not a drop touched the counter. Not a single stray speck landed on the stack of mail sitting inches away. It was a direct hit on the glass display. I had to admire the marksmanship, even while thoroughly grossed out by the outcome.

Before initiating a delicate containment operation, taking care not to let any seep under the edge of the case,I asked Meda to document the scene for the record.

Cleaning did take several paper towels as I first tried to contain the mess, and then remove all traces of the fishy gravy. Luckily, neither the phone nor any of the cats seem any worse off for the experience.

From my Kahoolawe archive:
Emma deFries

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Aunty Emma deFries outside Honolulu’s old federal courthouse, May 1977

I recently came across these two photos among my Kahoolawe archives. I believe they were taken on May 19, 1977, when members and allies of the Protect Kahoolawe Ohana gathered at Honolulu’s old federal courthouse. I was there at the court that day with a camera. This was one of a series of gatherings at the court when proceedings were scheduled to stand with those who had been arrested and charged with trespassing during unauthorized landings on the Navy-controlled island.

It was, I believe, the first time that many PKO supporters came to court in traditional garb, from gourd helmets to malo as they asserted Native Hawaiian cultural identity and ancestral rights as part of the movement to stop the bombing.

And in the midst of the scrum trying to get past security at the doors in the top photo, I spotted the familiar face of Emma deFries, a key spiritual advisor of the PKO. I don’t know if she was ubiquitous at PKO meetings, social gatherings, and public events, but it felt that way.

I did a litle edit to lighten her face so that it would stand out in the crowd. In this original B&W version, she ends up looking almost ethereal.

The second photo was taken later just outside the courtroom.

When I went looking for more information on her life, I found most of it unsatisfying. The search found plenty of facts, but offered little to appreciate her spirit. For example, here’s a standard obituary, full of awards and recognitions, which I think was originally published by the Honolulu Advertiser.

But a brief obituary by Star-Bulletin writer Murry Engle captured a more meaningful and satisfying (at least to me) moment.

I’m taking the liberty of reprinting Engle’s short piece below.

Emma deFries
Knew That Her
Time Had Come

By Murry Engle
Star-Bulletin Writer
December 9, 1980

Emma de Fries demonstrated in her lifetime that she knew how to live. She was the most visible 20th century
kahuna of the la’aukahea (healing) order of Hawaiian kahunas, whose power or mana is in prayer and analysis.

Yesterday in the cool of early morning, under bright stars set in a velvet black sky, on the aina (land) and beside the sea, she showed that she also knew how to die.

She had spent Sunday night at Queen’s Hospital, where she had been a patient for a week. Sometime after mid-night, she told the more than 30 family members friends who were with her that she wanted to go to Kaaawa Beach.

“She had all her faculties together, but she was getting pretty low,” said Olga Mitchell, a hanai daughter and former assistant curator at Queen Emma Summer Palace. “I think she knew that death was near.”

Dr. Emmett Aluli, Molokai physician and spokesman for Protect Kahoolawe ‘Ohana, said he was encouraged that her Oahu physician let her “die the way she chose, with the people she loved and on the aina.”

MITCHELL SAID, “She loved the elements – the earth, the sun, the wind, the rain and the water. She liked to go to Kaaawa because it was peaceful.”

Arriving at 3:23 a.m., she was taken to the beach and then, “She was resting, really resting,” Aluli said.

She died at 4 a.m.

“The people who gathered and who were part of the whole process of dying, were left with her spirit,” Aluli
said.

The Chemo Chronicles: A weighty matter

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University High School c. 1961 [formatted and colorized by ChatGPT]

I’m the scarecrow-skinny kid facing the camera and trying to block the shot in this barefoot shirts-vs-skins basketball game in our rickety old University High School gym. I remember it was a cold, concrete floor, and the area was quite a bit smaller than a regulation basketball court. The photo was taken was sometime during the 1960-1961 school year, and appeared in the school annual, Uniki, in the Spring of 1961.

It may have been the last time in my life I weighed less than I do right now.

Being an active, energetic but skinny kid felt very different than I feel today as a skinny 79-year old cancer patient running on empty much of the time.

Glimpses of myself in the mirror these days are unsettling. Gaunt is the word that comes first to mind. A friend in my weekly “Poi Posse” shopping group, friends who make sure I’ve got enough poi, recently suggested cadaverous. From my own perspective, neither is an exaggeration.

This weight loss wasn’t intentional. There was no new diet, no exercise program, no health milestone I was trying to reach.

The cause is simple. The Big C.

Cancer.

Continue reading →

The Chemo Chronicles: An overview

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I was curious and asked Google’s Gemini to summarize the series of posts here under the banner, “The Chemo Chronicles.”

Here’s Gemini’s overview. Just click to see a larger version.

Perhaps this is the time to solicit your suggestions of matters you would like to see me deal with in the months ahead. If you don’t want to leave a comment, then feel free to email ian(at)ilind.net.

Screenshot

Coming Tuesday in The Chemo Chronicles: “A weighty matter”