We were exhausted yesterday afternoon just watching a dozen second graders shuttle for a few hours between the water slide and Bounce House set up just down the street to celebrate our favorite twins’ birthday. Well, it was an early celebration of a birthday that actually arrives in a couple of weeks, but by that time they’ll have left Kaaawa and be getting ready for a family relocation to the Washington D.C. area. In fact, today is the last of what have become routine Sunday dinners. We cook a pot of something and carry it, Meda’s famous salad, and a bottle of wine over to their house every Sunday night. We’ve been doing this regularly for a couple of years. And will do it again today for the last time. Ouch. We’re really going to miss these girls and their family, as we’ve been thoroughly enjoying our time with them over the past three years. Kleenex, please. Oh, if I’m not mistaken, that’s Sarah pictured at the end of a good slide. It’s taken this long for us to finally be able to tell them apart relatively reliably, although mistakes are still made.

A reader pointed to a recent New York Times story (now available only to Times Select subscribers) and Wikipedia entry about the failure of a proposed ferry service from Rochester, NY to Toronto. After the ferry planned by private investors fell through, the city took it over. The result–no ferry service and lots of municipal debt.

Lots to differentiate Rochester from Honolulu
– 190K population vs @ 1,000K population
– faltering/failing economy vs growing economy
– long history of lake transport vs long history of ocean transport

Wonder if many in Honolulu read this article … or pondered long on it.

Will the coming ferry be Hawaii’s Future … or Hawaii’s Field of Dreams?

I suppose we’ll know soon enough.

And this comment came in from Hank Chapin:

The spelling bee participant’s description of what he went through as “torture” is also well known to people who have acted, as I have. If the stress gets to you, you can have “flop sweat.” If you perform well, you can make jokes about torture. Notice after a play, if you visit the cast, there is a generally giddy feeling of relief and happiness. I strongly suspect; in fact, I know, but I can’t prove, that this is what Michelle Wie, the golfing prodigy, has been going through. It’s performance anxiety.

It is sunny and hot this morning. We even altered our walk somewhat, moving from the glaring sun on the beach to return via the shady back roads of Kaaawa.  Now I’m off to make our Sunday egg white omelet, and to give Ms. Harriet her blop of margarine. She’s been begging all through my first cup of coffee.