Extermination
Of all the possible ways to die this has to be the worst. Mega death on an unimaginable scale is taking place around the world. This is a designed virus by the Chinese. I caught my second bug with a mild sore throat and a little cough... Not enough to get worried but significant enough to take it easy for a few days. It could have turned serious. Gargling with Hydrogen Peroxide seems to knock down some of the throat infection. Tis my only medicine. Medicine is costly.
You must clean everything with bleach water. This means washing your dishes with a capful of bleach. The absolute filthiest is the fridge. Unplug the thing and prepare a sink full of hot soapy water and bleach. Start with the handles then remove the shelving and start scrubbing. By the time you finish that, the freezer should be defrosted enough to chip out the ice. I use a fork because you can lever up entire sheets of ice for easy removal to the sink. Time elapsed about 20 minutes. Now plug the thing in and start loading the perishables. This method gives you the opportunity to get rid of those half used jars of mayo.. Mustard never goes bad. I then mop the floor. You just never know what you will find by mopping.
This is the 6th month of lockdown with no end in sight. I know for a fact that UV light from the sun would help us turn the corner. We are entering the Solar Minimum which means a colder winter. It still is sensible to lay out in the sunshine to build your Vitamin D and B 12 stores.. These vitamins are very helpful to your immune system. They all are so take your vitamins and eat properly with an emphasis on good nutrition. Everything you do to protect yourself will go a long way to preserving your life.
Free thinkers are going the way of the dinosaur. It does not have to be that way. Once you have a good idea stick with it until it comes to fruition. This is easier than you think. Once you are in that resting position simply direct your thoughts to figuring out how it could be used to benefit people.
I was reflecting on how the medical community might use high frequency pulses to destroy plaque build up in arteries especially the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. These tiny vessels plug up causing something called angina which is the basis for a heart attack. When these vessels are blocked suddenly one suddenly feels a sharp pain radiating down your left arm. You are in deep trouble and need immediate care. Lay down and place an aspirin under your tongue until help arrives.
I also proposed the exhaust bubbler which is a absurdly simple device to scrub pollutants from car and truck exhaust. This is not a hard concept to get across but I haven't been able to spread this concept effectively except in www.blogger.com. Water is simply changed on a weekly basis in the vertical tube which could be just about anything. The muffler shops could install them in vehicles in a retro style. They don't have to be appalling. They could be clear plastic. If they could help reduce air pollution from gas cars.... why not?
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The proof is in the testing. So I challenge any thinking individual to build a prototype to demonstrate the efficacy of such an easy solution. It doesn't have to affect performance issues or gas mileage. What comes out when you change the water is an oily black mess that clearly indicates pollution. I just made someone rich with my idea.
I already tried the Governor of California. This is what happens when you invent something and it gets lost in other ideas. I guess Arnold was too busy that day when he got the email. I also proposed another innovative idea to put more moisture in the air which would turn into fog and eventually clouds which leads to rain. This will take a corporation to initialize the idea.
Flying kites at sea can give a new perspective on where you are especially if you mount a go pro camera. One could also mount solar voltaic cells since they make them now of flexible light plastic. One could also configure a kite that collects rainwater which has the advantage of never coming in contact with anything that would sour it. You could even turn a kite into a wind turbine by flying a kite shaped like a circular fan that tumbles in the air.
Encapsulate an ultraviolet light emitter and swallow it. It will kill many infections in the body.
Installing high intensity ultraviolet lights in the Emergency Room and Surgical Suites could vastly improve the control of bacteria and viruses that are constantly plaguing hospitals. I often thought this would be effective in kennels as a test facility because unless you prove effectiveness, it turns into what's called the long con...
I visualized exoskeletons before they were ever invented by the military. I was working on a project to keep older people safe while walking in the hospital with air bag technology. A vest that would inflate instantly around the hips as soon as there was a rapid change in its vertical position. It could cover the head as well. It would certainly be startling but break a fall. Hospital floors are hard as rock. Why is that?
I brightened upon the idea of equipping wheelchair-bound patients with exoskeletons to get them standing then walking a bit just to get the body organized by effort. No one took me seriously and I lost my initiative to produce this idea. It is still a viable concept.
Would earthquake detection be easier if you put a sensor down a deep well? Some drilled wells go really deep. Just suspending a movement sensor in an unused well could give a somewhat earlier warning than conventional,"honey the ground is shaking" kind of alert. One could use a dry oil well or water well just as easily.
Just today, I was lying on the cement floor when I felt slight undulations. At night, I can hear the scraping of rocks over sand very deep in the earth. I woke up thinking about this since my senses were extended while resting. When I don't hear this for a period of time, I surmise it got stuck and will eventually break free sending a shock wave to the surface. Sure enough, it seems to happen that way.
I designed a magnetic hull crawler for steel container ships. This crawler would have flexible electro-magnetic tank treads designed to hold through rugged conditions. It could be configured in different modes for other purposes. Inspection would require super lighting and an excellent video camera. If you plan a maintenance expedition you could mount hot water jets to blast off the hull growth that affect speed and fuel consumption. One could mount a bulldozer type scraper on the front. By preparing the surface with a shot of bleach one can kill or disable growth so it loosens its grip on the hull. You could end the dependency on bottom paint thus cutting maintenance and downtime for repairs. The newer bottom paints can be applied underwater.
Being a lifeguard in my youth brought to mind a rescue device that could be deployed by a drone that would drop a life ring to a tired swimmer who had been carried away by tidal action or some other calamity. It could be used remotely from the lifeguard station driven by a joystick. A mounted video camera to access the distress level of the victim and a voice link to the lifeguard so that he can advise and direct the rescue procedures to even a child. A comforting voice is sometimes all that is needed to change the outcome of a bad situation. Summoning a watercraft takes time. This would certainly be a ready sentry for all waterfront rescue decisions. There are already working models in other parts of the world.
Are you embarrassed by 'ahem' flatulence? Why not try a pair of my carbon embedded underwear to absorb all those noxious odors one can produce when battling a bout of gas? This is another very marketable item for the savvy man or woman who wants to distribute a fine product.
Another medical idea I had was to encapsulate an ultraviolet transmitter small enough to swallow. Ultraviolet light is used in food processing centers to control bacteria. My idea was to create an adjunct to antibiotic therapies which just might give the body enough of a chance to heal itself. There are many types of diseases this would work for. Stomach ulcers and tumors would get into the light, so to speak and heal themselves. Worth a try...I have no money....The device would be returned in the fecal mass.
I really want to eliminate johnny wands which means up close and personal with the turd world. In its place I would install a maceration device that breaks up fecal matter so it passes through the tubes without the manual help. A maceration device can be retrofitted in standard plumbing. These things do not have to be very big to do the job of septic sanitation. Even that giant hamburger you ate...well, you know what happens when that monster torpedo gets stuck in the tubes. Break out the Johnny Wand. With the maceration equipped toilet bowl the problem can be solved with the flick of a switch. No more assuming the position of amateur plumber.
No one has ever thought of helping young mothers with their stroller management. Simply install an electric motor with a quick release in the push handle like those self driving lawn mowers. This will lock up the wheel so the carriage does not roll away on a downhill. Great for San Francisco or Seattle. I work for kisses from young mothers...
Spray on medical gloves would give hospital personnel added protection if used in conjunction with the standard latex glove. In the operating room in certain situations the dexterity would be vastly improved if a surgeon could feel his way rather than rely strictly on eye sight and luminescence.
An emergency cast can be made out of a plastic soda bottle and heat gun. Simply cut the ends so you have a tube. Slip it over the affected limb. You could wrap the limb in some sort of cloth first. Then slowly heat the plastic until it shrinks forming a cast once it hardens. The trick with broken bones or bone bruises is immobilization.
Not to change the subject but since I am here, I thought I'd share an idea that has been ruminating around my brain for sometime. Today I noticed in Popular Science that they can recharge a battery wirelessly, specifically on drones. Why not advance the technology and translate solar energy to electricity via a microwave from dirigibles covered with solar voltaic panels flying high in the suborbital atmosphere then beam the energy collected to a radio tower that then translates it back into electricity? Shades of Tesla.... This will be done by someone, why not you?
I just read the Chinese are working on such an idea. Wonder if they have been reading my blogs?
Then in even higher orbit, one could focus a giant lens, much like a magnifying glass on a specific spot on earth such as one of those heating towers for steam generation. As the population grows and land becomes scarce such a concept would allow a lower maintenance cost thus freeing many acres devoted to solar energy for people to enjoy or light up a city during emergencies in the dead of night. A Fresnel lens would be easy to unroll and focus the sun on a specific area...just a matter of technology.
My feet get cold in the winter. I had the bright idea to cut an old sleeping bag in half thus forming a snug footsie that could be used during the day when sitting at the computer. I thought this to be a money making item should I ever get the chance to present this to a company like REI.
Keeping buildings dry during rainstorms could be accomplished with compressed air. Simply put a spinner on a tube and much like an umbrella. The compressed air would blow the raindrops away from the building. A smaller version could be designed for personal use. This device would work for snow as well which could be easily mounted on baby carriages, shopping carts, electric wheelchairs and the like..
The America's Cup is one of the world's great contests in sailing. I often wondered how hull speed could be increased. Keeping the boat in a more upright position would certainly make the hull more efficient as it plowed through the waves. I got to thinking about how a Gyroscope maintains its vertical orientation despite being knocked around. It suddenly hit me that a giant gyroscope built into the mast and concealed as a table would certainly add force to the upright position of hull thus making the boat go faster. An electric drill could be applied to the outer edge to add more rotations. The whole structure could be incorporated into the dining salon at the foot of the mast. Bearings would be the key and a well balanced gyroscope with the correct weight would counterbalance the force of the wind on the sails thus giving more forward thrust. However, this assemblage might be construed as mechanical thus, disqualification and complaints from other 12 meter skippers. There is no reason that the average sailor would not benefit greatly by the stability that a gyroscope would provide.
Another wild invention involving helicopters. To get more lift simply extend the rotors. This could be done by mounting the extension on bearings so that it is able to swing freely and more rapidly than its parent rotor blade. This could be a retro fit for existing helicopters that need to extract rapidly as in the case of rescues at high altitudes in rugged terrain. Something to ponder if you are into aeronautics.
The oceans are rising. There is only one thing to do.. Get rid of some of that ocean. I was thinking about that problem when I remembered a scientific experiment involving centrifugal force. Please hear me out and I know what you are thinking....conjecture..
You continually add sections until you have enough tube to reach at least the troposphere or higher. Then slowly lift the tube in place via dirigibles until it reaches the highest elevation possible.
Turn on the pump and start the flow. The outfall should carry away into space leaving a trail of water in Earths' wake to be dispersed. Ten years of syphoning should lower the ocean levels to tolerable levels.
Sure... you would have to screen out organisms like fish and seaweed. The diameter does not have to be large bore for the first go. Over time replacement tubes could be assembled. There could be many stations like this all over the globe. This is not science fiction. This is a plumbers dream come true. Ok the salt might be a problem but it should stay in solution. The stabilizing of the oceans can be solved.
I thought of inflatable fall protection for the elderly when I was at Mayo. These devices would protect the hips and head even the knees with a simple mercury switch that would activate the CO2 cartridge the instant the patient went from vertical to horizontal. This whole system could be controlled from the nursing station and deactivated when the patient returns to her bed. This is a really good idea.
Tubing the ocean through black plastic to the desert would evaporate a great deal of ocean if directed into evaporation areas thus the minerals could be harvested. The evaporated water could be turned into water vapor eventually becoming rain clouds. We need the fresh water. Mexico is using this evaporation technique for salt production. It could be easily modified to manage the ocean levels.
Today, with the advent of reliable wind turbines, this idea might be tried again since the need for alternative fuels is no longer resented by Big Oil. They could certainly set up an electrolysis station on abandoned oil platforms. This would take America into the 21st century no longer dependent on foreign oil. Something to reflect on should you read and feel the need to heed.
Got to thinking about removing salt from the oceans again. There must be a way to do this without changing the oceans dramatically. So one thing led to another...Reverse osmosis is a tried and true method. Why not cover a Buckyball with A Reverse Osmosis membrane and toss it in the ocean? You could corral them together. What might happen is fresh water would accumulate inside over time to be collected for consumption. With a little practice and a whole lot of determination one could give ocean going people a way to survive in the great desert of the world's oceans. Just a thought....One could also create a membrane as a sphere then enclose it in a floating buckyball so it is protected from collision yet still in contact with saltwater. Over time these floaters could be retrieved by using a GPS locator blip. Experiments need to be done as how long the membranes last exposed to the violent oceans. Not all areas of the oceans are turbulent. bays and estuaries are calm. Just another idea . The membranes could be expensive so getting the costs down is essential.
Many times, I've seen cops struggle to find a flat place to write their reports in the field...Why don't we manufacture a desk-like structure that flips up or pulls out from the trunk or hood, complete with a light so they can make corrections fearlessly. Many times, a judge will throw out a court case simply because of illegible handwriting. This could be a retrofit much like those trays that drive in restaurants use. There must be a spot on the patrol car that could be turned into a shelf for writing.
The Jefferson Umbrella is a rather interesting concept. A spinning stream of air held over the head is the essential concept. Batteries in the handle and the desire to stay dry is all you need.
The other idea is a spinning air under pressure would sure blow the raindrops away. A small compressor in the handle run on batteries should provide enough force to keep you rain and snow free.
Compressed air could also be used to keep buildings dry or whole streets free of rain.
The technology is there already. High pressure air can do the trick.
Ultraviolet light is the way to control these viruses. There are many possibilities. A light bar designed to be lowered into the throat so that irradiates the vulnerable lungs reducing the viral load thus giving the body a chance to clean up the rest of the viral stragglers with a boost to the immune system. Certainly worth a try. They put tubes down the throats all the time so they can see the problem. FYI
Encapsulate an ultraviolet emitter in a swallowable sized device and have the patient ingest it.... wait three days for the return of the device.
If you are concerned it might get flushed, apply a fecal bag to retrieve the highly valued device.
There are full spectrum florescent lights available. We installed them in a restaurant in Burnaby. They worked nicely but were expensive. People certainly benefited from the exposure to full spectrum light mid winter. Sunlight is how the body builds Vitamin D in the skin. It is a chemical conversion that all mammals perform in sunlight. Notice the cat relishing the sunbeam.
Spray on medical gloves that could be used surgically. These gloves could be washed off easily with a special soap. Therefore reapplication is easy. Dexterity is enhanced thus fewer accidents. Worth considering... call the lawyer.
Electrolysis of water is certainly becoming a reality. Consider this...Installing solar electric panels on high flying balloons that electrolize rainwater or water vapor thus producing oxygen and hydrogen..
What's wrong with creative thinking.
I was attending UNO formerly called LSUNO. Ricky S. and I decided to rent an apt in the French Quarter for a respite from living at home. It was a happening place.
The Golden Bear Air Show was designed to be fun for all. Legend has it a group of hunters found a bear sitting under a tree reading the Wall Street Journal. They became friends. Soon though, the bear found out about flying and wanted lessons. This was a perspicacious bear with an agile mind and a desire to entertain humans. He began appearing at Air Shows flying an old Sopwith Camel complete with a silk scarf and motorcycle goggles. He entertained huge crowds in Alaska. This is where Gb got a hold of him and asked if he could use his story for a radio show at KUGS in Bellingham. The name Google came from the word goggles that the bear wore, by the way.
One day, there was an announcement of the Dali Lama making his first appearance in North America in Seattle of all places. I had the idea to tape the presentation for the Radio. I carefully brought all the electronic tools I would need to capture his remarks.
We gave elementary teachers around Bellingham a chance to visit KUGS studios with their class to see how radio is spontaneously invented. A total educational package was developed but somehow overlooked by the powers that be. Although the station benefited with improvements to the equipment, I found himself without a career after all that effort. Once you fall out of the saddle...
The station manager offered to distribute the taped shows in Alaska if I'd sign them over to her. By that time, I had a falling out with the Outback people with no chance of reconciliation. I left in a huff mostly to save myself from the irate administrators who could not realize the monetary benefits of the educational process. Its my way or the highway was what I gathered. This lonesome man was now alone again. On the road again bound for Nowhere Soon.
After graduating, I worked at many hospitals to get experience. Some of the more memorable events that stay in one's memory are fairly startling.
A group of medical students entered a patients room to watch an MD take a bone marrow sample from the hip of a cancer patient. This is done with a boring tool that is turned by hand. I was standing outside the room acting as a doorman. The MD started turning the cutter.
Suddenly, a young female med student comes running out and does a head first face plant into the carpeted floor of the hallway. I almost caught her. Come to find out she had not eaten and had very little sleep. She said it was the grinding of the cutter that triggered her fainting spell. Doctors are a tough bunch of nuts to learn from. Just a carpet burn on her face. One of many incidents I saw.
One morning, I was making my rounds when I came across a patient literally swimming in feces. He asked me for help. I immediately got him up to a chair. The charge nurse walked in and saw this. She started yelling at me. Why didn't you call me was all she could say. I did, but no one was coming. The strange world of cancer patients is difficult to grasp. The hospital was super busy for the rest of the year. I did not stay long in SLC with so many people venting at me.
At the recommendation of an MD, I caught the greyhound to the Mayo Clinic. It took many weeks to finally get hired on. Same thing, different day. I stayed for 7 yrs at Mayo in the float pool which is about the safest with night shift being the easiest. Still hard, but the difference was no supervisors yelling at you. They wait until the next day to ruin your sleep. One learns to adapt and survive by avoiding angry people. It finally catches up to you. The first indication is your door card does not work.
It only takes one complaint to end your career at Mayo. I was forced out by the powers that be. Hugh Smith was the CEO who ended my career. This was because I sent him email alerting him to the illicit drug trade at night by many nurses that pocket pills from the Pixus machine that dispense opiate drugs. The way this works is the MD orders meds as needed for pain. The nurse takes two out of the drawer one for the patient the other for the dealer. Difficult to track because they claim it rolled under the machine or some such incident. I used to roll those machines to clean behind them. The crap I found would interest any detective.
One nurse was dismissed for saving half empty bags of pain medication. Fentanyl can bring big bucks as it is considered synthetic heroin She was hiding it in her purse, then shooting up with easily obtained diabetic needles, usually in the bathroom stalls.
This was a common thing. Everybody is watching everybody for this activity. One complaint can send you packing. Such is the life of a PCA. It is hard not to be an informant at hospitals. I hated that role and was very happy to leave that miserably cold part of the country.
I soon was on my way to San Diego and Scripps Memorial Hospital. Not because of bad behavior but contacting the CEO made me a target to be eliminated. They despise snitches. It affects the bottom line. MD's are a greedy bunch.
The Cardiac Care Unit at Scripps Memorial hired me on the spot. Even Scripps was a challenge to work for. They floated me to the floor on slow nights. I was assigned to sit with an unruly patient that had rolled his truck. He was angry and filled with resentment. He constantly picked fights with me. I asked to go home. The supervisor said no. I was forced to stay the whole night.
. The next day, they called me in for a meeting. They gave me a choice resign or get fired. I resigned. Onto my next job as a homecare attendant with more angry people. After a few months of this torture, I left for Mexico.
My Mexican adventure started unfolding. I stayed at a campground for a few weeks living in my jungle hammock. I was there because of the pool. One day I noticed a baby rattlesnake was sunning itself as reptiles are apt to do. A bird of prey swept down on this critter and carried him aloft. This is the exact same image on almost every coin in Mexico. It was as if God was sending me guidance through the natural world. I rolled up my scene, paid my fees and started for Mexico. Best decision I ever made was to leave the US for other worlds. Immediately, I felt a wave of relief flow over me. Life was still hard. But somehow, I felt more in control of my fate. Applying for SSI was easier than I thought. Soon I could pay my rent and consider my other options. The world was now my Apple.
I got to Costa Rica in a round about way. I first drove to Panama via the Pan American highway fully intending to go all the way to Terra del Fuego. The road abruptly stops near the Colombian border. The Darian region is really difficult to cross. One must take the car ferry to Cartagena then find your way back onto the Pan American Highway. The wait time was prohibitive so I decided to visit Portobello where much of the movie was filmed starring Johnny Depp called Pirates of the Caribbean.
Portobello turned out to be loaded with history. The Spanish Aduana still stands built in th 15th century overlooking the anchorage where Spanish Galleons were loaded with sacks of Gold stolen from the Indians. I always thought one could run a vacuum at night a pull a great deal of gold dust out of the crevasses of paved stone. It being heavier it must have settled deeply. The local police would frown on that venture. You would be deported instantly.
The Aduana has full ballroom stairways that lead up to a balcony that opens onto the Seaport. There are two forts where the Spanish garrisoned many soldiers to guard the operation. Actually three.... the third being on the other side of the bay so any invading ships would be demolished in a withering crossfire of cannons.
I met a sailor who explored extensively these outposts around Panama City. When Henry Morgan invaded, the soldiers left their muskets leaning against the fortifications. He came upon this scene and hastily collected these muskets to be sold on the black market for a nifty profit. The guy was a master scrounger having come across bundles and bundles of 8 inch PVC water pipe washed up on the shore. This was in the aftermath of the frequent hurricanes that sweep through the region.
He carefully towed them to a spot where he sold them to a construction outfit looking for materials.
I was looking around the perimeter and noticed something at low tide. Curious I made my way to this little sand spit. It was a blue glass bottle that had the telltale taper of the 15th century. This item was worth many thousands of dollars. I spent the day uncovering many more artifacts. I left them only for a moment. I came back and they were all gone. Such is life. Thieves are everywhere. I stayed for three months repairing boats and drinking at the bars.
One night, crazy Evan attacked me because he thought I stole his two gallons of gas he left unattended. I am not a thief. He tackled me driving my shoulder into the cement floor.
I was hurt badly. I finally got him off me. I packed up and left the next morning for the hospital. They could not help me. I started the long drive back to the states with a few pain pills and nothing to show for my time.
It took many months of isolation to finally recover. I had been an excellent competitive swimmer. All that was history. So when life hands you lemons make lemonade...My lemonade was lousy and bitter.
This is the second time I will share this knowledge of the coconut palm. This is one of the oldest plants that man discovered a long, long time ago.
The humble coconut starts life at sea having fallen into the ocean from its parent plant. It drifts on the high seas maybe for years before being blown ashore by storms that sweep in. Stranded at high tide and slightly buried, it finally is able to put forth green shoots and roots. It now will take at least 20 yrs to reach maturity.
The people of the Pacific tropics have learned to utilize this magnificent plant for all their needs. In fact, he plants a coco palm at the birth of a new child.
As the child grows so does this coconut tree mimicking the life of the child.
After many moons have passed, the tree can now produce fruit which is the coconut. Gathering the nuts can be a problem. This is why the young men learn how to climb this palm using a coconut fiber loop that our climber uses around his ankles to hop up the tree. He carries a machete that is used to hack down the long strands of nuts.
Only the green nuts have water in them. The first drink goes to the climber. The whites carry a screw driver and plastic straw. One plunges the driver into the center and inserts his straw for a profound sip of the purest water to be found anywhere.
The older non producing palms are taken to the sawmill to be manufactured into building materials. The fronds are gathered for roofing. These make a thatch which, if properly done properly, sheds rainfall very effectively. The roof is sewn into place using a giant wooden needle to pass the fiberous twine. Entire plantations are built from that humble first nut.
Ewa Island was the most adventurous trip I took looking for the burgundy breasted parrot. I stayed with the Misa family after the long boat ride to through giant seas of cobalt blue ocean clear as a window. The dock was a cement massive wall.
The following day, my guides borrowed a mule for me to ride through the magnificent rain forest of giant trees where this rare parrot raises its young. This parrot came to these islands as escapees from sailors who plyed these waters in the 17th century.
A young german couple was raising these parrots at their home. This how I got the full story on these magnificent birds. The junveniles eyes are red until they mature. They turn a rich dark brown when fully grown. These birds are then released back into the wilds of Ewa.
We traveled to the coast where a cliff overlooks the most tropical beach in the world I have ever seen. Nearby are the ruins of an old mansion that was being built by a German escaping persecution after the war. Unfinished in so many ways, this structure telegraphs escapism to all. Some say he was Gestapo.
There are many Germans from that era living in Tonga. They run a Bavarian bakery making specialty pastries that Tongans relish. Anything sweet is how Tongans eat thus their huge size.
The boys guiding me were cousins of Talakai and Valu my friends in Nuku alofa.
We then visited a massive cave where the ceiling had collapsed some centuries ago leaving a huge rubble pile. This cave was home to the giant Flying Fox bat as well as many other cave dwelling creatures yet known to science. Pretty sure the Aussies have been there so no need of a new expedition. The light was truly haunting amid the monolithic rocks and boulders that littered the floor. We continued on.
The boys meanwhile, built a toy car out of Osage oranges for wheels. They towed this thing for miles as we plodded onward to the islands interior where the burgundy breasted parrot nests high in the trees.
When we got back to the tiny village, someone produced a .22. I am a dead shot when it comes to small arms. The boys could not match my accuracy. They got a little testy. One of the young guys with a bad attitude pointed the rifle at me. That was it. I packed up and left in the next few minutes to catch the launch back to the capital of Nuku alofa.
Talikai and Valu were startled to see me back so soon. I soon was back among this beautiful family taking frequent diving trips to the most profound waters on planet earth. The volcanic walls were so full of life swirling around giant clams and striking coral heads in multicolored tones of greens and blues with the occasional pearl white of the giant clams. These were some of the best days of my life. I wanted to stay forever.
I went to Church every Sunday just to hear the marvelous voices of the profound singing of the praises of our Lord. Valu dressed me in Tongas finest pocket sulu and the Washington apron complete with the cowerie breastplate and headress. I felt royal. I had no trouble finding female company after that.
The Kings birthday took everyone by surprise. Overnight Tongstapu was made festive. A huge Tongan feast was prepared overnight. The huge mats of Papyrus were rolled out. As each citizen wished the Monarch happy birthday they took up a position in front of mounds and mounds of food. With a single gesture, everyone began feasting on roast pig, fried fish and as much coconut creme you could handle.
The following morning was the greatest movement of bowels in the history of Tonga.
I even found a bungalow on the beach free for the asking yet, my visa was running out. Sure you can overstay your visa but when you don't check out on time, they come looking for you. Suddenly you are deported never to return to Tonga. I always try to stay within the limits of the visa. I spent a full year jumping from one country to another in the South Pacific. It was finally time to fly back to Honolulu. I missed the Cook Islands this trip.
I did manage to go to the exact spot where Capt. Cook landed in Tonga. The people cut down the tree that he tied to as a symbol to others not to come to Tonga. There were other relics of the Cook visit.
The small library held a few old books that told the tale of arrival. The one volume I read was called the FATAL IMPACT. The diseases the sailors carried spread like wildfire decimating the population for many years. Nothing was the same. Paradise was lost in sickness and death.
On Ewa, one of fellas climbed a papaya tree simply by walking up the trunk. Try as I might I could not master the technique. Just one of those amazing feats these guys could pull off. The same with coconut trees. They could hop up the trunk like a frog.
I had gotten to Tonga by applying for a job at the International Hotel in Neiafu in the Northern Group. I had sailed there on another ferro cement sloop with an ER doc and his girlfriend all the way from Viti Levu from Suva. We ran into a hurricane and had to pull into a protected quay on an uninhabited out island. There are many to choose from in Fijian waters.
Standing watch at night in Souhtern waters you see so much. The Flying fish coming over the rail in schools of hundreds attracted by the spreader lights was truly amazing. Some were as big as salmon.
I noticed another yacht running close hauled under shortened sail in rough seas caused me to say a prayer for those souls on board. I have never met a sailor who does not have the fear of God in his sea bag.
Oh Lord my boat is so small and your ocean so big.. Please have mercy on us.
