Apr 11

 

Week 16 Day: 101  Ave. sky cover: 50% \ Visibility: 10 miles Flagstaff Today 59° \34°  Wind: 6mph \ Gusts: 11mph
High risk of fire \ Nearest active fire: 215mi \ nearest Lightning: 719mi
Apr Averages for Flagstaff: 59° \ 28°  (3 days of moisture)

Today’s Quote

Monthly Observations

In Navajo, April is called T’aachil, Growth of Early Plant Life.

Adopt A Ferret Month
Adopt A Horse Month (4/26 - 5/31)
Adopt A Greyhound Month Link
Atlanta Food & Wine Month
Arab American Heritage Month Link
ASPCA Month  Link  Link
Alcohol Awareness Month
Amateur Radio Month
Autism Acceptance Month  Link
Autism Awareness Month Link
Beaver Awareness Month
Car Care Month
Celebrate Diversity Month
Child Abuse Prevention Month
(International) Cesarean Awareness Month Link
Community Spirit Days (1-30)
Confederate History Month
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness Month  Link
Couple Appreciation Month

Weekly Observations

Passiontide: 3-17	Hate Week: 4-10
Ramadan: 3- 5/1	National Dental Hygienist Week: 4-10 Link

 

Daily Observations

My Sometimes-Long-Winded Thoughts

I’m unpacked, rested, and ready to go. Computer and phone needed lots of updates after my trip.

Our Focus trip to French Polynesia was outstanding. I got my covid test easily. It was close to the old neighborhood. Car rental was a breeze. It took 2-1/2 hours to check in at Delta-Denver airport. They said we were missing forms, found the forms, had us fill them out. They checked our bags to Tahiti, and we flew to LA. The forms that held us up were not needed until we left, and the ship gave them to us also. We waited quite a few hours at LAX for Air France to fly us to Tahiti. Delta gave us worthless boarding passes to Tahiti. Air France had to recheck all our documents. It was a great time to catch up with the travelers I knew and meet new members. Three of the ‘new’ travelers were friends of Bob Eckhardt. Two were neighbors from across the street where I grew up.  I have known them forever. The other was a dear friend of Bob’s who lost her husband about a year ago.  Nice to catch up with all three. I had a middle seat in a full plane for the 7-hour flight. Luckily, I was separating a couple, so I did get the aisle seat. We flew all night and arrived about 9am in Payette to get yet another covid test. That took About 2 hours too. Then off a great hotel and had to sit around until almost 2pm to check in. Again, great time to get to know the group.

We ate, slept and took off for the ship about 9am. Our ship was only about ¾ full, they had dropped the mask requirement for guests…but the poor ship’s crew had to wear masks whenever guests were around. The food was always good. The service was also great. The buffet had many, many selections and guests never touched the food. The staff filled our plates as we pointed and tried…fairly successfully…to understand them through their masks. After two trips to the computer station, we got Wi-Fi to work very well. The only problem was that only one person per room could be online at a time. Ed and I worked that out.

Our group of 21 got along well, shared lots of stories, celebrated a birthday dinner for one of our group. Very cool. Ed and I did most meals at the buffet. We did have three very nice dinners that required long pants and shoes. We also had 2 cocktail parties…thanks to Tumlare and a captain’s cocktail hour for returning guests. Ed and I had done the South China Sea trip with Oceania a few years ago, so we also were invited.

I quickly learned that Tahiti and the other islands were grouped as French Polynesia. All the islands are still under minimal control and much funding from France. Lots of French and Americans on the ship. There is talk in the islands of becoming independent, but France has built a good infrastructure on most islands and continues to improve the islands. Like other colonizers, the indigenous people were expected to accept the colonizers language and culture. Things have changed and students now can learn their language and culture in the schools. Many students still have to travel to Payette, the capital of Tahiti, and attend school there while living in dorms. Sounds much like my experiences on the Navajo Rez.

More tomorrow on the great side trips we took on the various islands.

The time change was only a couple of hours for me, so jet lag was not a problem. The hard part was not having anyone clean up my room several times a day, not to have a chocolate on my pillow every night, not having someone prepare my food, and provide numerous different activities every day that took little planning on my part. 😊 

Favorite Memes

 

A bit of Humor

What city has no people?

Electricity.

 

What would you call a super successful poultry farmer?

Chick magnate.

Trivia

The treadmill was originally designed for English prisons as a tool for punishment.

In the late 19th century, running was called "pedestrianism."

 

Recreational running didn't become mainstream until the late 1960s. In 1958, the Chicago Tribune announced a strange new fitness fad: jogging.

 

In the 1960s, running for exercise was so unusual that some people were stopped by police. People would try to run in the morning because police became suspicious if they saw a grown man running at night.

 

Dancers at an Italian wedding invented ballet in 1495. At the banquet, the performers' dances represented the dishes that were being served. Broccoli dance, anyone?

Historical Events

Ø    1876 – The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in New York City.

Ø    1919 – The International Labor Organization(IOL) was founded.

Ø    1945 – American forces liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp.

Ø    1963 – Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) – the first encyclical addressed to all instead of to Catholics alone.

Ø    1965 – Fifty-one tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states, killing 256 people.

Ø    1970 – Apollo 13 was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying astronauts James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred W. Haise. The difficult trip back home was the topic of the film, Apollo 13.

Ø    1976 – The Apple Computer 1 (Apple I) was created. They were initially all hand-built by Steve Wozniak.

Ø    2006 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully enriched uranium.

Birthdays Today

94 – Ethel Kennedy, American philanthropist

90 – Joel Grey, American actor, singer, and dancer

82 – Louise Lasser, American actress

@61 – Richard Berry, singer-songwriter, wrote ‘Louie Louie’ (d. 1997; heart failure)

41 – Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model

35 – Lights, Canadian singer-songwriter