Sunday, June 8, 2014

Sunday musings

Well, the road trip across the mountains and over the prairies back to Saskatchewan is well under way.
So, as with other blogs of years past (or should one say passed?) this weeks will be an abbreviated version by necessity.
As it is, I am composing it with my travelling machine and it by choice has less of the bells and whistles of my regular machine.
This week saw ceremonies for the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the landing of Allied forces on French beaches as the start of the return to a ground war with the German Nazi regime.
The force was mainly composed of Brits with a goodly amount of Canadians and Americans as well as other countries. Unfortunately with the ignoring of actual history by Hollywood, most Americans think that their country alone did the invasion and the eventual defeat of the Nazis. Make no mistake about it, the amazing technology and flood of weaponry as well as the forces themselves from America were the reasons the war ended the way it did. But we cannot forget the sacrifice of those, especially the Brits and the Russians - it was huge and so costly.
As the President of France said, freedom is never a gift - it must be earned and fought for. Just look at parts of the world today and you will see what happens when freedom is given up. Look at some countries in South America, the Middle East - what ever happened to the Arab Spring anyway?
You see what I mean?
You may have heard stories about the recent drought in California?
Well, it seems that with marijuana being the single largest crop, at least according to some "experts" and the DEA, that this water hungry plant is the culprit behind the lack of water. All the illegal grow ops are draining water out of the system and by all accounts -  un-metered!
Hmm...
3 RCMP officers were murdered this week in the city of Moncton. This serves as a reminder to all that so glibly mock and dismiss police officers - hey, they are human too and no one deserves to die like that.
A real and present danger to all that serve and protect.
An American serviceman that had been held by the Taliban for the last 5 or 6 years was freed this week as part of a prisoner exchange supervised by the American President. Apparently some American laws might have been ignored in the process but the President remains firm in his decision. Now stories are floating about questioning the role of the detained American and whether or not he was a prisoner or deserter and convert to the Taliban for a while.
There never is just one side to any story these days is there?
The one big thing about this is that he was exchanged for 5 leaders of the Taliban that were being imprisoned in the American base in Cuba (yup, the Yanks do have a real military base in CUBA!- check that story out some time) and you can bet the proverbial farm that these people will not retire from being a terrorist now that they are free. Heck, just watch those callous, cruel individuals return to death and destruction with a vengeance.
And that is too bad.
Hey - remember my German word phrase for the week?
Well, for this week, it is back!
 ‘Die beleidigte Wurst spielen’: To “act the insulted liver sausage” means to go off in a sulk, and lordy, did my parents ever quote this and often to me when I was a little beansprout....
And on my second favorite Island of Maui, this week sees the annual Maui Film Festival which has been hosted/visited by folks like Emma Roberts this year and in other years, a certain Mr. Jimmy Buffet and Mr. Pierce Brosnan - 2 very good friends of mine.
Well...actually if they would ever meet and get to know me, I am sure they would be happy to be called my good friends.
Sheesh, technicalities!
On a sad note, Buzz's Wharf restaurant near the aquarium in the coastal community of Maalaea (about 1/2 the way between fabulous Kihei and marvelous Lahaina, home of "The story of Hawaii" store previously mentioned, [www.storyofhawaiimuseum.com ] ) closed for good last Friday after 47 wonderful years in business. More and more, business was dropping and no business can survive without customers. Another great entrepreneurial business now, sadly, gone.
Darn.
As a former business operator, I always mourn the loss of any small business for their owners actually did something to generate wealth. Wealth for themselves, their staff and their community. They acted whereas so many, dare I say, latte sipping, dipsticks, sit by and try to figure out ways of avoiding work, and how to collect subsidies from anyone but themselves.
I think we all know a few of these self entitled (just ask them) folks...
That being said, with the return of Azeka's rib sauce in the near future - I think a visit back to the Sandwich Islands is on my event horizon, sooner than later I suspect.
Well, that is a short blog this week and soon I will be motoring (love using that word as a verb!) through the last stages of the great Canadian Rockies towards the good city of Calgary to visit a dear family friend and then off to Saskabush - mosquitoes be darned!
I am enclosing a snap taken of from the first stretch of the start of the fearsome Coquihalla Pass.
And yes, there is still snow on the roadsides...

take care out  there,
flatlander52


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