Good Bye, Gregg! Welcome, Wakana!

The reason for this trip was to attend my friend Gregg's memorial which was held on Saturday. We were DJs for Da Coconut Wireless show on the community radio station KSER, along with several other people. Gregg, aka Pineapple Sam, did the 1st week, I did the 5th week.In between we had Bruddah Ace, Molly Mahalo, and Sistah T. After Gregg's health issues no longer allowed him to play the Hawaiian music he loved Bruddah Grant joined the 'ohana. Braddah Ace and Sistah T were able to make it to the memorial so I got to see them also. The memorial was followed by a reception featuring luau food.


The reception broke up earlier than I had expected so I texted Barb. We had missed her on Friday, she had gone outside to garden and did not check her phone until she came back in for dinner. This time, when she didn't respond again, we decided to stop by and see if she was out gardening again since we were close by. We looked up the driveway and saw that the garage door was open so we knew she was home. We had a great visit with her. And also helped find her cat Zippy, who had sneaked out of the house and was hiding on the hillside; the birds tipped us off as to where he was hiding.

On the way back to drop Kai off we stopped to visit with Bo & Barbara, who also gave me one of their old suitcases that they were no longer using. We had great conversation, tea & cookies. The night ended too soon.

On Sunday I went to Seattle for brunch with Aunty Daisy, Scott, & his new wife Wakana. Kai was too tired, so he didn't join us and missed out on freshly ground coffee.

The coffee brewing station.

Wakana made breakfast for us: fresh fruits, pancakes, & 2 types of sausage. I had met Wakana about 10 or 15 years earlier when she and Scott were first dating. She also remembers having a lively conversation with Kai about anime. After breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning checking out the new landscaping that Scott is doing as well as the community garden across the street from their house.

L to R: Wakana, Scott, & Aunty Daisy.

While I was there, Scott showed me the commemorative letter that Aunty Daisy had received when she first flew from Hawaii to Chicago. I had heard stories about it, but had a way different picture in my mind about what it looked like. Scott had it framed so it could be safely displayed. It commemorates the 7546th crossing on September 17, 1948; there were 36 passengers, the captain, and 2 stewardesses.

From there I went to Janice's condo. Apparently there was a small fire in the hallway, where vandals destroyed a security camera. There was still a faint smoky odor. I gave Janice a ride to Eleta & Trish's place for Kwanzaa. (Eleta began doing Kwanzaa monthly, concentrating on 1 principle each month, in order to more easily remember the principles.) We were also joined by Brienne and Shera.


After we left Kwanzaa, Janice and I went to an Iftar in Sammamish. Sunday was the 2nd day of Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims. During Ramadan, observant Muslims in good health fast from dawn to dusk, which was about 3:30 am to 9 pm. The Muslim fast also includes a ban on water. Because she just got out of the hospital Janice is not required to fast. Janice was invited to this Iftar by one of the Egyptian Muslims that she knew. Too bad Kai wasn't able to make it; many of them worked for IT companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Facebook. When asked where to go in Seattle for authentic Egyptian food, they recommended the King Tut Mediterranean Restaurant in Lynnwood!

It was all good, I just don't know what the names are for any of it.

This morning I started out with breakfast with Mim & Jim at the new Buzz Inn Steakhouse on Broadway; I accidentally went to the old one which is now Harvey's Restaurant. I met Mim last year just before I left. She was driving a logging truck then and getting out of an abusive marriage. Now she's driving a dump truck, more well off financially, and in a good relationship. Way to go, Mim! Hoping to see them in Hawai'i soon.

L to R: Mim & Jim.

Here's my breakfast: country eggs benedict.



I had lunch with Alison at Areeya Thai & Noodle. Alison had his usual: won ton soup. I was still kind of full from breakfast so I had just a small green papaya salad.We had much lively conversation about a variety of topics.

Alison with his wonton soup.

I was extremely tired when I left. I was on my way to Ty & Chris' house for a barbecue but decided I needed to take a short nap so I could make it through the evening. I woke up a little over 2 hours later, having completely missed the barbecue!

And I was scheduled to visit the Port Gardner Bay Watercolor Society. They meet at the Cascadian Place Retirement Residence every Monday. But lately things have slowed down; only Cathy & Karen showed up tonight. But we still had a great time.

L to R: Cathy, me, & Karen with Pineapple Shortbread Cookies. (Photo by Cathy.

Happy Belated Birthday to Johnny & Anita!