Saturday, November 12, 2022

 Saturday, November 12, 2022

After yesterday's acupuncture treatment, I saw a big difference in my legs during my in-bed morning exercises. Some of the problems with my legs are caused by my back problems.

  As I left for my morning walk, I ran into Yvette and Mei while still in the driveway. Yvette was at the curb, ready to take Liner Notes and Little on their morning walks. We talked about gardenias.

  One night a week ago, I joined Peter, Mei, and Anna on a walk around the block. On the corner of Kukuna and Holoholo, we discovered a wonderful smell from a long line of shrubs along the fence of the first house on the street's mauka side (mountainside). I took a picture of the shrub and texted it to Margo, the resident horticultural expert. She told me it was a Kula gardenia. She didn't have one in stock; she would order it. She got back to me to let me know she couldn't get that species. She offered another. Yvette said there was a species that had a cinnamon scent. I asked Margo if we could get that. I also looked up the care and feeding of gardenias. They need tender, loving care. Oh, dear. I have the equivalent of a black thumb- the opposite of a green one. I'm good at killing weeds. Margo taxed a species she could get, not the cinnamon one, and said it was hardy. Just what I need.

 On the morning walk, Darby came out to join me. She was waiting for me to pass. I called her last night around 8 pm. She said she was already in bed. We ran into a couple. I considered two of my walking buddies as we walked. We stopped to talk. Darby introduced herself. I hadn't realized they didn't know each other. The husband complained about his neighbors because they were so noisy. He wished for their death; he described them as horrible neighbors. Then he continued his complaint; it came out it was their children making the noise. His neighbors even set up a learning pod at their house during Covid. When he first started talking about his neighbors, I imagined a meth or a wild party house, not a house with young children. People usually enjoy the sound of children at play.

  Darby called me later that night to discuss the husband's response. Yes, his position was also a disturbing surprise to me. However, another of my walking buddies who lives in a neighborhood where the houses are close together has also complained about noise from a neighbor's children. She said, "She had no idea how noisy it was here." 

      While our neighborhood is free from electronic noises, people must learn to speak in quieter voices or accept that everyone within a half-block radius will know their business. We live in houses without climate control; we don't need heat or air conditioning. It's one of the many great pleasures of living here. When I sit on my lanai at midday, the only sound I hear is the sound of birds. Wonderful!

  Scott came out of his room in the early evening to tell me that Yvette was caught in a traffic situation on her way home. She was coming home via Palani. When the light changed at Hina Lani, her line started to move. A car coming up Hina Lani ran the red light and T-boned the first car in line. The driver behind Yvette's car got out to check out the situation. He came back and told Yvette there were gunshots. She got low in her car until the traffic started moving again.

  Scott and Yvette checked the papers this morning to discover what happened. Someone in the car that ran the light shot at a cop. Fortunately, he merely grazed him. It was a car full of the meth-fueled. I bet this shooter is detoxing in jail. Yvette made it home safely. All's well that ends well.