Danger, Will Robinson

Liz here with "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger"  

In October my stepdaughter Libby sent out a survey for her class on Marriage and Family. I filled it out with relish since Oct. 2011 is the first month in 27 years that I am not actively seeing a psychologist for counseling. So do not be surprised if I use/abuse the Blog as a vehicle for self- examination and introspection. As a relative newlywed intense feelings of love make it easy for me to gloss over my relationship difficulties. The most obvious issue for me is that Mike smokes. People who know me find that the fact that I married a smoker most surprising. Smoking causes lung cancer after all. Our trip has some conflicts that evoke the TV show, Lost in Space. The protective robot would say "Danger, Will Robinson, danger!" So let me tell what’s happening.

On Oct. 27 I got 10 stitches in my right leg. The leg healed nicely and the stitches are out. This blog is a recant of the danger that day and in subsequent days. 

We began with several visits to a Hot Pond near Pahoa. I tasted and spit out the salt water and I think that is where I got strep throat. Whatever you do, do not gargle with salt water in a hot pond. Even though it is ocean water confined originally for catching fish, a Hot Pond is a germ incubator. I did not swallow the water but I did expose my throat to it. Bad judgement! 

Then we visited the National Historical Park, Pu’ uhonau o Honaunau which is just south of Kona. The park’s theme is Hawaiian artifacts and culture. Europeans incorrectly translated the park’s name to "The City of Refuge". Natives had to go here for absolution if they broke a Kapu (taboo). Even their family members were at risk if they did not cleanse themself (or die if they did not pass the obstacles to getting there).  No trial or time in prison or probation. A Hawaiian got there, was pardoned and then left free. One editorial comment is that the modern prison system is as un-Hawaiian as property ownership. The education from the park is really an important counter balance to political signs on the islands calling for elections for an independent Hawaii government.

Next to the national park is the “2-Step” beach unrelated to the park. While swimming I cut my leg on a sharp lava rock. I got out to the water and especially did not want Mike to see the blood gushing out of a deep cut in my right leg. Mike does not enjoy ocean water. He tells me the ocean frightens him like I might be frightened if he were riding a dirt bike on rough terrain. I did not want this injury to be a self-fulfilling prophecy or add to his dread when I go into the ocean. Nor did I want to miss swimming for the remaining days of our trip! Or have this fear recur at beaches in Australia or Thailand. We visit a lot of beaches on this trip! A Japanese family responded to my beachside request, “Has anyone got a band aide?” A woman sprayed my leg with an antiseptic and a man produced a flesh colored band aide. Their kindly grandmother really did have blue hair and she translated to me the man’s instructions which were that the flesh colored band aid would hold the skin until flesh formed. They put 2 band aides on top of the special band aide. The Japanese man looked me right in the eye to be sure that I paid attention and that I was not in shock and that I understood the woman’s instruction. For all I know they were medical workers on holiday after the tsunami. I was really lucky to find them.

   Then Mike and I chatted with a nice couple, Colleen and Dan both 60 year olds and just married a year or so. They just moved from San Francisco to sunny Kona on The Big Island. Their conversation was practical and forthcoming. Dan is a retired machinist so the marriage gives Colleen health care. Colleen had a house that gave Dan some tax benefits but in the end she gave the house back to the bank.  

Colleen described their nice Kona condo and how she objects to her neighbors’ smoking. One is a cigar smoker and on their condo board so his smoking will be hard to restrict in condo bylaws. Their smoking neighbors do not live there year round and the wife only smokes cigarettes but the smoke goes right into their space. So I tell Colleen how Mike smokes 2 packs a week and chews nicotine gum. I don’t know how much of what I said is passive-aggressive due to the shock and disappointment over my leg wound. No body surfing on the beach for me for a while. She tells me how terrible smoking and nicotine gum chewing is, all the literature says so. I ask specifically, “How is smoking and intermittently, chewing nicotine gum harmful?”  But she does not know a specific health concern. By 4 PM I cannot meditate. I can only think about my sore throat. I find an Urgent Care and Mike takes me there. Female Doctor Sanchez instantly sees the strep on the left side and prescribes penicillin. Then I go to the bathroom and notice the band aids on my leg and decide that I ought to show the cut to her too. She is impressed and says it is an evulsion (deep). She sees a lot of injuries from the 2-Step Beach. She also says staph infection is very virulent here and she prescribed a staph antibiotic too. She sews in 10 stitches. $764 later we drop off prescriptions at Walmart.

I drop Colleen a note to say why we did not meet them for a musical performance after dinner as we had planned. She wrote me to get travel insurance. But we have travel insurance! I called them and they cover 100% of what Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan does not cover. (Judy, I sent you a copy of that note but it came back undelivered, Comcast time out. Mama, I was afraid to alarm you.)

The next morning we make a follow up visit to the Urgent Care as instructed. We meet Dr. Wells as Dr. Sanchez requested. By then I recall how the Japanese lady sprayed my leg with antiseptic before adding the band aid. Dr. Wells says to avoid a yeast infection and not take the staph infection antibiotic unless I actually get a staph infection (which did not occurred). The real reassurance he provides is that he does not see an issue with Mike chewing nicotine gum while he continues to smoke. His compliment is that Mike does not look like a smoker. This confirms Mike’s periodontitis and dentist’s opinions.  The conversation led to marijuana. The doctor prescribes medical marijuana too. We wonder together as to what is keeping marijuana from legalization (beside the lobby by liquor, tobacco, unseen drug cartels and who knows who).

Then we drove up to the east side top of The Big Island. Along the way we passed arid pasture land and even a fire dept. with a helicopter parked in front. Mike and I straddled a high stone wall and ate sandwiches at a lookout point at the end of the road for rental cars. We looked down on a dramatic beach where 2 people were swimming. A very fit and distracted woman ran up the half mile steep path. We proceeded to hike down when the same rescue squad helicopter swooped in.  A man was carried to the beach not breathing. He swam out beyond the “shelf” and could not swim back. He inhaled so much water he was drowned (but he lived). The same fit woman ran down past us with rescue squad men in tow. One heavy set EMT followed a few minutes later. The rescue appeared to be a success story but one that did not reassure us about the ocean. 

Then on Maui on our way out to our backpacker house we saw a helicopter swoop in to put out a fire. Another day we saw a helicopter fly over the Hookipa Beach with fire trucks on standby at the beach. The ocean was full of divers taking turns getting in the helicopter’s hanging basket. This turned out to be  a drill, a most sensible exercise since the beach had just hosted an international wind surfing competition. 

During our stay in the backpacker house in Maui Mike got sick. He had abdominal pain enough to ask for a vicodine. He eventually attributed the pain to a bladder infection. Possible cause was the catchment water he used to brush his teeth and his front denture. One day Mike spent most of it on the toilet in a house with 2 bathrooms and 11 guests. The pain past but by the time we got to Kauai blood came out of his penis. One time only, thank God. We were both upset. We worried since our cruise was 3 days away. Mike said to wait. You know I looked up Urgent Care on Kauai (only ER, no Urgent Care there) and Mike was sorry he told me. Then Mike felt fine the next day and he felt vindicated for not wasting time waiting to see a doctor. 

The Road to Hanna made Maui a great place for me. The scenery is second to none. But it is a dangerous road. Mike bought an audio narrative describing what we saw and where to stop. One stop is an amazing arboretum without any park admission or attendant present. As I approached the gate to the arboretum I observed 2 wrecked 1980’s era cars practically standing perpendicular in a gulley behind a strong guard rail. I asked locals at a stand what happened but they shrugged it off as what happens to stolen rental cars.   

 I am glad to be away from catchment water and washing dishes in this questionable water. In order to wash dishes I ran water through coffee makers or boiled it on a gas stove for 20 days (11 days on The Big Island and 9 days on Maui). Catchment water is collected from the gutters on houses and comes out of the tap. It is not potable. Since plants were growing in the roof gutters in the house in Maui we believe that the water is not safe.

Where is the Danger, Will Robinson? It is in germs in water, in the air and on the road. It is frightening to get sick and even more frightening to get sick as a traveler. Sickness happens. Our trip goes on but when we see danger we say, “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger”. We extend each other our greatest love and support but it is really scary and easy to hurt each other when we are ourselves hurt or when trouble strikes.

 Food Shopping in Hawaii          

Shopping in Hawaii for locals is dominated by one national retailer: Costco. Costco membership is $60 per year. I did not notice Wal-Mart on Oahu; I shopped at Food Pantry on Waikiki which was excellent. Wal-Mart is important on The Big Island. I do not know about west Maui; we were on east Maui where K-Mart was as important as Wal-Mart but neither one had much food to sell. I imagine the poor there suffer from food insecurity there. I was shocked to go from the Big Island where I bought 6 papayas (our breakfast staple like a grapefruits) for $3 to Maui where 1 papaya cost $3. We asked a New Yorker with a produce stand on east Maui why the cost was so high. He said that to lease an acre of land on the Big Island was $500 per year v. Maui at $4000. We found great food at Mana, the market in Paia. I did not go to Wal-Mart on Kauai; I went to a Kroger- type grocery store there. Breakfast was fruit, toast and maybe an egg. Mike drinks milk and coffee while yogurt is for me. Ham sandwiches maybe with liverwurst for lunch and for dinner mostly a local fish called Pokey. Pokey with rice or potato salad with seaweed salad was our standard dinner. We even ordered pokey when we ate out on our last night on Oahu with Liz, Brian and Merv’s neighbor.

Contrasting the houses in Maui and Kauai

I resisted temptation to edit Mike’s take on the masculine Maui house v. feminine house on Kauai. Each house charges a couple $65 per night. Each house was rented by the person who was renting to us. The lease holder was not staying in either house and both were probably experiencing burnout.

 Pierre and his girlfriend came home during the day one day and vigorously cleaned the house but they were away otherwise away caretaking for a friend’s house. The house in Maui was clean. It had no dryer but a clothesline that hung with clothes that hardly ever dry due to almost constant rain. 

 Tiffany was on the mainland and left Rhea in charge. Rhea expected us but we did not have Rhea’s phone number and could not call when we felt the need and Tiffany did not reply when we called her.

Each house seemed near to economic ruin due to exorbitant operating costs. The water bill on Kauai was $300 while the gas and electric cost $400.