Category - Travel

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Saipan’s Surge and Slump
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Furlough to the Mainland IV
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Furlough to the Mainland III
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Furlough to the Mainland II
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Furlough to the Mainland
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Elsa’s Funeral at Mindinao
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To Palau and Back to Welcome the Bishop
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Final Stop: Salem, Oregon

Saipan’s Surge and Slump

Long time, no post! There was a time when I felt bound to observe production schedules and meet deadlines, but that has been lost—along with so much else—with age and senility. Still, welcome back to those of you who have had the patience to keep checking my site.

Not long ago I made a three-day trip to Saipan. It’s only a half-hour flight to an island just north of Guam. The ticket that once cost $50 now goes for ten times that. But that’s not all that has changed.

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Furlough to the Mainland IV

Back to Hawaii

There may have been no problem running down the Hudson, transiting to New Jersey railroad and checking into the hotel, it was a different story the next day a the airport. Check in was was no trouble, but the line for security defied belief. It was the longest I’ve ever been in, winding as it did around the entire terminal. The wait of an hour didn’t seem as long as the walk.

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Furlough to the Mainland III

Family Time in the Adirondack Mountains

Within minutes of greeting my brother Rich and his wife Jan, we were in deep conversation. The same happened when I met my brother George at the beach just before dinner. In fact, George was so caught up that he volunteered to join us for dinner that evening. We chatted about the usual family topics: What are the real family traits? Who got along well with whom when we were young? How have we changed over the years?

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Furlough to the Mainland II

Two Days in the Hudson Valley

On September 3, I took the plane to Newark after a series of annoying run-ins with airport officials. Maybe the early hour (5 AM) was responsible, but polite old Minnesota didn’t seem quite as warm and tender as Garrison Keillor represented his state on “Prairie Home Companion.”  The TSA people were especially rude, as I went through a surprising delay while they checked out a Kindle in my carry-on bag.

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Furlough to the Mainland

First stop: Minneapolis

My two-week furlough began on August 31 when I left for Minneapolis. The seven hours to Honolulu was painless, but then again I was seated next to Bernie Helstrom and so had a companion. When she exited, I was left on my own to negotiate the Honolulu airport—ie, picking up baggage and going through customs before traveling the length of the terminal to go through customs again along with the screening (not required in most places) and then the long journey to our departure gate. As I hobbled along, a couple of other passengers muttered that the Honolulu system made no sense at all. I had to agree completely.

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Elsa’s Funeral at Mindinao

On April 12, very early in the morning, I left Guam to attend the funeral of of Elsa Veloso, the “co-founder of MicSem” and a dear friend over the thirty years of her work with us. After seven hours at the airport in Manila, I caught a flight to Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao. There I was met by my old friends Danny and Arlene Dumantay, along with Elsa’s niece Melba. It was dinner time and we all had so much catching up to do that we decided to spend the night in the city and make the three-hour drive to Kinoguitan, Elsa’s hometown, the next day.

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To Palau and Back to Welcome the Bishop

During the last full week of February (20-24), Palau held a national health summit attended by guests from throughout the region and beyond. Jimmy Arriola from Saipan and I were among those asked to speak at the summit. Jimmy talked about various behavioral issues, while I spoke on suicide and social change. It’s an old theme, but still relevant to Palau these days as its suicide rate continues to climb. But that was not the only problem troubling Palau, as I learned from the old friends I ran into. Many pointed to the population decline in recent years: more locals leaving for the US and Filipino workers having a difficult time re-entering after the Covid years. Then, too, the number of deaths now surpasses the number of births each year, we were told.

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Final Stop: Salem, Oregon

Brenda Umulap, married to Pius from Pulusuk, arranged for me to give a talk to about 30 health workers associated with Salem Health, which covers hospitals and clinics in the area. The talk was focused on island culture, especially those things that might affect health matters. We began at 8:30 a.m. and finished at about 11 a.m.?a real tribute to the endurance of the listeners.

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