This could be my last column
There are a lot of folks out there that think Friday is the last day of the earth as we know it just because we are at the end of the Mayan long count calendar. I think it is kind of like the Y2K scare, where many thought all the computers were going to crash and burn.
I’m betting that I see another column or two before the earth meets its maker! But there are a lot of people out there who have stocked up on extra water and canned tuna, just in case. If I am wrong, it will be the last time! See you the 22nd.
Snow
Looks like today is our first measurable snowfall in a long time, since way back last February. Almost 300 days have passed since we saw our last snowfall. It will help get folks in the Christmas mood. Plus, any moisture would help out the ground and ponds at this point. A little blizzard just in time for Christmas.
Christmas Basket
We will continue to take contributions to the Christmas Basket fund throughout December. The fund helps many people in the Union County area. We are running a little behind our goal and any amount you can contribute would be appreciated. You can mail a donation or stop by the Creston News Advertiser office. Contributions can be tax deductible.
Warm weather
My wife and I took a trip to Hawaii this past week in celebration of our 15th anniversary. We stayed on the island of Kauai which is the Garden Isle. The small island is where many movies have been filmed — everything from “South Pacific” to all the “Jurassic Park” movies and the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” movie. The famous “Jurassic Park” double waterfall is located on the island.
A number of movie stars have homes on the island including Will Smith and Julia Roberts. I was impressed with all the ecological things they are doing on the island. They have no plastic sacks. And all the cups and take-home containers are made out of some kind of biodegradable material.
They even have electric car chargers in the parking lot of the Walmart store. One thing about living on an island is that you are dependant on cargo containers showing up on time. We went into the Walmart and they had no sacks at all because there was a big storm at sea and their bags had not shown up. So you had to either bring your own bag or take a shopping cart out to your car.
The employees hustling shopping carts in the parking lot had a full-time job keeping all the customers supplied. The gas price on the island was $4.39 a gallon. You don’t have much of a chance to go over 50 mph which was the top speed for any of the highways on the island.
We visited several plantations.The largest of which was a coffee plantation with more than 3,100 acres of coffee trees. I brought back several bags of the good-tasting coffee. We went to one of the local farmers markets and they had every kind of fruit you could think of and several I had never even seen before. Of course, the pineapples were excellent.
They also grow a lot of Pioneer seed corn on the island. They had several hundred acres of test plots — all in various stages of growth. I’ve never seen corn growing next to the ocean in my lifetime. If you get the chance, give the garden island of Kauai a visit. You’ll enjoy it. It was 82 degrees every day.
Thought for the week: It doesn’t hurt to be optimistic. You can always cry later. — Lucia Santos de Lima
Merry Christmas and see you in 2013.
