“Airborne D”
Diana is responsible for most of the noteworthy activity this week. I did have a concert outing on Saturday – more on that later. You’ll remember from last week that Diana was looking forward to scuba diving and parasailing in Jamaica on Monday. The scuba diving didn’t come off as planned – she wasn’t able to clear her right ear during descent on both dives. Such a bummer as the other two divers reported very clear water and lots to see. The dive master saw her first seahorse and there were several tiger fish. Poor D. Here are some pictures of the scuba diving club area:
A stowaway was discovered on board. How did that penguin get all the way to Jamaica and then sneak on to the dive boat?
Here’s the hotel from the dive boat:
Parasailing in the afternoon was a much more successful venture, although rainy weather threatened to postpone that. Here are the girls sitting on the deck waiting to become airborne:
We have lift off:
And up and up we go:
This is what it looked like from up there. D thought it was “awesome!” – not for me for sure.
A bit windblown after that experience:
And then the celebratory pain killer at the pool bar:
After that it was time for some relaxation in the regular spot on the beach. That book must be good to miss the sunset over.
Some final shots of the water and the hotel:
Flights home for the girls on Tuesday were smooth and easy. Diana had Wednesday to unpack, do laundry, and then repack for her trip to California on Thursday.
“Relay for Life” is an annual cancer research fund raising event. Clorinda has been very active in the Pacifica version for years as a team captain. Much of the family attended this on Saturday – it ran from 10am until 10pm rather than the all day and overnight event that it was previously. A special scooter had been procured for Clorinda so that she could tool around the venue to her heart’s content.
This was a particularly poignant event this year with Marco and Julie’s diagnoses. Here’s Marco’s speech – a great orator as always:
Some poor group of people make a thousand origami cranes to share with folks struggling with cancer. Marco and Julie are fully loaded down with cranes:
There’s a luminaria ceremony where paper bags with lights inside are released into the air:
My adventure this week was a trip to downtown Dallas on Saturday afternoon and evening. I bought a hat in Deep Ellum in the afternoon (I’ve been on the look out for one like I saw in New Orleans for a while) and then drove over to the House of Blues for the Bricks in the Wall show. This is the longest performing Pink Floyd tribute band. The venue had sent me an email offering a complimentary ticket and so I took them up on it. House of Blues is a very nice venue with lots of space to move around in. I thought the band was excellent – covering music from multiple time periods, with great 
musicianship and all the lasers and lighting/video effects. “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” was probably my favourite song of the evening. The lead guitar player nailing all the early pieces, prior to the conclusion:
The lasers were in full effect on Money:
You’ll notice my professional videography – panning to the lead guitar right as the song transitions from 7/4 time signature to classic rock 4/4. I’m really not aware of any other 7/4 rock songs. Here’s the intro bass lick:
And now my video:
And finally here’s the best known song, “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2” (We Don’t Need no Education):
I’m very happy that I went to the effort of driving downtown in the oppressive heat and looking for parking to attend this show.
This is not related to anything that happened this week, but I came across this picture of Edinburgh castle that I liked:
My book this week was “Never” by Ken Follett. It’s a large, long book at 800 pages. I think I selected it knowing that I would likely have a lot of quiet alone time this week.
I enjoyed this book a lot. The mastery with which the plot and characters develop, and how each different part of the action on different continents builds to the terrible conclusion is excellent.
Here’s the online summary:
““Every catastrophe begins with a little problem that doesn’t get fixed.” So says Pauline Green, president of the United States, in Follett’s nerve-racking drama of international tension.
A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert; a stolen US Army drone; an uninhabited Japanese island; and one country’s secret stash of deadly chemical poisons: all these play roles in a relentlessly escalating crisis.
Struggling to prevent the outbreak of world war are a young woman intelligence officer; a spy working undercover with jihadists; a brilliant Chinese spymaster; and Pauline herself, beleaguered by a populist rival for the next president election.
Never is an extraordinary novel, full of heroines and villains, false prophets and elite warriors, jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries. It brims with cautionary wisdom for our times, and delivers a visceral, heart-pounding read that transports readers to the brink of the unimaginable.”
Highly recommended if you’re up for an 800 page journey.
I went on a bit of Kinks and Ray Davies journey this week. Starting with this excellent album:
Continuing to this version of a classic with full choral support:
And concluding with these versions of classic Kinks songs done with Ray Davies’ friends. In this case Bon Jovi – interesting version for sure. Do you prefer the Bon Jovi or choral version?
And finally, my favourite Kinks song with Jackson Browne:
Coexist with kindness and compassion for all!