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PEARL'S ASHES: AFRICA

Before getting into Pearl's Ashes on this nostalgia Tuesday, a couple of Trump matters.

  • If Hamas doesn't return Israeli hostages by Saturday afternoon, "the     ceasefire will be terminated," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday in a statement following a meeting with his security cabinet.

Netanyahu's statement comes after President Donald Trump warned that "all hell is going to break out" unless Hamas releases all remaining hostages from Gaza by Saturday, following the group's announcement it would delay the latest planned release after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

My reach to the past continues with my laying of Pearl's Ashes in Africa.  Last week it was the Taj Mahal.  

I went to Africa in 2010 specifically to drop my wife's ashes, only because she longed to go on a safari, and never did.  Why not?  I did not wish to accompany her.  Seven ceremonies were held.

    • Pearl's Ashes #10 and #11 are in Tanzania.
    • Did you know this country is larger and has more people than California?
    • More than anything else, she wanted to see Mt. Kilimanjaro:
When Pearl grew up in Hilo, Mauna Kea could be seen from her home.  The volcano was especially awesome during the winter months when covered with snow.  If there was anywhere Pearl wanted to visit, but I did not, it was Africa, with Mount Kilimanjaro being her link to Mauna Kea.  Plus, there was the movie King Solomon's Mines, which was one of her favorites.  Thus, my initial thoughts to spread her ashes came from this specific feeling of guilt.
  • It's possible that Homo sapiens originated in Tanzania.
    • At least, this was the case in 2010 when I was there.
    • Homo sapiens evolved around 300,000 years ago, but the latest studies tell a slightly different tale. Perhaps in several places in Africa, not only there.
    • I took that photo of a giraffe on a safari.
  • PA#10 was snuck into a wall crevice on the porch of the Ngorongoro Serena Hotel room I had overlooking the park with wildebeests.  
  • PA#11 at the airport near a tree when I left Tanzania.
  • Five capsules were dropped off in Kenya.
    • The first was at the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, founded by actor William Holden, where it is said Ava Gardner downed gimlets to forget her failed marriage to Frank Sinatra, and where Ernest Hemingway told tall tales.  The equator passes through this hotel property, so I dropped a capsule right on the equator.
    • Then on to the Fairmont Mara Safari Club, which in 2010 was the third best hotel in the world...in luxury tents.  Armed guards escorted us to our room at night, for the grounds were open to wildlife, and there had been incidents.
    • Noticed it now costs around $1000/night.
    • The most exciting part of the safari was a small hike to view the white rhinoceros.  They look just like black rhinos, and both are of the same brown color.  The difference has to do with the shape of their mouth.  The danger was that if they attacked, the jeep was a hundred yards away, and there were no trees.  I thought this was an ideal spot to drop Pearl's Ashes, having something to do with bravery.
    • Today, we were awakened at 4:30AM for a hot air balloon ride.  My knowledge of these contraptions is to hop into a small basket, not unlike in       Around the world in 80 Days.  Not so! Our rectangular basket with four compartments (each capable of holding up to three) began horizontal, we had to crawl in and hang on for the balloon to inflate, springing us vertical, then, with a discombobulative whoosing sound (the butane burner was deafening) and concern, we suddenly are off the ground exactly at sunrise.  Up we go, but not fast enough, as our basket crashes into the top of a tree, but we do barely clear the area.  After that, if you blocked out the sporadic noise, the ride was serene and spectacular.  I here dropped off a capsule over thousands of wildebeest.
    • After we landed, I noticed growing close-by, those sunbursts Pearl cultivated.  This is the flower with Pearl on the back cover of       SIMPLE SOLUTIONS Essays, the compilation of my Huffington Post articles I dedicated to her.  It was a spot decision to lay a capsule at the base of one of these flowers.

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