MY LIFE: Part 3e Pearl's Ashes

We all have ups and downs.  Take the FIFA World Cup, for example:

• When the USA got outclassed yesterday by Belgium, my interest in these matches dropped to nearly zero.  
• Then today, in a miraculous comeback, Argentina scored their winning goal in stoppage time, to beat Egypt, 3-2.  I have regained interest because 39-year Lionel Messi scored a goal, and his team has made into the quarterfinals.

• 
  So what is so crucial about that game?  I have a Messi t-shirt.  Simple as that.  I watch soccer only during World Cup years, men's and women's, and now, at least have someone to root for.  Incidentally:
• Men's ranking:  #1 Argentina, #2 Spain and #3 France.  U.S, was ranked #17.
• Women's ranking:  #1 Spain, #2 USA and #3 Germany.  The next World Cup will take place in Brazil next year.

• 
  This Messi t-shirt was given to me 15 years ago by the Qatar government, when they were the sponsor of the Barcelona soccer team, and their star was Messi, who played for them from 2004 to 2021.
• Qatar paid my way to their country in 2011 to advise them on energy, one product being my HuffPo entitled, Can Qatar Lead the World Toward Sustainability?

• 
  Messi leads the Golden Boot race with 8 goals, but is closely trailed by Kylian Mbappé of France and Erling Haaland of Norway with 7.
• The surviving eight teams are:
• France vs Morocco, Thursday, July 9 at 4PM ET
• Spain vs Belgium, Friday, July 10, at 3PM ET
• Norway vs England, Saturday, July 11, 5PM ET
• Argentina vs Switzerland, Saturday, July 11 at 8PM ET

• 
  To begin, FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 
• Founded in 1904, originally for Europe.
• Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, now has 211 members.
• World Cup first held in 1930.
• Gianni Infantino has been president since 2016.

• 
  Created a FIFA Peace Prize, for which the first winner in 2025 was Donald Trump.  Said Wikipedia:

The creation of the prize and the choice of Trump as its first recipient generated widespread ridicule, scrutiny and controversy. Human rights groups, analysts, and soccer stakeholders questioned the transparency of the selection process, the suitability of the inaugural laureate, and the implications both for FIFA's claims of political neutrality and its human rights commitments.^{[73][74][75][76]}

• 
  No doubt the Trump call to Infantino, reversing the red car suspension, will get particular mention, behind the scenes, at the NATO meeting now occurring in Ankara, Turkey.  Six of the final eight teams in the World Cup are from Europe.
• Trump further renewed his threat to annex Greenland.

As this is nostalgia Tuesday, I'll continue the series on My Life, now into Pearl's Ashes.

• To recap, my wife Pearl passed away in July of 2009.  The following month, I was on the Big Island to initiate my plan to drop off her ashes.  She could gaze on Mauna Kea from her home Hilo.  From my hotel room I took a photo of this volcano.

• Rainbow Falls is in Hilo, so for Ash Drop #1, I went there for the first toss.  Surely enough, there was again a rainbow.

A group of her friends and family joined me on a drive up to Mauna Kea, where we dropped off her ashes.  Call this #2.

I then went on to Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, where we had one of our honeymoon stops.  Ash drop #3 was under the stars on the beach.

I next went on to Four Seasons Hualalai. Driving counterclockwise around the Big Island:

Earlier yesterday, driving from the Four Seasons Hualalai to the national park, I stopped in Kau, for this is where Pearl and I met just about 47 years ago. She was a nurse in Pahala and I was a process engineer at the Hutchinson Sugar Company in Naalehu. I found a vantage point on a hill just outside of Naalehu, below which sugar was processed. That pier is now in disrepair, but we now and then fished from it. It was rumored that a large sea bass of several hundred pounds lived under the pier. In the far background is Pahala.

Counting ash drops at Naalehu and Pahala, next was the Volcano House, where my room had a view of Halemaumau Crater.  And if you look closely, a double rainbow.  Here was AD#6.

Returning home, ash drop #7 was into a pot on our penthouse lanai in Honolulu, where three fireballs were blossoming.

I won't be covering every ash drop.  My next will be at the Taj Mahal.

So, did Rota survive from Super Typhoon Bavi?  To recap, on July 5:

• 00:00 GMT  155 MPH
• 06:00 GMT  165 MPH
• 12:00 GMT  180 MPH
• 18:00 GMT  180 MPH

Said Google AI:

Super Typhoon Bavi, a Category 5-equivalent storm, delivered a direct hit to Rota. With maximum sustained winds of 290 km/h (180 mph), the storm damaged nearly all aspects of the island, leaving its 2,000 residents without power or running water and causing major destruction to public facilities, residences, and infrastructure.[1, 2]

And Bavi weakened to 145 MPH earlier today, but at last check had restrengthened to 150 MPH.

The good news is that the track has moved so that Iriomote island might not be directly struck, for Bavi will still be a Category 3 on July 10.

-