What were you doing 24 years ago?   I can remember when I awoke, and how I stayed in bed with my wife, Pearl, for at least five hours.   Somehow, and this was rather unusual, she was watching TV, and woke me up around 2:50AM Hawaii time, saying something was happening. Apparently American Airlines 11 had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46AM EDT. I was groggy, but the scene was New York City, and I actually saw United 175 crash into the South Tower at 9:03 EDT. Soon thereafter, President George W. Bush who was in a classroom at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Florida,, was approached byAndrew Card, his chief of staff, and you could see him whispering into the ear of Bush something, who exhibited symptoms of quiet shock, and did nothing unusual for a long length of time. At 9:37 EDT, American Airlines 77 crashed into the Pentagon. It was announced at 9:45 that all U.S. airspace is shutdown, which means that all airplanes had to immediate...

The past ten days or so have mostly focused on our Pride of America cruise throughout the Hawaiian Islands.  So let me continue with one more travel item:   Kilauea Volcano began erupting last night , which was already September 11 for much of the USA, so come to the Big Island of Hawaii.  You can land in Hilo or Kona and drive to this natural attraction, although it's closer from Hilo.  But you ask, how long will this lava activity continue?  Well,it was sort of doing something only 22 days ago.  But it's hard to believe that there has been some continuing activity for the past 40 years or so. I had recently returned from working in the U.S. Senate for three years.  As we normally did in those days, we spent the New Year period with her family in Hilo.  So on January 3, 1983, I was golfing at the Volcano Golf Course.  The ground shook and there was a strange rumbling sound.  Soon thereafter, only a few thousand yards away, we saw a...