Birthday: Kay Hawkins

Name: Kay Hawkins
Date: 10/24/2014
Age: 74
Days Until: -126
Type: Birthday
Comment: Kay died October 25, 2008. She fought cancer throughout the year.

Sister, Chris, and Bill cared for her, with Hospice Care assistance, for only four days following her return home from hospital care.

Birthday: Kay Hawkins

Name: Kay Hawkins
Date: 10/24/2014
Age: 74
Days Until: -121
Type: Birthday
Comment: Kay died October 25, 2008. She fought cancer throughout the year.

Sister, Chris, and Bill cared for her, with Hospice Care assistance, for only four days following her return home from hospital care.

Nadene Galli ~ March 2, 1931 - May 25, 2014

People who attend gatherings like this one commonly have individual reasons for doing so. For most, it is their relationship with the deceased that they wish to honor. Today's significance is that of recognizing some or another 'family tie' that they have lived with for many years. The Goodman Family and the Galli Family have each harbored a place within their family trees for Nadene Galli for many years. It is understandable that those families count predominantly in today's service.

Then, there are those close friends of Nadene's. Their attendance is most likely to show sympathy and support for Nadene's family members.

No matter anyone's reason for attending today, I would like to suggest a reason that so much love and support comes Nadene's direction at this time. That reason comes directly from the influence Nadene has had in our individual lives.

Hardly anyone can think of Nadene, nor of her late husband, Bill Galli, without remembering his or her strong love for kids. Whether at small gatherings in their home or at Family Reunions, each of them spent lots of time playing with, teasing, wrestling with or otherwise entertaining youngsters. Many times, over the years, I have heard from Nadene about children newly born to others in the family - or about kids that simply had the sniffles - in ways that demonstrated what she was most concerned about at the moment - above anything else.

Today, Nadene is standing at that eternal doorway, hand-in-hand with her beloved Bill and blowing loving kisses to each of us. This moment, she is calling to all who will listen:

"We have treated ALL of you as our kids, whether or not you felt that coming your direction. Try not to leave this gathering today without having learned what we have tried to share when we were with you; love and respect one another in ways you may have never dreamed. We will keep you in our sight, and are willing to teach you how better to do this if you will just remember what we have shared."

• Nadene's Funeral Service is underway at this moment in Pioneer, California.
• This eulogy is being read for that occasion by her Great-Nephew, A.J. Whitaker.

Jan 8

Cruise Blues

At 11AM today, once again, our ship was released by the Coast Guard - free to go on our way, leaving GRAND Princess alone to carry on the search until midnight.

Our question: If the grid-pattern search cannot be done after sundown, what good would it be for GRAND to remain until that time?

One thing more, though. GRAND has a passenger with a medical problem, so it is necessary for the two ships to meet while that passenger, family and luggage is transfered to our ship. Here are photos of the transfer.

Now we are guessing there will be no further interruption for OUR cruise. We'll see.

Shortly after we left GRAND behind, we were told that the Coast Guard changed their mind, and GRAND was also released from the search.

Our new question: Was that passenger transfer really necessary?

January 8

Cruise News

After spending the day in a grid search pattern with the Grand Princess and cargo ship HORIZON RELIANT, the U.S. Coast Guard released the Star Princess so we could continue our westward journey toward Hawaii, but ordered the Grand to remain on scene to resume the search effort at first light tomorrow.

We had been heading westward for nearly 3 hours when the Coast Guard ordered us back on scene to rejoin the Grand and we will be searching again at first light Jan. 8.

Because of this unfortunate diversion, our cruise itinerary has so far been altered as follows: Jan 10 Hilo / Jan 11 Honolulu / Jan 12 Nawiliwili (Kuai) / and Jan 13 is yet to be determined, but it's between Kona on the Big Island, or LaHaina on Maui, both tender ports, then we'll be making a run for it to Ensenada, arriving there on Jan 18. Depending on how things go tomorrow (Jan 8) will determine if we will need to make further adjustments to our Hawaii visit.

Hawaii Cruise - January 7

Cruise News

We have been notified that, at 1:15AM today, this ship was notified by the U.S. Coast Guard that a crew member from the GRAND Princess, also underway to Hawaii but from San Francisco, went overboard. Details of that are not available - whether the man overboard was accidental or what.

At that time, this ship turned Northward and has been rushing to get closer to the GRAND. (We wondered during breakfast why the Sun was where it is. We could tell that we had turned, but were concerned about HOW MUCH we had turned.

We will be joining up with the Grand, with a Coast Guard vessel (photo), and with a Coast Guard aircraft (and a number of cargo ships) to participate in a grid-like search for 'something' in the water. We have joined a number of others volunteering to be EYES at the rails.

We were told this will effect our itinerary. Details will be announced later.

Grandfather Shank

Lee Byron Shank (1883-1956) was my grandfather. He worked his life as a steam locomotive fireman, a factory worker and a farmer. With no formal education, he followed his curiosity to study mythology and astronomy, and he left us with manuscripts and paper scraps of his musings that demonstrated, too, his whimsy and wit.

This is one of his poems.

Poetic Astronomy

How very often we hear someone say
"I like to travel, don't you?
But I never seem able to get away
There's so much I have to do."
 
Surprising t'would be for them to know
What gad-abouts they really are,
Riding upon this earth they go
A-whirling about our star.
 
Our star is the Sun, so big and so warm
Round it we have many motions.
To and fro – like a bee in a swarm –
So confusing to one's waking notions.
 
The sun, himself, a-traveling goes
Toward the Herculean group,
And with him all the planets he tows
Like a well-behaved family troupe.
 
Twelve miles every second he makes
On this journey so endless, seeming,
And with him all his systems he takes,
His radiance ever beaming.
 
And round the Sun our Earth goes yearly
On a path that's closely reckoned,
And in this motion, and this one, merely,
We go eighteen miles a second.
 
On her axis Earth whirls around once every day.
If the equator’s your home the whiles,
You're riding on this spinning way
Each hour a thousand miles.
 
The universe we live on, it appears,
Rotates on its axis, too,
About two-hundred millions of years it takes
Before one turn is through.
 
And all the stars in this mighty throng,
Some thirty billion or more,
With the Universe obediently goes along
In a motion precise and sure.
 
And in this motion the speed of the Earth,
It has been duly reckoned,
Owing to the size of this mighty girth,
A hundred miles a second.
 
Adding these speeds all up we decide
Our travel seems to tower.
One hundred thirty miles each second we ride
Plus a thousand miles an hour.
 
What more travel could one possibly do?
Or how could he faster go?
This constant trip should satisfy you.
It sure does me, I know.
 
            Lee Byron Shank, c. 1945