First you're another Sloe-eyed vamp.
Then someone's mother, then you're camp.
Then you career from career to career.
I'm almost through my memoirs.
And I'm here.
My grandmother's mother's father, Friedrich W. Friedrich of Gaylord, published a piece of music entitled "Sympathy" in 1906. If you would like to hear it, it was track 2 in the album A Volkert Christmas, and the program notes were published here.
My grandmother had two sisters, Aunt Betty and Aunt Carol. The trio is a legend of the family; the first a pianist, the second a vocalist, and the third a dancer, all with tremendous skill.
My grandmother had five children, my Aunt Betty had four, and my Aunt Carol had two. My father was my grandmother's third child, born in '53. Aunt Betty's eldest was Julie, born in '52, and the first of the next generation would be Julie's daughter Elizabeth.
Elizabeth and I have been in touch recently for the 100 Day Project, and she has asked for a copy of Sympathy. Below is the print superimposed onto a photograph of antique paper for viewing, and underneath is a black and white copy for printing. If you're new to playing in D♭ major, this one's for you.
Drakeson sent his Flat Stanley to my sister and her husband, Cô Tins & Uncle Bill.
They live in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Host's Names: Cô Tins & Uncle Bill.
Host's Address & Country: Aiea, HI 96701, USA.
Approximate number of miles from Austin, TX: 3,700.
Average daytime temperature for this time of year is between: 69-82 F°.
Type of clothing worn: t-shirts, shorts, sundresses .
Some local foods include: spam masubi, loco moco, lau lau, chicken long rice.
People in this town travel by: car.
One interesting fact about our city: Honolulu is one of the most remote cities in the world.
It is the only city with a royal palace.
Barack Obama was born here.
Hiking with Pixel. There are at least 90 hiking trails in Oahu,
the Hawaiian island where Cô Tins and Uncle Bill live.
Lilikoi (AKA passionfruit) have really neat flowers that look like aliens growing on a vine.
Eating fresh papaya for breakfast.
Allamanda is a poisonous yellow flower that's common along roadsides in Hawaii.
Our friend Brooke can't hike with us right now due to the pandemic,
so we've been leaving each other notes in a tree.
This is a hibiscus. There are 7 types of hibiscus that are only found in Hawaii.
The yellow version of this flower is the Hawaiian state flower.
Hiking with Cô Tins.
Going out for matcha (green tea) ice cream, a dessert originally from Japan.
H3 is the highway near Cô Tins' house. It's believed to be the most expensive
interstate highway ever built, on a cost-per-mile basis. It looks like it belongs in Jurassic Park.
Jamaica Vervain produces little edible purple flowers. They taste like sweet mushrooms.
Can you find me in this amazing tree?
This is our usual hiking destination when we take the dogs out.
Laie Point is a sea arch that was naturally created by a tsunami in 1946.
Going out for halo halo, a popular Filipino dessert made with
crushed ice, evaporated milk, ube (purple yam), sago (similar to tapioca),
coconut strips, seaweed gelatin, fruit slices, flan, and ice cream. Yum!
The Bird of Paradise is a common garden plant here,
and is also frequently used in tropical flower arrangements.
Coconuts!
Plumeria smell really good. They're commonly worn in people's hair and made into leis.
Some kind soul kept us from going the wrong way on our hike today.
This is a fireplace that belonged to a family in 1842. That was 178 years ago!
These are petroglyphs, carvings etched in stone centuries ago by Native Hawaiians.
Cô Tins once made leis out of Crown Flowers.
She had to make sure not to get too much milky sap on her fingers,
which irritates the skin and is poisonous in large quantities.
She said the leis were pretty, so it was worth it.
There are a lot of wild chickens in Hawaii.
Ukuleles are a popular instrument in Hawaii.
Cô Tins made this one out of Koa wood which is only found in Hawaii.
Pomelo! They taste similar to grapefruits.
Mangos!
This is the first year Cô Tins' tree is growing multiple mangos, so she's very excited.
Asian pears!
Papayas!
Ti leaves are commonly used to make leis and hula skirts.
Plumeria!
Rainbow!
Hanging out with Cadenza and Cinco.
Cô Tins and Uncle Bill made these shelves out of monkeypod,
a pretty tree that blooms pink flowers each year and lives about 80-100 years on average.
Family photo (minus the cats): Uncle Bill, Cô Tins, Big D, Pixel, Mabel, and Zoltan
