One Samoa Two Samoa

Originally Published July 18, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting about the Samoan Islands from Little Rock, Arkansas – Divide the thousands of islands in the Pacific Ocean into three major cultural areas – Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Now let’s hone in on one, the part of my planned RTW journey – Polynesia. What is Polynesia, anyhow? Geologically speaking, it is more than a thousand islands in the mid and southern part of the Pacific. Most Polynesian islands and archipelagos, including the Hawaiian and Samoan islands, are volcanic, built by hotspots (remember our Hot Spot post of July 15). But some are the unsubmerged portions of a largely sunken continent. New Zealand, the largest island in Polynesia, is one of those.

Culturally, these Polynesian islands share similarities in language and belief systems, and not surprisingly, a strong tradition of sailing. Politically, they differ widely. Within the core island groups, there are countries, collectivities, dependencies, self-governing states, a US state, four territories and four independent nations! My RTW was to include stops in the US state of Hawaii, the US territory of American Samoa, and the independent nations of Samoa, and New Zealand.

Today’s focus: American Samoa and Samoa

American Samoa

• Capital: Pago Pago
• Land Area: 77 sq miles
• Population: 55,212
• Currency: US Dollar
• Language: English, Samoan
• Religion: 98% Christian
• Airport: Pago Pago International, service to Honolulu, inter-island

Samoa

• Capital: Apia
• Land Area: 1,097 sq miles
• Population: 195,843
• Currency: Tala
• Language: Samoan, English
• Religion: Christian Official
• Airport: Faleolo International Airport, service to Australia, New Zealand, Honolulu, inter-island

American Samoa, capital city Pago Pago, has been a US territory since 1900 and the end of the Second Samoan Civil War, when the Samoan Islands were divided. For 51 years the US Navy controlled the territory. Today American Samoa is locally self-governing under a 1967 constitution. In 1977 the first governor was elected; in 1981 the first non-voting member of Congress. People born in American Samoa are US nationals, but not citizens. It is the only US Territory where citizenship is not granted automatically at birth.

Samoa, capital city Apia, is a unitary parliamentary democracy, and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations. It was governed by New Zealand until its independence in 1962, and was the first small-island country in the Pacific to become independent.

As a people, Samoans share a common language, a warm, generous spirit, and a 3,000-year-old cultural code. Fa’a Samoa, the Samoan Way, emphasizes loyalty to family, respect for one’s elders, and a commitment to serving the community, which is considered all-important. But even though the capital cities of Pago Pago and Apia are only 123 miles apart, and the landscapes share the same gorgeous tropical blues and greens, the two Samoas have gradually shifted their connections towards different sides of the Pacific.

In 2009, the Samoan government changed the rule of the road from right to left, in common with Australia and New Zealand, home to large numbers of Samoans. In 2011, Samoa further connected to those countries by moving the International Dateline. At the end of December that year, it simply jumped forward one day. Instead of being 21 hours behind Sydney, now it is three hours ahead, allowing for easier business connections with Australia and New Zealand. American Samoa’s business connections are more closely tied to Hawaii, and the US mainland, and the impact of US culture is evident there.

The dateline change means Samoan nationals no longer share the same day with their friends and families in American Samoa. But they can share Christmas dinner on two separate Christmas days! Because of that dateline draw, American Samoa is where a day officially ENDS, and Samoa where a day officially BEGINS.

More about that in tomorrow’s post, when I would actually LOSE a day of my life!

You Must Remember This

Originally Published July 17, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting about American Samoa from Little Rock, Arkansas – On June 23, 2012, I was at the Polynesian Cultural Center on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, with my granddaughter, who was 10. Here’s how it went:

They found a place for Kayla and me on the back row of the jam-packed Fiji hut, and there we sat, bamboo sticks in hand, learning to chant and sing Fiji style. And, learning how to remember. The presentation at the Fiji settlement in the Polynesian Cultural Center was titled “History through Chants & Dance” and we’d just been taught how, as a group, to beat out rhythms, “one-two one-two-three” then “one-two-three-four” fast and slow, stop; then a call to us, “moo-oo” then our response “mai-ii” and repeat; somehow the roomful of us managed to do this together; and somehow, the feel of it began to stick in our memories.

Our narrator explained the value of learning by chanting: “we had no written language until recent times, so stories and our history were passed down orally. Family is very important in our culture, and children are taught from the beginning about their ancestors,” he continued. “My 10-year old son can recite our family genealogy for 17 generations.”

Kayla and I exchanged glances, startled. Seventeen generations?

The Polynesian Cultural Center – rated the top tourist attraction in Hawaii, is a non-profit organization operated by the LDS church. It is a family place with pleasant walkways and waterways meandering through 42 acres of Polynesian “settlements” representing Samoa, New Zealand (Aotearoa-Maori), Fiji, Hawaii, Tahiti, Tonga, and Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Its purpose is simply to preserve the culture of Polynesia. It’s all about remembering.

As I planned my 2020 RTW stops in Hawaii, American Samoa, and New Zealand, I thought back to that day, and how little I really know of Polynesian culture. I’d planned to remedy that somewhat today as I explored the National Park of American Samoa, which of course is closed due to COVID-19, but I’ll share some facts from their website, https://www.nps.gov/npsa

The Samoan culture is Polynesia’s oldest. We believe the first people of the Samoan Islands came by sea from southwest Asia some 3,000 years ago. Over the centuries, distinct cultural traits emerged that we now call fa’asamoa (fah-ah-SAH-mo-ah). From Samoa seafaring explorers and settlers journeyed to other Polynesian island groups hundreds of miles away.

Follow the Fa’a Samoa —The Samoan Way

Alofa and Afio Mai! — Hello and Welcome — with some tips for pleasant visits to the villages of the islands.

• Always ask villagers for permission before taking photographs, using the beach, or engaging in other activities, however unobtrusive your actions may seem. Permission will almost certainly be granted.
• Sunday is the day for church, rest, and especially for quiet around the villages. Activities that are acceptable on other days, such as swimming, may not be permitted on Sunday.
• In a traditional home, called a fale (fah-LAY), sit down on the floor before talking, eating, or drinking. Cross your legs or pull a mat over them; it is impolite to stretch out your legs uncovered.
• Do not eat or drink while walking through a village.
• Each evening around dusk, villagers observe a time for prayers called Sā. If you are entering a village during Sā, stop and wait quietly until Sā ends. You may even be invited to join in a family prayer. It is not necessary to stop for Sā on the main roads.
• It is considered an honor to be asked to share ‘ava (a local drink made from the root of the pepper plant). To show respect, spill a few drops on the ground or mat in front of you, then raise your cup and say manuia (mahn-WE-ah) before drinking.

The ONLY US National Park south of the equator, the National Park of American Samoa’s 13,500 acres are distributed across three islands: Tutuila, Ofu, and Ta‘ū. Its purpose is to preserve and protect coral reefs, tropical rainforests, fruit bats, and most importantly, Samoan culture. Part of the US National Park System since October 31, 1988, it is unusual in that the NPS does not own the Park lands, but entered into a 50-year lease with Samoan village councils.

Twenty-nine states have national parks, as do the territories of the US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. There are currently 62 parks in system, with this mission: “to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values…for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”

It’s all about remembering.

Pass It Forward https://capitalcitiesusa.org/?p=2365

Want Me To Jump? https://capitalcitiesusa.org/?p=2383

A Pretending Day

Originally Published July 16, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting about American Samoa from Little Rock, Arkansas – Let’s pretend. Pretend that I wake up this morning in Volcano House, after an entire day peering into volcanoes and wandering black-sand beaches on Hawaiian Time, meaning “no hurries, no worries, no schedules.” Pretend I have a leisurely breakfast, load up the Budget, and drive 42 miles to Hilo.

My Hawaiian Airlines flight 181 actually IS departing Hilo (ITO) at 10:10 AM and setting down in Honolulu (HNL) at 11. That’s what they notified me yesterday via email, as “inter-island travel” is now allowed by state mandate.

But that’s just half my story. I planned to lounge around the airport, no rush, till time to board my flight to Pago Pago, American Samoa. Getting to American Samoa is no easy task – back in February when I began planning my RTW, I discovered there aren’t many flights in, or out. A few from Honolulu to AS, and even fewer from AS to New Zealand, my next destination.

So why go there?

Reason 1: National Park of American Samoa. After Haleakala NP and Hawaii Volcanoes NP, a stop at our most far-flung US National Park just made sense, especially since I’d already be flying that direction on my way to New Zealand and Australia. Tick off my 35^th NP!

Reason 2: Pago Pago. I’ve never been to a single one of our US Territories, so a stayover in Pago Pago, capital of American Samoa, seemed the natural next step. A whole new line of capital cities!

Reason 3: Who wouldn’t want to go to a place called “Pago Pago”? How sweet is that?

First lesson about this delightful place, our only US capital south of the equator: please don’t pronounce it “PAY-go-PAY-go.” The letter “g” in Samoan sounds like “ng,” so the correct pronunciation is “PAHNG-oh-PAHNG-oh .” Got it?

American Samoa is 2,600 miles from Honolulu and 2,900 miles from Auckland, New Zealand, a collection of five tiny islands in the South Pacific Ocean with a total land area of 76.8 square miles. (That’s just a wee bit larger than Washington, DC.) It is home to around 55,000 people, and of that, 89% are Samoan. Most American Samoans are bilingual and speak English and Samoan fluently.

I won’t get into a history lesson about HOW American Samoa came to be “American” and a US Territory, but here are a few things the tourism folks want you to know:

Rainforest-covered tropical islands. Emerald jewels in a vast blue expanse of ocean. An eco-tourism paradise. Eastern arm of the Samoan archipelago. Home to Polynesians proud of their strong Samoan culture and heritage. The friendliest people in the South Pacific.

I’m sold, right there, even without the draw of another national park and capital city. My reservation for tonight was at Sadie’s-By-The-Sea, right on the beach. Tomorrow I’ll tell more about this island paradise, and the park, where I intended to spend the day relaxing, and exploring, in equal measure.

As it is, COVID-19 intervened. Of the 56 US states and territories reporting to the CDC, American Samoa, week after week since this began, has stayed at 0. Zero. No cases. The only place. Perhaps its isolation had a hand in that.

A restriction was put in place in March that US Citizens coming to American Samoa had to quarantine 14 days in Hawaii, but that apparently has been lifted. My Hawaiian Airlines flight 465 from Honolulu (HNL) to Pago Pago (PPG) will depart at 4:35 and arrive at 9:20 tonight, according to yesterday’s email. Maybe it is filled with people who live in Hawaii? Or passed the quarantine test? Or some other test? I don’t know.

I tried to call Sadie’s-By-The-Sea today. Their website is down, and no one answered the phone. I should be sleeping in Pago Pago tonight, listening to those Pacific waters lapping gently against the shore, right outside my door.

Let’s pretend I am.

The Hot Spot

Originally Published July 15, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting about Hawaii Volcanoes from Little Rock, Arkansas – Some folks go to Hawaii to sit on the beach and drink Mai Tai’s, peering at the ocean over a slab of pineapple on the rim of their glass. Peering over the rim of a volcano is what I’m interested in, and it is the main attraction at Volcano House on the big island of Hawaii. The “only volcano hotel in Hawaii,” at 1 Crater Rim Drive in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Volcano House is a historic retreat right by the rim. “Breathtaking” is the word as you gaze over the Kilauea caldera from your room. From your room! You are on the edge of an active volcano and a UNESCO Heritage Site, 4,000 feet above sea level.

I wake up this morning in my king-size bed (on my “vacation that would have been if not for a world crisis”) and watch as wisps of smoke curl over the barren landscape. An ever-evolving landscape, shaped by volcanic activity, always a ticking clock.

Volcanoes are the “fast-forward” of geological construction. Winds and waters eroded out the Grand Canyon over eons, ice-age glaciers took a while to scrape out the Great Lakes. But volcanoes do their bit in a hurry. Blam! Ash goes flying, hot lava flows, and anything in the pathway is toast. Result: new land is formed, old land is reshaped.

Do you know about The Hot Spot? That’s the baby-maker of the Hawaiian island chain, and it continues to build islands. The tectonic plate beneath much of the Pacific Ocean keeps moving northwest, but the “hot spot” remains stationary, creating new volcanoes. Currently active volcanoes are on the southern half of Hawaii island; the newest, Lōʻihi Seamount, is located south of the coast.

Haleakalā, on Maui, erupted sometime in the 18th century, possibly earlier. Kīlauea exploded in 1790, the deadliest eruption known to have occurred in what is now the United States. It erupted again in May 2018, opening 22 fissure vents on its East Rift Zone. The destruction, coupled with lava flows and sulfur dioxide fumes, necessitated the evacuation of more than 2,000 people.

It’s quiet today. Sensors and video cams keep track of every gurgle and tremor, you betcha. Mauna Loa, about 20 miles northwest of Kilauea and the largest active volcano on earth, last erupted in 1984. For a virtual visit, check out a few live cams, courtesy of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm

• Kīlauea Caldera from HVO Observation Tower is a live panorama of Kīlauea Caldera.
• Halemaʻumaʻu, water lake, gives a live panorama from the west rim of the new summit collapse features; Thermal image of Halemaʻumaʻu and water lake is a live thermal image.
• Mokuʻāweoweo Caldera from the Northwest Rim, positioned on the rim of Mauna Loa volcano, is a temporary research camera. If you look carefully around early morning or late evening, you may see a few thermal areas emitting steam.
• Mokuʻāweoweo Caldera Thermal is a temporary thermal camera there; the temperature scale is in degrees Celsius up to a maximum of 500 degrees (932 degrees Fahrenheit).

Volcanoes are hot!

But there are also plenty of cool things within the 4,028 square miles that make up the Big Island of Hawaii. Trails through rainforest lead to hide-away waterfalls; black-sand beaches are the place to catch a sea turtle napping. Devastation Trail winds through exotic flora and fauna and now-cooled lava flows. Imagine yourself walking through a 35-foot-high lava tube! The highest point on the island is Mauna Kea. At 13,796 fee it is (just barely) 125 feet higher than Mauna Loa. The lowest point in Hawaii is at water’s edge – the Pacific Ocean.

Where you can sit on the beach and drink Mai Tai’s, with a nibble of pineapple, if you please.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm

Volcano House https://www.hawaiivolcanohouse.com/

Que Sera Sera

Originally Published July 14, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting about Maui from Little Rock, Arkansas – Sunrise in Maui’s Haleakalā National Park occurred at 5:53 Hawaiian Standard Time this morning. My day was perfectly planned – 2 AM: wake up, dress, go to the lobby of Maui Seaside Hotel to wait for the tour bus. 2:40: hop on and ride to Skyline Tours headquarters for fresh Hawaiian coffee and a continental breakfast. Then ride the winding road (very winding at the last) to the summit of Mt Haleakalā, 52 miles from my hotel, over 9,000 feet above sea level. And it would still be dark.

“View the Sunrise from the Top of the World” is the tour promotional. What better place to see the sunrise over Maui than from Haleakalā, Maui’s highest peak and a top visitor attraction. In a Skyline eco-adventure in the middle of wao akua, or “realm of the gods,” be there when Haleakalā National Park awakens with the rising sun near the summit of Haleakalā. Edge-of-the-world view in all directions while the early sunlight casts hues of natural light onto Haleakalā’s crater floor.

It’s been 31 years since I got my first hankering to “see the sunrise” there. I was in Maui with my parents (who were younger then than I am now). They simply had no interest; Mom had signed us up for an evening luau, so that was enough, they said. This year, I’d finally knock it off my bucket list. I booked on February 21, $176 paid in full. Ready and set. Haleakalā would be my 34th National Park out of the 62.

The Park, created in 1916, was designated an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980. The name Haleakalā is Hawaiian for “house of the sun.” The legend: the demigod Maui imprisoned the sun here in order to lengthen the day. The crater is an erosional valley 6.99 miles across, 2.0 miles wide, and 2,600 feet deep. The interior of the crater is dotted by numerous volcanic features, including large cinder cones.

Haleakalā is one of the best places in the United States for amateur astronomy, due to its long scenic drive with numerous overlooks, and the unusually clear views of the night sky. Haleakalā Observatory, near the visitor center, lies above the tropical inversion layer so experiences excellent viewing conditions and clear skies.

But back to the Tour. Of course we are ravenously hungry after starting a day at 2 AM, so on the way back down the mountain we stop at Kula Lodge, perched in a forest on the west slope of the Crater. The restaurant has floor to ceiling windows and a terrace, all with views of flower farms, mountains, and the Pacific Ocean. I’ll have the Haleakalā Mountain Meal with pancakes, or maybe the No Ka Oi” Omelet?

Yes, I’m tired now, but also pumped, with more great stuff ahead. Back to my hotel by noon; time to sit by the pool and gaze at the ocean before scooting to the Kahului airport, very close by. My 5:03 PM Flight to the next island, Hawaii, gets me to the Hilo (ITO) airport at 5:42 PM. I pile my luggage into my Budget car and drive 42miles to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park where I check  into Volcano House. A room with a view – another crater, smoke rising over the rim of Mt Kilauea just out my picture window. (More about that tomorrow.)

But I seem to be sitting at my desk in Little Rock right now, with a heat advisory in effect that feels like 112 out there! What happened?

Aw, you know, reality. The National Parks closed back in March. Today’s online message: Park Closures, Alert 1 Severity. Some locations closed due to COVID-19. The NPS is working to increase access to the park in a phased approach. Limited Areas in the Summit District are open. All visitor centers, Crater trails and backcountry areas remain closed. 

On June 12, I received the following email from Skyline Tours: Aloha, In response to the COVID-19 pandemic Skyline Hawai’i will be suspending all operations through July 31, 2020. If you currently have a reservation and would like to postpone or cancel your booking, please send us an email.

I canceled. The company kindly refunded my $176. Today, their site shows a possible next available opening of September 1.

I also canceled my two-night stay at Volcano House; they kindly refunded my deposit of $347.

The airlines is another story. On June 24, Hawaiian Airlines notified me that my 43-minute flight from Kahului to Hilo was changed; instead I’d go from Kahului to Honolulu (45 minutes), 1 hour layover, then Honolulu to Hilo (50 minutes) arriving at 7:30.

So it goes like this: I can’t get INTO the state without a 14-day quarantine, but Hawaiian Airlines changed my flight without considering that even if I GOT there, I wouldn’t be allowed out of my room. No refund offered.

Someday, as the saying goes, we may look back on this and laugh. But today, Que Sera, Sera is the best I can do.

Where I’m Not

Originally Published July 13, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting about Seattle, Washington from Little Rock, Arkansas – I am NOT on Delta flight 978 for a 5-hour 53-minute flight departing Seattle (SEA) at 2:55 PDT this afternoon, and arriving in Kahului, Hawaii (OGG) at 5:48 PM HST. I will NOT be sleeping at the Maui Seaside Hotel at 100 W Kaahumanu Avenue in Kahului tonight. And I will NOT be getting up at 2 AM in the morning for a Haleakala Sunrise Tour.

This was to be the second stop in my Round The World journey; the first stop on July 7 would have begun a week in the Seattle area visiting no less than a dozen family and friends. A visit to the Space Needle was on the agenda, a ferry ride across the Sound, a play at the Taproot, and lots of Asian food. (Hard to come by in Arkansas.) Friend Carmelita planned to cook lumpia and other goodies for my entire family! I was planning to meet new “significant others” and to stand back to back with grandchildren for pictures confirming that yes, I’m the shortest member of the family now.

Seattle was my home for 25 of my 81 years. The University of Washington was the original draw; and then I stayed. And stayed. The Seattle that I moved to in 1980 has changed tremendously in 40 years. The house I bought for $80K in 1986 is now valued at over a million dollars, and it is just an ordinary house. The population of Seattle in 1980 was almost half a million, and though it was the largest city by far I’d ever lived in, it quickly felt like home. Today’s population is nearing 800,000 with more than 12,000 homeless, and that count was before COVID-19 struck this spring. The full metro area is approaching 4 million, so congestion now, and crowding.

Still, Seattle scenery hasn’t changed. Puget Sound, surrounded by the Olympic Mountain Range on one side and the snow-covered Cascade Range on the other. Mt Rainer 100 miles to the south, the prettiest, most perfectly shaped mountain you will ever see.

I’m glad I lived there. I loved the scenery, the people, the food, and the diversity. And especially, I loved the WEATHER! No bugs, no tornadoes, no thunderstorms and gully-washing rains. No it does NOT rain all the time in Seattle! Annual rainfall in Seattle is 37 inches. Annual rainfall in Little Rock, where I live today, is 50 inches. Put THAT on your rain gauge!

Gardening in Seattle was a joy. Since the area is temperate (did I mention, little snow and few winter days below freezing) things just grow and grow and grow. Rhododendron blooms year round, with every color you can imagine; the fir trees are tall, and gorgeous; it’s like God made several trips around that part of the world dispensing beautiful things.

My kids nearly bought out REI the first year we were there; we went camping at Frog Lake, a mystical spot at the foot of Mt Hood; snowshoeing at Hurricane Ridge out on the peninsula; picnicking beside mountain lakes in a meadow of purple lupine. Heaven! Three of my grandchildren were born while I lived in the Pacific Northwest, so sharing their first minutes of life was a supercalifragilistic experience. All good stuff.

It will be 11 PM in Little Rock tonight by the time that Delta flight would have landed in Kahului; midnight at least by the time I would have arrived at the Maui Seaside Hotel.

I won’t be there.

Governor David Ige announced today that the reopening of Hawaii’s tourism industry will be delayed until the end of August. Ige first implemented quarantine measures back in March, requiring any passenger on any flight landing in Hawaii to spend 14 days in isolation to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, the number of passenger arrivals statewide fell from an average of nearly 30,000 per day to fewer than 400 by the middle of April, according to data released by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. The governor has faced mounting pressure from several corners, including all four county mayors, to push back the planned reopening of tourism.

The governor did eliminate travel restrictions that pertained to inter-island travel last month, as the first step toward ushering in the return of the tourism sector in Hawaii. The second, the state hoped, was that in lieu of a 14-day quarantine, the state would require passengers to produce a negative coronavirus pre-test, taken within 72 hours of departure to Hawaii.

But as coronavirus cases on the mainland have surged in recent weeks, including in some of the markets that typically send the highest number of travelers to Hawaii, the state’s plan was criticized for being too weak to prevent a rash of new cases.

So I’m not in Hawaii tonight.

It should be noted, Hawaii has had only 1,115 total coronavirus cases and 19 deaths, the fewest of any state. This is mind boggling when you consider what is happening on the mainland. Good job, Governor Ige.

The Way You Wear Your Hat

Originally Published July 12, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – Brooks Brothers bankrupt? It seems to be true. Demand for suits has plummeted with our newly enforced “work-from-home” lifestyle, though the trend was already in place. Comfort-in-the-workplace began taking priority in the high-tech industry several years back.

And why not? Why do we wear the clothes that we wear in the first place? Back in 1975, John T Molloy came out with a book called Dress for Success. All about the effect clothing has on a person’s success in life, it gave birth to the concept of “power dressing.” “Never wear a brown suit,” Molloy advised, “it makes you look weak. Stick to grays and blues, dark.”

Dress codes were in place for years in most western countries, carefully spelled out in employee handbooks. Often this depended on the amount of interaction an employee had with customers, but not always. One of my sons began working for an insurance company in the 80s; on the phone all day and never in sight of anyone other than his co-workers. He was expected to wear a tie, and the tie could only be a certain color, and of a certain design. Dark pants, white or pastel shirts, and no tennis shoes, only leather, neatly polished. His son now works for that same company, and they have given up on dress codes. Certainly in the last few months, as he does his job from home, the modus operandi of millions since March.

How is enforced work from home affecting attitudes about the importance of what we wear, and how we look? Profoundly, it appears. Looking good “on the top” works for many – great earrings and a necklace that pops look snazzy and professional during on-line team meetings; the comfy pajama bottoms are never seen. The guys, it seems, are going for beards. One grandson, a software engineer with Amazon in Seattle, already sported a neatly trimmed dark beard; it fit well with the workplace culture there and fits equally well now for those team meetings from home. Another grandson, a chemical engineer with Scripps in Florida, sent me his “new beard” picture today. “It came out red,” he said, “and it’s hot under my mask, but it makes me feel different.” Tee shirts and shorts make up the rest of the outfit; a lab coat overlay when he goes into the building to set up daily tests, masked up, with a little red around the edge. And the work gets done.

People don’t NEED so many clothes now. With nowhere to go, there is no reason to change outfits so often. From school kids to the workforce, to the retired (like me), casual attire is fast becoming the norm because it is comfortable, less expensive, and easy to care for.

Cavemen wore funny-looking animal skins for warmth, we assume, but perhaps it was a hunter’s boast. Was that the beginning of “What I wear tells you who I am?” If you put a 15^th-century king and a lowly peasant on “What’s My Line?” would the royal robes and rough-woven country attire give it away before they even spoke a word? Going with this notion, BRANDING became a big-time industry, as we were persuaded that we’d be more successful if we avoided wearing brown, as Molloy said; or more respected if we had the proper logo on our shirt. But even our pets can see through that pretense. “A dog can destroy a Jimmy Choo shoe just as fast as last year’s worn-out loafers,” a friend recently lamented.

Jobs lost and entire industries in trouble are a heartbreaking effect of the worldwide pandemic swirling around our heads. But perhaps a breather from “dressing up” will lead to a rethinking of priorities. For the industries – how can we use the resources we have to respond to what people actually need? For the people – that’s us – honest choices about what allows us to give the world the best we’ve got.

No matter what we wear.

What It Was, Was Football

Originally Published July 11, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – “What It Was, Was Football,” a monologue by Andy Griffith credited with launching his career, remains one of the biggest-selling comedy records of all time. And it IS funny. “Deacon Andy” thinks he is going to a tent revival when he stumbles into a college football game by accident. He doesn’t understand why they keep kicking a little pumpkin around. “And they was fightin’ each other for it!” he exclaims.

“Kicking the pumpkin” nowadays has soared far beyond sport, entertainment, or even tradition to become the biggest revenue producer for many a university. At the University of Texas, for example, 70% of its revenue from athletics comes from football.

Football funds NCAA sports and provides scholarships for college athletes. Football provides college athletes the opportunity to compete for a championship, and the fame and fortune that entails. Football helps to fund Association-wide legal services, communications, business insurance, and the list goes on.

Now it’s time for me to confess: I myself am not a football fan. My claim to fame is being at the University of Alabama the year Bear Bryant came to town. During his first year, I’d grab a hamburger after work and park the car by the fence to watch the magic on the practice field. I understand the love for the game. I understand that football is a force, a magnetic force pulling in a fan base whose loyalty is unexplainable. If you are born in Alabama, for instance, you are pledged at birth to be a lifelong Alabama or Auburn fan, and that loyalty is simply a way of life, even if you never set foot on a campus.

The ten most powerful fan bases in college football last year were, by one pick: Alabama, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A & M, Texas. From Roll Tide to Hook’em Horns, don’t get in their way when it’s game time.

If you’ve been keeping up with the impact of COVID-19 on sports, you are aware of some serious shakeups about to happen to fall college football schedules. The Power Five – the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and Southeastern Conference (SEC) have made shattering announcements this week, with more to come, as football fans everywhere wait to hear the news.

Yesterday it was announced that the Pac-12 Conference is canceling all its non-conference games for the season; just after that it was revealed that Larry Scott, Commissioner of the Pac-12 Conference, is battling COVID-19. Impact for the first game of the season: no USC vs Alabama on September 5. Financially for Alabama, that is a loss of $6 million.

That’s just one example, for one school, on one football weekend.

The shoe had dropped the day before, as The Big Ten was first to announce a “conference only” schedule for this season; this impacts all sports, details are still in the making as conversations take place between the Big Ten Council of Presidents, Directors of Athletics, staff and medical experts. But Ohio State and Oregon, September 12, canceled for sure.

Two Conferences decided; three to go.

ACC Commissioner John Wofford: The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and administrators remains the ACC’s top priority…..The league membership and our medical advisory group will make every effort to be as prepared as possible during these unprecedented times, and we anticipate a decision by our Board of Directors in late July.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey: We are running out of time to make a decision. What do we have to do to get back to activity? The direct reality is not good…we owe it to each other to be as healthy as we can be.

Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby: The ideal situation remains a full 12-game schedule that starts on Labor Day weekend.

The Power Five Conferences are not the whole of it. There are 10 conferences and 130 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and I can’t count beyond that. The point is: “kicking a pumpkin” is part of the American scene. Yes, there is a great deal of money to be lost if COVID-19 knocks a hole in this season’s football schedules. But the sheer fun of the game for millions of fans is an even bigger loss.

What it WAS, was football – is that what fans will be left saying this fall on Saturday afternoons? That’s not funny.

Gomer’s Phrase

Originally Published July 10, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas – It seems to me there are only two kinds of people in the world. It doesn’t matter about race or religion; doesn’t matter about one’s IQ or socioeconomic status, family background, or birth order. Nor does it matter about height, weight, age, gender, or sexual orientation as we consider which “kind” of person someone is. Ourselves included, of course.

It’s simple. Psychologists might call it “outer-directed” or “inner-directed.” Or you can put it this way: Does a person rely on someone (or some thing) else for happiness; blame someone (or some thing) else for unhappiness; and wait for things to happen, either way? Do outside circumstances dictate whether a day is good or bad? Or does a person roll with the punches, adjust to the happenings of the world, and move ahead, regardless? “Life is like a box of chocolates,” Forrest Gump told us, in sweet and simple tones, “You never know what you’re going to get.”

“Surprise, surprise, surprise,” was a phrase made popular by Gomer Pyle, as life in the little town of Mayberry filled our TV screens in the 1960s. Jim Nabors played the role of Gomer for 23 episodes on The Andy Griffith Show between 1962-64, but Gomer’s Phrase stayed around.

In the movie Forrest Gump which came out in 1994, Gomer’s Phrase can be heard on a TV in the background as Forrest (Tom Hanks) plays table tennis after being injured in the Vietnam war. And he’s really good at it, even after getting shot in the but-tocks!

Surprise, surprise, surprise. You never know what you’re going to get.

The “surprise” of COVID-19 has me reading, alphabetically, the entire booklist created by students at the Clinton School of Public Service, as I choose to remain quarantined at home. The authors of the last four books, from varying time periods, struck me with their wide swings of attitude to circumstances.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist, and his writings are required readings in pretty much every college literature class. I first read Metamorphosis in college (where the lead character becomes a lowly bug), and now Letter to His Father, where a domineering father gets the blame for every anxiety and failure of his son’s life.

Keith Richards (1943- ) was co-creator of the Rolling Stones, born in England into a middle-class family. Keith loved music, got hooked on American blues in the 50s, dropped out of school to pursue his passion, and you know the rest. Fame, money problems, lawsuits, headlines, drugs. It was 2010 when he wrote Life, speaking frankly about the choices, and consequences, of the path he chose.

Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) was an Austrian psychiatrist, and a Holocaust survivor. His book Man’s Search for Meaning gives little detail on his suffering in Auschwitz and three other concentration camps, but rather on the sources of his strength to survive. He was kept alive, he tells us, by looking to the future, and thinking about what other things he was meant to do in life.

Elie Wiesel (1928-2016) was a Romanian-born writer, professor, and Holocaust survivor. His book Night was based on his experience as a Jewish prisoner in both Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. He focused on the pain, fear, and suffering he endured. He tells us that at one time he cried out to God: Blessed be thy name? Why would I bless God? He created Auschwitz!

See what I mean? How very odd, I’m thinking, that out of four books in a row, two authors focus on inward strengths; two look to the outside for blame. Kind of like what’s going on with “How To Solve The Problems Created by COVID-19 Around The World.” Every newscast or email I get is either focused on BLAME (Whose fault is this terrible thing?) or SOLUTION (How do we deal with this problem?).

Most, I’m sad to say, play the Blame Game. And then there is Head in the Sand. That’s the repetitive phrase, “Just wait. This will all be gone by next month.”

Surprise, surprise, surprise.

Moving On – College 2020

Originally Published July 9, 2020 by Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas –So we got our high-schoolers out, with patched-up on-line classes and pieced-together virtual graduations. Now, college?

Harvard University announced July 6 that it will only conduct online classes for the coming academic year, though it will allow some students to live on campus. Full tuition, however, is still in effect. California State University – the country’s largest four-year public university system, is also opting for online-only courses in the fall 2020 semester.

Most schools, however, 60%, are at this time planning for in-person classes, while others are considering a hybrid approach.

One of these is the University of Washington, where my granddaughter begins her freshman year, after a deflated ending to high school. Currently, the UW web page offers this information:

Classes will begin as scheduled on Sept. 30, in a hybrid approach. We are offering as many in-person courses as possible, prioritizing hands-on courses, such as studio, clinical and lab courses, and courses for first-year undergraduate and graduate students. You can check the time schedule, which for most courses already indicates whether they will be taught in person or remotely. Schools and colleges will continue to update the schedule over the summer as they finalize their plans, so you can check back for additional updates as autumn quarter gets closer.

“Going away to college” used to be a BIG DEAL – the first step in growing up and becoming independent. But “going away” is the biggest concern for a fall re-opening. A college campus with dorm living is compared to a nursing home in terms of “making sure everyone gets the virus” as students live in dorms, eat in dining halls, hop between classes, and party together.

My granddaughter fortunately lives within a few miles of campus, so will continue living at home. How many students in the country have that option? I checked the National Center for Education Statistics site again for some numbers about college attendance, as of LAST year. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/

In fall 2019, about 19.9 million students were expected to attend college classes.

Of that:

• 12.1 million students full time, 7.8 million part time
• 16.9 million students in undergraduate programs, 3.0 million in grad school
• 14.7 million students in public institutions, 5.2 million in private
• 6.0 million students in 2-year institutions, 13.9 million students in 4-year
• 11.3 million female students, 8.6 million male
• 12.5 million students under age 25, 7.4 million 25 and over

Another question: how many degrees did colleges and universities expect to award at the end of the 2019-2020 school year?

• 989,000 associate’s degrees
• 1,975,000 bachelor’s degrees
• 820,000 master’s degrees
• 184,000 doctor’s degrees

Did that happen? We won’t know till the final tally comes in. We do know that spring graduation ceremonies are still on hold for many schools. My personal connection is to the University of Florida through another granddaughter, who completed her requirements for a nursing degree in a flurry of uncertainty and online classes this spring. Clinicals, well, we won’t talk about that. She was privileged with a virtual Pinning Ceremony while still in Gainesville, and “cap and gown” photos were taken by a friend as she walked around campus. She was allowed to take her State Boards, and she has moved back home temporarily, and started her first job, working in a county that is a hotbed of COVID-19 cases, and overcrowded hospitals.

The May graduation ceremonies were moved to August, but most likely, with COVID-19 cases in Florida skyrocketing, those will be postponed once again. From the UF website:

On Thursday, June 4, 2020 the State University System directed that Florida public universities plan alternatives to in-person commencement ceremonies due to continued COVID-19 health guidelines limiting gatherings. We regret the disappointment and inconvenience this will cause for graduates and their families who looked forward to attending the University of Florida’s rescheduled spring graduation weekend July 31-August 2. Rather than reschedule the spring ceremony weekend yet again only to face the possibility that it, too, will be canceled due to COVID-19, we want you to know two things. First we are committed to providing every graduate an opportunity to participate in a future in-person commencement ceremony once we are able to safely resume our regularly scheduled commencement ceremonies. Second, we will contact you once we are confident in-person ceremonies can resume. Whether it is December, May, or some other month, we look forward to welcoming you back, cheering for you and celebrating with you.

With a full-time job, away from campus, the draw of “going back to walk” is low. Students, most likely, have moved on.

Or tried.

Good luck to the millions of incoming hopefuls.