Delayed

No miracle occurred and our departure is delayed.  We still have no idea until when.  Luckily I have the best travel agent in the world, Heather, who is taking great care of Zach and me from afar.  I have known Heather for 15+ years (yikes) and trust her completely.  She arranged to get us off of our current flights while we wait for the actual departure date.  When we get that, she'll rebook us and we'll then pay the change fee.  Note to future families: We've heard of no one, regardless of if they use a travel agent or the Continental office here, who gets the change fee waived.  My goal was to just pay one, and not two, penalties, and Heather made that work out.

Today was a really hot and sunny day so I spent most of it inside.  I have been trying to get through the huge stack of magazines that I brought because I absolutely will not be taking them home.  Mary is excited to gain possession of them once I give them up.  I know that they will get an incredible amount of use; one of them is already at a local middle school.  I'll be sending care packages regularly to Mary and the kids and I plan to send old magazines in each of them.  Talk about a plan better than recycling!

Even though it was so hot, Zach and I went for a walk, but we had to keep it short.  During that stroll, I might have acquired another handicraft.........  In my defense it was something I have been wanting but resisting buying, but also something I know I would regret not getting while I have the chance.     

What is this handicraft?  A Marshallese Stick Chart.   In the past, Marshallese Stick Charts were used to navigate to islands over the horizon.  If you look at a modern map of Micronesia you will see a ton of water with lots of tiny specks of land thrown in.  The islanders needed to get from one island to another, but how?  The Marshallese learned to read the wave patterns of the sea, which indicate the direction of land.  A navigator could feel these patterns by the way the waves hit the side of his canoe and the direction it rolled as a result of the swells.  Amazing!  What is even more impressive is that the charts were studied and memorized prior to a trip and not brought along.  Although the charts really aren't used any more, the Marshallese system of mapping ocean swells provided an important contribution to modern cartography.

This is a picture of my Marshallese Stick Chart

This is a close up - the shells indicate various atolls

On a different note, today I made an important commitment to myself.  I decided that now that we are delayed, every day until departure I will eat a banana split for dessert after dinner.  It may be bad for my waistline and cholesterol level, but boy is it good for my soul!